Does calling a developer every time you need to make a quick modification to your site frustrate you? It is pretty unpleasant to think that you must be an expert coder even to touch your website. But the good news is that even a novice can easily navigate some of the top CMS platforms out there. This is due to their incredibly intuitive nature.
There is a CMS platform for everyone. Whether you want to display your photographic portfolio or start an online store. The secret is selecting the best CMS for your use case. Here, we outline the benefits of an excellent CMS platform and provide our top choices.
What exactly is a CMS Platform?
A CMS platform, also called a content management system platform, is specialized software. It’s designed to streamline content management and facilitate website creation.
Normally, web pages are build programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you made a website without a CMS platform, you would need to learn these programming languages. It would take huge time and effort to write code.
CMS platforms provide a solution to this difficulty. They enable you to build a website without needing coding skills. You also don’t need extensive programming knowledge.
Of course, this changes if you specifically seek out a developer-friendly CMS. This assumes you are proficient at coding and comfortable working with programming languages.
To explore further about CMS platforms and their benefits.
The Benefits of CMS Platforms for Small Businesses
CMS tools offer many benefits for small businesses. A top CMS web development service by experts ensure you get to leverage all of them.
Simplicity and Accessibility: The interface is easy to use. Non-technical users can manage website content from anywhere.
Workflow Management: Collaborative features, user roles, and content approval processes streamline teamwork. They also ensure content quality.
Easy to Customize: Small businesses can create a unique website design without coding. They do this by customizing themes, templates, and plugins. These tools also let them add the functions they want.
Easy Updates: Real-time content updates and instant publishing capabilities. You can use them without relying on technical assistance or developers.
SEO-friendly: The built-in tools and features optimize web pages for search engines. This improves online visibility and organic traffic.
How to choose the best content management system?
Here are a few factors to look out for.
Pricing: Consider the overall cost. This includes setup fees, licensing, hosting, and maintenance. Ensure the CMS platform fits your budget and growth plans.
Integration with Other Software: Consider whether the CMS seamlessly integrates with your existing software stacks. This includes CRM, e-commerce, marketing automation, and third-party tools. This can streamline workflows and data exchange.
Intuitive UI: Look for CMS software with a user-friendly and intuitive interface. It should simplify content creation, editing, and management. This reduces the learning curve and increases productivity.
Support Team: Assess the CMS provider’s support options. Look for documentation, forums, knowledge base, and responsive customer support. Ensure you can get help quickly when you need it.
Customizability: Consider the level of customization offered by the CMS. For example, the ability to modify layouts, design templates, and functionality. This will help align with your business’s unique requirements and branding.
Scalability: Consider whether the CMS can accommodate your business’s growth. This includes the ability to handle increased website traffic. It also supports additional content and integrates new features as your needs evolve.
The Right CMS for Your Small Business is Closer Than You May Think
Today’s small businesses need an effective content management system (CMS). They need it to build and keep a strong online presence. A CMS empowers businesses to manage and update their website content easily. It doesn’t require extensive technical expertise. Choosing the right CMS is crucial for creating a successful online store. This is especially true for e-commerce website development. Let’s explore how the right CMS can benefit your small business. It can also streamline your e-commerce operations.
User-Friendly Interface
A user-friendly CMS is key to managing your e-commerce website efficiently. It allows you to easily update product descriptions, prices, images, and other content. You don’t have to rely on technical support. An intuitive interface ensures that even non-technical users can navigate the website effortlessly. It also allows them to make changes easily. This saves time and resources.
Customization and Flexibility
E-commerce businesses have unique requirements and branding needs. A suitable CMS should offer customization options. You can use them to tailor your website’s design and layout to reflect your brand identity. Look for a CMS that allows you to choose from a range of themes, templates, and plugins. Specifically, look for ones that cater to e-commerce functionality. For example, shopping carts, payment gateways, and inventory management systems. Flexibility in design and functionality ensures that your website can grow and adapt alongside your business.
Seamless Integration with E-Commerce Tools
An effective CMS should seamlessly integrate with popular e-commerce tools and platforms. These include payment gateways, inventory management systems, and shipping providers. This integration streamlines your e-commerce operations, enabling real-time inventory updates, secure transactions, and efficient order management. A CMS that integrates easily with these tools ensures a smooth e-commerce experience for you and your customers.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Features
You need an SEO-friendly CMS to drive traffic to your e-commerce website. It will increase visibility. Look for a CMS that offers built-in SEO features. These may include customizable URLs, meta tags, and XML sitemaps. These features enable you to optimize your website’s content for search engines. This improves its ranking in search results and attracts potential customers.
