Introduction:

Although the online mode of business has been in vogue for quite some time, the COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously impacted how people perceive and do business online. Since last year, the online marketplace has been booming. It has become the go-to place to make any purchase or sell products. Thus, in response, many businesses and companies are stepping up to the new trends. Brands are going online and strengthening their online image- pushing for a more significant online market hold with every step.

What is a CMS?

A CMS or Content Management System refers to a software or application that uses a database or multiple databases to store and manage content. These are used by companies ranging from business to education to form, design, and manage their websites. With good CMS software backing your brand, your website will seem more attractive, rank better in SEO rankings, get more clicks, and as a result, will lead to more leads and business.

Most CMS services are open-source and therefore free and publicly available to anyone who wishes to use them- though additional paid features and memberships also come attached for special features and benefits. Below are listed the top 5 best open-source CMS services in 2021.

Top 5 Open-Source CMS Platforms in 2021:

The CMS market is going to reach a staggering USD 123.5 billion figure by 2026. That is the power of CMS! Every business is leveraging this incredible power of CMS to put forward content that generates leads, creates conversions, and helps in better visibility. The ulterior motive is to sell their products and services correctly and engage with their customers in a better way, and what better way to do that other than using finely crafted, optimized content with the help of a CMS?

43.6% of the websites these days use customized CMS that is tailored for their service. Although Wix is one of the fastest-growing CMS platforms with a 149% year-on-year expansion rate, some open-source CMS platforms have managed to stay evergreen and dominate the CMS industry. We have enumerated some of them here.

1.    WordPress

WordPress.org is a free, open-source CMS initially created for blogging. Today it’s widely used by a wide variety of websites and companies. It’s mainly known for its flexibility and scalability. Be it a beginner or a professional; they can use WordPress to create their own websites. One can open a simple blog site on it or a complex and layered company website. Today, almost 42% of all websites use WordPress.

Pros:

  • Availability of multiple themes and plug-ins- both free and paid.
  • No technical skills or coding knowledge is needed with WordPress’s block editor.
  • A supportive and friendly community to help you through problems.
  • Allows XML download options in case you need to move to a different system in the future.
  • A lot of flexibility and freedom with pricing and membership options.
  • Its extensibility makes it an ideal CMS option for beginners and veterans alike.
  • SEO-friendly sites with multiple plug-ins for SEO support.

Cons:

  • You’ll need to buy and manage your own hosting and domain name.
  • Additionally, you’ll be in charge of your own security and backups.
  • Lack of personal customer support as it mainly relies on forums and tutorials.
  • Not all plug-ins or extensions are of high quality.
  • Its plethora of features and flexibility can get daunting for beginners.

2.    Joomla

Joomla offers various templates and extensions for free, but one still needs a hosting site and a domain name. Because of its multilingual support, Joomla gets more clients than its contemporaries. This open-source CMS was established alongside WordPress in 2005, so it’s been going on for a while. Today, almost 2% of all websites use Joomla for their sites. However, Joomla is a CMS for experienced developers and web designers. There are a lot of technical features which only the veterans are comfortable using.

Pros:

  • It’s a great CMS for complicated websites with multiple sub-pages.
  • Easy editing options.
  • Community support is great if you get stuck.
  • 2-factor authentication is allowed for greater security and to avoid break-ins.

Cons:

  • Not beginner-friendly as it features coding terminology in its control panel.
  • Compatibility issues concerning different modules, plug-ins, and extensions.

Read More:  https://www.cloudifyapps.com/blog/how-custom-joomla-development-can-help-to-boost-your-business/

3.    Drupal

With its API architecture, Drupal allows you to create a highly customized site and is best used by experienced developers and companies who can afford one. Because it is highly customizable, one can develop sites that handle a lot of data regularly compared to its contemporaries. Drupal websites can manage a lot of web traffic by automatically optimizing their built-in features to provide better security and performance. SiteGround allows you to host a Drupal site.

Pros:

  • CMS software automatically conducts regular security checks.
  • Offers built-in modules to increase the functionality of the websites.
  • User management is easy and customizable in a sense you can assign roles and grant or restrict access to other users.

Cons:

  • Not beginner-friendly as it requires coding skills and knowledge of PHP, CSS, and HTML.
  • Platform management can be tricky and time-consuming.

4.    Magento

This popular CMS software is security-oriented and provides SEO support to eCommerce sites. It is owned by the software giant Adobe and thus is a trusted and widely used CMS. Magento is primarily used in eCommerce websites to store, feature and manage a large number of products and orders. To use this SiteGround, Magento hosting would be the go-to option.

Pros:

  • Great for eCommerce sites as it can handle lots of products, product information, and customers. In addition, it’s highly efficient in managing the products in line with customer orders.
  • It can be linked effortlessly to multiple payment gateways. Cash on delivery and bank transfer options come built-in too.
  • Mobile-friendly as it optimizes its sites for mobile support automatically.
  • Can manage multiple stores, locations, languages, and currencies.

Cons:

  • Overwhelming to beginners and the initial set-up can be complicated.
  • Expensive to hire developers for Magento sites as they are tricky and complex to set up and manage.
  • Customization of products and product listings can be time-consuming.
  • Support availability can vary and can lead to confusion.

5.    Shopify

Shopify is an all-rounder CMS platform in the sense it doesn’t require the client to buy hosting, install additional software or even manage updates and backups. It’s mainly used in eCommerce sites for its variety of in-built features, including payments and shipping. Its simplistic drag and drop interface makes it easy for beginners too.

Pros:

  • Beginner-friendly with its simplistic interface and functionality.
  • Mobile-friendly interface.
  • Integrated payment solutions with credit, debit, and online wallet support.
  • Has in-built eCommerce features like discounts, coupons, inventory, and shipping management.
  • 24/7 support through forums, live chat, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. Guides and tutorial videos are also available.
  • You won’t need to upgrade hosting if your site makes over a certain threshold of money through its sales.

Cons:

  • Third-party plug-ins can get costly if there are too many.
  • Limited individual functionality options for the app.

Conclusion:

Though these are open source CMS platforms, you’ll still need to pay for the hosting, domain name, management of your website, and so on.

Additionally, if you want a beautiful and professional website, you’ll also need to have a developer in hand who can code, design, and manage your website using appropriate CMS software.

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