TOP 5 Free Content Management Systems (CMS)

TOP 5 Free Content Management Systems

In the internet age we live in, having a company website is a must, a basic essential. We have mentioned this before and will keep mentioning it in other articles. What is closely tied to any website, however, is the Content Management System, or CMS for short.

In short

A CMS (content management system) is software that lets you create and edit a website without knowing how to code — you can add subpages, posts, images and products straight from an admin panel. The most popular free CMS platforms are WordPress (the broadest ecosystem, great for SEO and for stores with WooCommerce), followed by the likes of Joomla, Drupal, PrestaShop (stores) and Ghost (blogs). For most companies and stores, WordPress is the safest choice.

What is a CMS used for?

The acronym CMS (Content Management System) literally means a system for managing content. More and more often we come across websites built on exactly this kind of system, equipped with an admin panel. Thanks to this solution, the user is able to modify all content independently — that is, to edit, delete and add it — as well as graphic elements, i.e. change photos, add and remove graphics and animations, and continuously update their offer or, for example, a news section, or announce weekend promotions, and so on.

Advantages of a CMS

A properly functioning CMS is meant above all to ensure the smooth running of a website, the updating of data, the introduction of necessary changes or simply an improved user experience. Among the main advantages of a CMS is undoubtedly the fact that no programming skills are required — an intuitive, friendly admin panel lets you make any changes to the site. What else? Their easy availability and open-source character – meaning they are simply free.

Analysing all the pros and cons as well as the opinions carefully, one can conclude that none of them should be labelled the best or the worst; we can, however, certainly list and briefly describe the CMS platforms that enjoy the greatest popularity among users.

And so, below we present the 5 most popular CMS systems in our opinion:

WordPress is by far the most popular content management system in the open-source category, i.e. free platforms. It is the most frequently used solution not only in Poland but also around the world. According to statistics, more than 24% of websites worldwide are built on WordPress. It is an extremely simple yet functional solution, both in terms of hosting and management. Sites based on this CMS comply with W3C standards and, worth emphasising, are optimised for search engines. The huge number of plugins and themes lets you create any kind of website. You can genuinely build any type of website. It is especially valued by bloggers. In Poland, WordPress accounts for as much as 70% of all CMS systems available on the market.

This is another free CMS, which takes second place in the ranking. It enjoys great popularity, particularly among medium-sized and large companies. Its greatest advantage is its flexibility and ease of use when it comes to administrative control. Joomla has as many as 64 language versions, including a Polish one. Like WordPress, it is optimised for search engines, which is an additional advantage.

Another project. Drupal is a CMS built with the PHP language. It is used by many well-known popular-science websites, e.g. the New York Observer and MIT — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is very similar to WordPress and Joomla. It too has hundreds of thousands of extensions and plugins. If your site has a lot of complex and elaborate content, then Drupal is the best solution. This is mainly because of its unique features for taxonomy and its tagging capabilities.

More than 100,000 websites already run on this CMS, and the popularity of this solution is growing day by day. The greatest advantage of this system is above all its usefulness and ease of use. It is an excellent solution for people who are only just beginning their adventure with creating their own website. This CMS is also optimised for search engines, and in this case there is no need to install additional plugins.

In fifth and well-deserved place we have Expression Engine, based on PHP. When it comes to building a website, it offers both free and paid options. Unfortunately, this kind of system does not provide full freedom in website design, but it should be especially stressed that it is as search-engine-friendly as can be and guarantees support once you purchase a licence.

Which free CMS should we choose?

When deciding which Content Management System to choose, we should be guided by our needs and capabilities. If we need a CMS for an extensive, elaborate and multifunctional site and we intend to devote time to learning how to operate the CMS, it is worth taking on Drupal. If, on the other hand, we are thinking of administration that is simple to use and intuitive, then WordPress will be a bullseye.