Mobile Responsiveness
With the rise of mobile shopping, having a mobile-responsive e-commerce website is crucial. A CMS with responsive design templates ensures your website adapts seamlessly to various screen sizes and devices. This provides an optimal user experience for mobile shoppers. This enhances customer satisfaction and increases the likelihood of conversions.
Scalability and Growth Potential
As your small business expands, scalability becomes a vital consideration. Choose a CMS that can accommodate your growing product catalog. It should also handle increased website traffic and support additional functionalities. Scalability ensures that your website can handle higher demands. It does this without compromising performance or user experience.
A List of the 15 Best CMS Tools – Pros, Cons, and Pricing
Now, you already know what to look for in CMS software. Here is a list of the best ones with the pros, cons, and pricing of each.
- WordPress
- Joomla
- Drupal
- Wix
- Concrete5
- MagnoliaCMS
- Webflow
- Magento
- SilverStripe
- Squarespace
- Shopify
- HubSpot CMS Hub
- TYPO3
- Contentful
- Ghost
#1 WordPress
WordPress is the overall most popular CMS platform in the world. It is trusted and used by millions of people. It is ideal for small to large businesses with general blogging needs.
Pros:
- Flexibility to build any website
- Thousands of themes/plugins for extra features
- Beginner-friendly and supportive community
- Well-designed for SEO
- Complete freedom to make money online
Cons:
- Not responsible for security and backups
- Users need to pay for a domain name and hosting account with a web host
- Site maintenance can be time-consuming
Pricing:
WordPress is free, but users must pay for premium themes, plugins, and hosting.
#2 Joomla
Joomla is the perfect CMS for websites with complex and out-of-the-box features. It is, however, not beginner-friendly and is suitable for experienced web developers only.
Pros:
- More than 6,000 extensions give plenty of options
- Ideal for creating highly customizable content
- Has excellent tools for managing users
Cons:
- Compatibility issues with several extensions
- Requires a steep learning curve
- Overly complex UI
Pricing:
Joomla is a free-to-use CMS platform. However, you must pay for a domain name and Joomla-compatible web hosting.
#3 Drupal
Drupal is a free, open-source website CMS platform. It lets users build highly-customized sites with lots of pages. It can handle vast amounts of data. Its flexible nature makes it ideal for businesses that have significant technical resources.
Pros:
- The most secure among other open-source CMS platforms
- Ideal for websites with lots of pages
- Community support available
- Thousands of themes and modules to improve your site
Cons:
- Customized themes are costly
- Hard to change the appearance or add extras
- Not as beginner-friendly as WordPress
Pricing:
Drupal is a CMS platform that is free to download. But, the costs associated with building and managing the site are much higher.
#4 Wix
Wix is another one of beginner-friendly CMS tools. It is an all-in-one solution for creating a website from scratch within minutes. You don’t need any design or development skills.
Pros:
- Intuitive drag and drop interface makes editing content easy
- Robust security protocols
- Lots of pre-made templates
- User-friendly
Cons:
- Downloading and exporting data is difficult
- Once a template is chosen, it can’t be changed
Pricing:
Wix can be used for free. The free version has a Wix-branded domain name and ads. The paid version is more flexible, starting from $13 per month.
#5 Concrete5
Concrete5 is an open-source CMS platform ideal for beginners and professionals. The software is as simple to use as a word processor. It offers flexibility to create web apps, portals, online communities, and more.
Pros:
- Beginner-friendly CMS
- Built-in functionality for updating software
- Share documents seamlessly
- Easy collaboration
Cons:
- No autosave feature
- A small collection of add-ons
Pricing:
Concrete5 is opensource. Users will have to pay for domain registration, hosting, and premium themes and modules.
#6 MagnoliaCMS
Magnolia CMS is powerful and feature-rich for content management, collaboration, and analytics. It is one of the best CMS tools for marketers due to its flexibility.
Pros:
- Dynamic content pool
- Omnichannel delivery
- AI-powered content search
- Out-of-the-box functionality with customization
Cons:
- Not easy for beginners to use
Pricing:
The CMS platform’s price isn’t public, so you’ll need to request a quote per your needs. However, there is a 30-day free trial available.
#7 Webflow
Webflow is a visual CMS for web designers and marketers. It lets them create and customize sites without worrying about the code. They also don’t need to worry about technicalities.
Pros:
- Complete control over site design
- Built-in security features
- Multiple hosting plans
Cons:
- Ideal for experienced web designers only
Pricing:
Pricing for Webflow’s CMS features begins at $29/month but goes as low as $12/month.
#8 Magento
Magento is among the best content management system platforms owned by Adobe. The e-commerce platform offers two versions Magento open source and Magento Commerce.
