Top CMS Platforms Recommended In 2021

A CMS platform makes the work easier by enabling you to create a web page without having knowledge of programming or writing a lot of codes.

How to Choose The Best Top CMS Platforms for Your Website

Among the various top CMS platforms which one would you choose from. It’s important to firstly know what you need to look at when choosing the right CMS platform.

Ecommerce and marketing features

Your CMS platform should not only enable you to manage your content but should also introduce and update ecommerce and marketing features such as building landing pages, and improving shopping cart experience.

Ease of Use

A good CMS platform should be user friendly. Top CMS platforms should enable you to create and manage your content at ease, and also help in updating and managing your site.

It should be very easy for you to work on it, and make any changes.

Help and Support Options

In case of any question the CMS platform should be quick to respond, and offer any needed assistance. Some top CMS platforms have poor customer service support and it’s important to know before deciding on the platform to use.

The Cost

Some top CMS platforms are free while on others you will need to pay some monthly charges, with the free platforms you will have to pay for charges for design, third party extensions etc.

It’s important to know the charges charged and try to compare.

Core Functionality

A good CMS platform should be very honest, and deliver what it promises. It should perform its roles without any challenge. Their services should align with your goals to ensure you’re getting the best CMS platform that suits you.

With this knowledge you can be able to pick the best CMS platform that suits you from our list.

1. WordPress.org

WordPress.org is one of the most popular CMS software and tops our list of the top CMS platforms. WordPress is a free CMS platform provider that was initially used for only blogging but it’s now used for websites and online stores.

It’s important not to confuse between wordpress.org and wordpress.com which is used as a blog hosting platform.

Pros

• WordPress.org is easy to use and does not require knowledge of programming languages. It is a good choice for beginners.
• There are many WordPress themes available, both free and paid. This enables you to beautify your site with photo galleries.
• You have the freedom to earn money from your site using any way.
• WordPress has good performance and loads quickly.
• The security is very strong and new updates are always rolled out.
• WordPress is popular for its ecommerce services, it helps you in choosing the right words that will lead to more sales.

Cons

• Without some little knowledge it may be challenging when getting started due to their flexibility.
• You will have to set your own domain name and hosting and be responsible for security management etc.

Pricing

WordPress is completely free to use but you require a paid domain name and a hosting account (which goes for around $9 to $15 per year and $7.99 per month.

2. Joomla

Joomla! comes second in our list, it’s a free and open source CMS platform for creating and publishing web content with various templates and extensions.

It is a good choice for developers and experienced website creators, it was released in 2005 it has won several awards.

Pros

• Joomla! supports eCommerce thus you will be able to manage your content in the same place.
• There are lots of support tools available and tutorials for first time users.
• It’s completely easy to write and edit on this platform.
• Joomla is an open source platform therefore there are no charges for sharing information. Joomla is committed to better customer experience and is not driven by profit making.

Cons

• Joomla! is very complex and first time users will struggle to use it, it’s an ideal platform for developers.
• Unlike WordPress which has plenty available themes and plugins, Joomla has very limited options for additional extensions.
• There will be interference when you have different extensions and modules running.

Pricing

Joomla! is totally free to use but you will need to budget for a domain name and hosting that supports Joomla. You will also need to budget for extensions and also hiring a developer depending on the task you want to perform.

3. Drupal

Drupal is another free and open source, one of the top CMS platforms written in PHP. It is a platform that is widely used by university sites and also popular websites like The Economists site, British Broadcasting Corporation, The United States Government etc.

Drupal is very complex to navigate and it’s a good choice for developers, and for building great digital websites. You can host a Drupal site from A2 Hosting which is fast and reliable.

Pros

• Drupal is an open source platform which means you have full ownership of your data and content store, and it’s easy to use or add content.
• Drupal has very strong mechanisms of supporting their users.
• If you’re looking for a top security CMS platform, then Drupal tops the list. Drupal constantly checks your website to ensure it’s free from any threat, and does not depend on third party plugins.

Cons

• You will need the assistance of a developer when using Drupal.
• Drupal has a limited number of modules unlike WordPress, which can interfere with website performance if not optimized on time.

4. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is the most popular ecommerce platform, it is very easy to manage and flexible. It is an open source platform designed for small and large sized businesses using WordPress plugins.

Pros

• WooCommerce comes with default PayPal and Stripe methods of payment but you can also add other payment methods through add ons and extensions.
• Is an open source platform thus you can easily manage your content stores and keep track of your stock.
• Another key advantage of WooCommerce is that you can sell physical, digital or downloadable products in the platform.
• WooCommerce has plenty available extensions that enable you to add extra functionalities to your site. With WooCommerce, you don’t have to worry about security.

Cons

You will require the assistance from a developer when you need more customized and advanced features.
There are many features on WooCommerce which will make it hard for you to navigate freely for the first time.

Pricing

Even though WooCommerce plugin is free, you will pay for domain name and web hosting. You will also have to pay for advanced extensions and plugins for your store.

5. Wix

Wix is an Israeli CMS Software Company that allows its users to create websites and mobile sites that were founded in 2006.

Pros

• The website is hosted on the Wix server, making your site very secure. You don’t need to think about security because it’s well taken care of.
• In case of any problem on your site, you only need to contact Wix through email, phone etc. and the issue will be solved.
• Wix offers drag and drop design functions that enables you to build your website within a very short time with a personal or a commercial site.

