Most used CMS in the world

Creating a website has become easier than ever. There are many platforms to choose from, and most allow you to build just about any type of site. But due to the large number of options available, it may not be easy to choose among the best CMS (content management systems).

In this article we will help you make that choice. We'll break down everything to look for in the best CMS, presenting eight of the top options below. And when we are done, you will know how to choose the best CMS for your website.

A Content Management System (CMS) is an application that allows you to intuitively publish and manage content on the web. For example, imagine you had a text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit) that would allow you to post articles directly to a website you own.

That would be a very basic example of a CMS. Of course, these days most of the best CMS options help you do much more than that. They allow you to index your content, make changes to it, format it using visual editors, and more.

It's easy to confuse a CMS with a website builder. The latter is a type of tool focused on helping you create websites without any programming knowledge. They usually accomplish this by giving you access to a drag-and-drop visual editor. However, they tend to be much simpler, offering few customization options and little control over how your site is set up.

A CMS, on the other hand, used to be more difficult to understand and use without any technical knowledge. However, today's best CMS options provide you with many tools to help you design and build modern web pages.

This type of CMS is basically a one-stop solution for building websites and managing your content. Depending on which CMS you use, you may also gain access to additional features that you can install using 'plugins' or 'extensions'. However, we will talk more about that shortly.

WORDPRESS

Although WordPress was conceived as a blogging platform, it grew well beyond that niche. The platform is easy to use, and you can customize it in great detail using plugins and themes (of which you have thousands to choose from).

When it comes to content management, WordPress also provides a top-notch experience. Publishing new posts and pages is simple, and you have access to a powerful editor that allows you to format your content. In addition, the platform also supports user registration, has regular updates, and has a large and helpful community.

Main features:

• Includes intuitive publishing and content management options.

• Provides a powerful editor that allows you to easily format your content.

• It is highly customizable, thanks to thousands of plugins and themes.

• It has a strong and very active community.

The only drawback to WordPress is that sometimes you will have to combine many plugins to add the precise functionality your site needs. There are also other CMS options that offer a more streamlined blogging experience, though they can't match the level of customization of WordPress.

Joomla!

Joomla! is one of the most frequently heard names along with WordPress. The general consensus is that while Joomla may not be as beginner-friendly as WordPress, it can be more flexible in some ways.

For example, Joomla is a great option if you need to manage a lot of 'custom post types'. That is, it is ideal if you want to run a website that does not rely heavily on text content. The platform also offers a lot more options when it comes to user management. This makes it a fantastic option for membership-based sites, for example.

On top of that, Joomla also includes multilingual support out of the box. That means you don't have to use plugins or extensions to add more languages to your site. Finally, Joomla also allows you to use multiple templates or themes at once, for different types of content.

Main features:

• Offers excellent support for custom post types.

• Provides advanced user management options.

• Includes multilingual support out of the box.

• Supports the use of unique templates for each type of page.

It's another name that carries a lot of weight in discussions of the best open source CMS. While it trails WordPress and Joomla in market share, that doesn't make it any less remarkable.

Drupal

In practice, Drupal shines in many of the same areas as Joomla. For example, it offers a very flexible system for dealing with custom post types. It also gives you a high degree of control over your users and their permissions, and can even handle multilingual sites out of the box.

However, there are other areas where Drupal has no equal. Their taxonomy system, for example, is much more powerful than its competitors. Also, Drupal is considered a more secure platform than WordPress and Joomla.

Main features:

• Offers a flexible system for administration and creation of personalized publications.

• Provides advanced user management and permissions settings.

• Includes support for multilingual sites out of the box.

• Has a detailed taxonomy system.

• It has top-level security for your website.

You can build just about any type of website you want using the 'big three' CMS platforms, which include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. However, Drupal is known for its scalability and security, which often makes it a better choice for enterprise and commercial sites.

However, it has a steep learning curve. In most cases, we don't recommend using Drupal unless you have web development experience. Although if you're comfortable with development, this is one of the best CMS options available today.

Serendipity

Serendipity is an easy to use CMS perfect for small blogs. It is one of the lightest CMS you can find.

But that's not to say it's featureless. Instead, it offers excellent performance for most websites due to its built-in dynamic caching settings.

When it comes to functionality, you can extend what the platform can achieve by using themes and plugins. Plus, you can search for specific front-end or back-end plugins, making finding the tools you want easier.

Main features:

• It is perfect for performance-oriented websites.

• Provides access to a large selection of themes and plugins, to help you customize your website.

Overall, Serendipity is a perfect option for small websites. It also makes creating simple and elegant blogs a piece of cake. However, it lacks a bit of power if you are interested in more ambitious projects. Personally, we would recommend it if you are looking for something that is not as complex as WordPress or Joomla, and is very quick to learn.

dotclear

Dotclear is another great CMS option if you are looking for a hassle-free blogging experience. Among all the CMS we have tested, few are as easy to use as Dotclear. Despite that, the platform features an editing experience that is very similar to what WordPress offers.

With Dotclear, you get access to a robust set of publishing, management, and taxonomy options. The platform allows you to write your posts in plain text, HTML, and even in Wiki syntax.

Apart from those basic features, Dotclear also allows you to generate RSS feeds. Also, you can add new functionality to your site using plugins and themes.

Main features:

• It is very easy to use and configure.

• Supports plain text, HTML, and wiki syntax.

• Allows you to easily generate an RSS feed for your site.