Pros:
- Plenty of third-party extensions for added functions
- Supports many payment gateways like PayPal, COD, etc.
- Handles lots of customers and products without affecting site speed
Cons:
- It can be overwhelming for beginners
- Very costly
Pricing:
Magento’s paid version is expensive, starting at around $22,000 annually.
#9 SilverStripe
SilverStripe is another best content management system platforms out there. It offers highly customized coding solutions. It is ideal for small and large businesses to create a smooth-functioning website.
Pros:
- Easy website customization tools
- Open source and free CMS platform
- SEO support
Cons:
- Non-beginner-friendly
- Some functions may be hard to tackle
Pricing:
SilverStripe CMS doesn’t have a free version, nor does it offer a free trial.
#10 Squarespace
Squarespace is a content management system. It is ideal for small businesses and beginners who lack the know-how to code from scratch. It has themes and templates available categorized by industry.
Pros:
- Known for its beautiful designs
- Easily edit templates using drag-and-drop tools
- Ideal for visual content
Cons:
- Third-party apps aren’t supported
- No phone support
Pricing:
The pricing plan for a basic business website starts at $23 per month.
#11 Sitefinity
Shopify is another all-in-one hosted CMS platform. You won’t need to buy hosting, install any software, or manage things like updates and backups.
It has an intuitive drag and drop interface. It supports in-store sales, which is great if you have a physical store as well as an online one.
Pros:
- Accept credit/debit cards via Shopify Payments, with PayPal included.
- Shopify offers various extensions and themes. Third-party apps expand store features.
- You don’t need to upgrade your plan if your sales reach a certain dollar amount, similar to the policy of BigCommerce.
- Shopify offers 24/7 support via live chat, email, phone, and Twitter, along with extensive documentation and online forums.
Cons:
- Costs can be high, especially with many third-party apps added to your store.
- Shopify’s apps are less extensive than WordPress’s plugins.
Pricing:
Average Cost: Plans for $29, $79, and $299per month
#12 HubSpot CMS Hub
HubSpot CMS Hub is an amazing CMS tool. It’s perfect for any organization looking for an all-in-one website management system. It features an extensive resource library, specialist account managers, and a support system.
Pros:
- Seamlessly integrates with their CRM tools to streamline workflows
- Built-in security features to shield your site from attacks
- 3500+ free and paid templates
- Has built-in SEO and marketing attribution tools
Cons:
- The CMS platform is costly
- No free version, only a trial
Pricing:
CMS Hub has two categories, Professional and Enterprise, with varying price points. CMS Hub Professional is available for $300 per month. CMS Hub Enterprise has a monthly fee of $900.
#13 TYPO3
TYPO3 is considered one of the best content management system tools that have been here for a long time. The open-source platform is known for its flexibility and scalability. It is best suited for enterprise-level websites.
Pros:
- 6,000+ extensions available offering extra functionality
- It can handle large websites in multiple languages
- Easily modify access rights of who can work on the site
Cons:
- Entails technical skills to set up and maintain
- Lack of themes available
Pricing:
TYPO3 is open source. However, users must pay for hosting. They also need to pay for any paid plugins or templates they decide to use.
#14 Contentful
It is a cloud-based CMS platform. Users can manage content in a central location and distribute it to any device or channel. Contentful offers better speed and scalability than many other top CMS tools.
Pros:
- Headless CMS tool to create, manage, and edit content
- API first platform enabling integration with any tech stack
- Adaptable to all digital platforms, such as mobile apps and web browsers
- Friendly configuration and faster loading
Cons:
- Creating new pages is time-consuming
- A limited number of content kinds that can be displayed on one page
Pricing:
Contentful’s basic CMS plan ranges from $300 a month.
#15 Ghost
It is also one of the best content management system tools. It focuses explicitly on publishing for digital content creators. It lets users control all aspects of their website. It comes with great monetization tools.
Pros:
- Built-in SEO support
- Share content easily through a variety of channels
- Easily create different themes
Cons:
- The CMS platform isn’t very flexible
- Not supported by all web hosts
Pricing:
The CMS platform is free, but users have to pay for a domain name and web hosting. The basic plan starts from $36/month.
Summing Up – Pick the Best CMS for Your Business!
You possibly can’t find the best CMS or a single solution that works well for all sorts of websites. But what you can do is find the best CMS for a website for your business needs. Your ideal platform will deliver the CMS capabilities you require. It will enhance your teams’ content management skills. Ultimately, it will let you give your website’s visitors a pleasant experience. We are a top custom web development company. Our dedicated web developers can help you achieve that. No matter your website development requirements.