Cons

• One of the main problems with Wix, is the presence of Wix advertising ads on your site. Removing the ads will cost you a lot of time and some charges will be applicable.
• When using the drag and drop functionality, items moved can be placed anywhere instead of their respective places and it will take a lot of time to place them on their intended places.

Pricing

Creating and using a website is free which has Wix domain names and running ads on your site. When you want a more professional website with your own domain names you will subscribe to one of their plans. The cheapest is a combo plan followed by unlimited plan and business VIP plan.

6. Textpattern

Textpattern is a totally free and one of the most flexible open source CMS and also used as a blogging software. It is a top platform for designers and developers with high documentation needs, manages multiple sites etc.

Pros

• Textpattern is very straightforward and easy to use unlike other platforms that require knowledge of PHP language to do any modification.
• It is a top platform for anyone thinking of blogging, it is a user friendly platform and gives freedom to the user to manage their content the way they like unlike other platforms including WordPress.

Cons

• Textpattern is a bit complex for beginners and it has few templates and themes compared to WordPress.

Pricing

Textpattern is totally free. You will only require a domain name and a web hosting to build a website.

7. Squarespace

Squarespace is an American web hosting and one of the top CMS platforms for creating professional websites. It has the best features and powerful designs and built in tools that support merchants, bloggers, photographers, artists, creative and anyone who enjoys design. Squarespace has ecommerce functions, SEO tools and you don’t require coding skills to use it.

Pros

• It has the ability to store deleted content for up to 30 days.
• It has over 60 great templates that easily adapt to mobile devices, desktops, and tablets.

Cons

• It’s very complex without prior knowledge making it hard to create a website faster.
• It is too manual, after every change you make you have to save your work again.

Pricing

You will need to register a domain name at squarespace that goes from $20 to $ 70 annually.

8. WordPress.com

WordPress is the most popular website builder, 39% of websites are built on WordPress. It is a free and open source CMS used to create beautiful websites or blogs. It is one of the most flexible platforms and you use it to build any website of your choice.

WordPress has thousands of free and paid themes that will enable you to use your own colors to create unique designs. Before you make a choice of using WordPress, you need to compare its advantages and disadvantages.

Pros

• WordPress is free and gives you full ownership of your website.
• You have full control of your website and hence you can keep updating your platform as it grows
• You can make anything you want due to the accessibility of plenty collections of add ons, extensions, and plugins which assist you to extend the website.
• It’s easy to build unique websites, it has thousands of customized templates and website designs.

Cons

• You need to pay close attention on your site because you fully are responsible for security, installing updates, and making backups.
• Without the basic programming languages you will find it hard to use.

Pricing

WordPress is completely free but you will need to register a domain name and a paid web hosting. We recommend you to use Bluehost. Bluehosting is one of the most popular and largest web hosting companies in the world.

9. BigCommerce

BigCommerce was in 2018 awarded the best ecommerce Software by FinancesOnline. It is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms and provides SaaS (software as a service) ecommerce platform which means you need to pay some charges to use the software. Some of its features include web hosting, search engine optimization and many more.

BigCommerce provides specialized templates to enable you to design an online store and sell physical or digital goods and it also assists you in marketing your products.

Pros

• There are no transaction fees charged unlike other platforms even if you’re using a third party payment gateway.
• You can try the product for 14 days for free.
• It has a strong and reliable community that provides customer support at any time and for all issues.
• Considering the plenty great features provided, the unlimited number of customers you can serve, the variety of products you can offer etc., you will realize it’s quite affordable.

Cons

• There is a limit on the number of sales you can make. If you exceed you will need to pay for extra charges.
• You will find similar themes in the free section.
• Some themes are quite expensive in the premium section.
• Finding the dropshipping apps that you require can be quite challenging.

Pricing

BigCommerce provides four plans. They include BigCommerce Standard plan ($29.95per month), Plus plan ($79.95 per month), Pro plan ($299.95 per month) and Enterprise plan whose pricing varies on requirements.

Least but not the last platform is:

10. Shopify

Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms and it enables users to create an online store and sell your products and services, it functions as SaaS (Software as a Service). It offers built in shops that you can customize and tweak to your preferred end product. It is very secure with millions of users across the world and it has also proved to be very trustworthy and it’s here to stay.

Shopify has pros and cons and you need to look at them as you make your final decision on the best platform to use.

Pros

• Shopify is a very easy platform to use with zero technical issues and it does not require any skills to work on it.
• It has an excellent support system with a large community of people willing to assist at any time.
• One of the ways of having more traffic in your site is having an elegant looking and a neat site, Shopify provides free and paid themes to help you create a unique site.
• Another way that Shopify assists in generating traffic that will result in success is providing Search Engine Optimizations (SEO) that has plenty of additions to its site and also various marketing tools.
• You don’t have to pay an extra amount for hosting or maintenance, it is a fully hosted platform.

Cons

• Shopify is not a free to use platform and there is a monthly or annually subscription fee.
• It has scalability issues and users may experience limitations as their platforms improve on services offered and in size.
• Shopify lacks an efficient search mechanism, there are no corrections offered in case of any typing error and you can’t narrow down the product you are looking for to the specific one.

Pricing

Shopify has five pricing plans that vary depending on the services offered on every plan.
The cheapest plan is Shopify Lite that costs around $9 per month, followed by Basic Shopify which costs around $29 per month, Shopify ($79 per month), Advanced Shopify ($299 per month) and Shopify Plus which goes for around $2000 per month.