If you want to maximize the number of visits you get on your website and reduce your bounce rate, you
need to create attractive content. This means that you have to use the best mix of videos, texts, images,
and graphics to give value to your content. Having the right content also ensures you rank highly in
search engines, which increases website visibility.
To maintain good content, you have to consistently revise it, update it, and manage it in a way that
ensures it remains engaging and relevant. For people with big websites, managing content can be a
mammoth task that would be almost impossible unless one uses a CMS platform.
A CMS platform or Content Management Platform is a piece of software used to create a website and
manage content without needing coding expertise. CMS platforms make it possible for anyone to own
and run a website.
Choosing the best CMS platform for your website
When looking to invest in a content management software platform, you will come across numerous
options in the market. With so many options in the market, how can you be sure that the one you
choose best fits your business model and is in line with the onsite SEO best practices?
To choose the right CMS platform for your needs, you need to know what to look for in the best one.
Ease of use
The best CMS platform should make it easy for you to edit and create content. You can choose one with
a drag and drop interface to have the option of adding different elements to your web pages. The best
platform needs to be straightforward enough to allow you to make changes in already published
content.
Portability of data
The best CMS platform should have a feature that supports data export. This makes it easy for you to
mo0ve your content to a different platform or service in the future if need be.
The design options
The best CMS platform offers numerous design templates for websites for you to choose from. It should
also, come with numerous customizing options to allow you to further customize the designs available to
suit your website needs.
Add-ons and extensions
The best CMS platform is built with the knowledge that every website is different. For this reason, it
should come with additional software features that can be installed in the software to enhance existing
features or capabilities.
Support options
While a CMS platform works to make website building and content management as easy as possible, it
also helps to have a support service to make it easy for you to get help when you are stuck. The best
CMS platforms come with FAQs sections and access to a quick customer service that is easy to talk to.
Choose a CMS platform with a big community that is accessible any time of the day.
The cost
CMS platforms range from free services to premium rates ones. Often, users are required to purchase
third-party extensions, hosting services, and custom designs. It is important to consider the cost of
running a CMS platform before settling for one.
With these choosing tips in mind, here is a comprehensive review of the best CMS platforms available
today, including the latest Concrete CMS platform.
Concrete V9 review
Concrete V9 is the latest version of the concrete CMS platform that has been in development over the
last three years. It comes with numerous improvements in its interface with additional tools for content
editors, including boards and containers, and a revamped file manager in a new theme.
New features include:
Multiple hosting
Concrete V9 now allows users to host multiple websites through one Concrete interface. You can map
out different domains into different sites while enjoying shared data, shared content, and user
permissions between the different domains.
An all-new file manager
Concrete V9 comes with an all-new and improved back-end and front-end file manager. The newly
rebuilt file manager makes it easier for users to search for files and edit file details. It also comes with
support for file assets linkable pages and improved functionality for importing files. The new file
manager now allows users to add favorite folders for easier retrievability.
Editor containers
While the Concrete CMS still maintains the layouts section, it comes with an added feature that allows
editors to add sub-areas into their page, dubbed containers. With this feature, website developers can
now insert editable areas that are reusables into pages using an HTML option of their choice.
Boards
These are dynamic and exciting ways for developers to group content in chronological order on the
site’s front end. These lists are created with a feature that allows them to switch between content form
factors, making it easy to have different content in the same list.
The tasks feature
Concrete V9 comes with a ‘Tasks’ section, which succeeds Automated Jobs in the other versions. This
the new feature supports scheduling, queueing, console unified input and output, and live output with
Mercure.
All these new features have been added to the existing features present in previous Concrete versions.
These include:
Intuitive editing
A mobile responsive design
Inbuilt marketing tools, including integrated reporting
Social and SEO support
Pros
New and improved features
Free and open source
Helpful and reliable global community support
No monthly fees
Easy to deploy sites
Cons
Does not come multilingual by default
Cannot cleat cache after page updates
Limited expert designer themes
WordPress
WordPress is one of the most popular open-source CMS platforms available today and the highest
competitor for Concrete V9. It originally started as a blog system and has become a functional CMS
platform with additional extensions.
WordPress enjoys 60% of CMS user numbers, with more than 30% of all websites built on the platform.
Features
Easy and user-friendly interface
Powerful media management
Responsive mobile support
Customizable design
Multilingual support
SEO friendly
High security
System requirements
Webserver: Every server with PHP and MySQL/MariaDB support (recommended: Apache or
NGINX)
Middleware: PHP 7.4 or higher
Database: MySQL 5.6 or higher, MariaDB 10.1 or higher
HTTPS support
Wide selection of themes, plugins, and widgets
The large WordPress user community has access to a wide range of plugins and add-ons that can be
used to give them a fully customized WordPress experience. This is particularly helpful when it comes to
content creation for specific industries, like restaurant content marketing or medical blogs, providing
them with a wide range of opportunities and customized options. However, the availability of these
features has also made the platform confusing and difficult to use for some users.
WordPress is an ideal CMS platform for people looking to create a website with a simple structure. It
works as an effective content management software with a highly intuitive web interface. However, the
user-friendliness decreases with the complexity of supported features and add-ons.
Pros
Large user community
Minimal installation and setup effort
Highly intuitive interface
Simple plug-in and extensions integration
Cons
Additional extensions required to run WordPress as a CMS
High risk of hacks
Limited performance with high traffic
Frequent security updates
Pricing
While installing and using WordPress is free, the user incurs other costs like securing a domain name
and hosting, which can cost approx. $7.99 a month on average.
Joomla
Joomla is an award-winning free open source CMS platform used to create websites and other online
applications easily. It comes packed with numerous website templates and extensions. Joomla is one of
the most suitable CMS platforms for beginners, even though it is also ideal for experienced developers
and website creators.
Features
Multiple language support
Flexible and extensible
Unlimited design
SEO-friendly
Mobile support
System requirements
Middleware: PHP 5.3.10 (7.3 or higher recommended)
Webserver: Apache HTTP Server 2.0 (2.4) with mod_mysql, mod_xml, and mod_zlib, NGINX 1.0
(1.8 or higher is recommended), MS IIS 7
Database: MySQl 5.1 with InnoDB support (5.5.3 or higher), MS SQL server 10.50.1600.1
(10.50.1600.1 or higher), PostgreSQL 8.3.18 (9.1 or higher)
Pros
Simple to install and configure
Ideal for creating bespoke or complex sites
Wide user community
Ideal for the e-commerce store creation
Allows easy template creation
Cons
Expensive advanced extensions
Extensions require manual installation
Limited extension options compared to Concrete V9
Pricing
Like most CMS platforms, Joomla is free. While it is free to use, the user can expect to incur hosting and
domain name costs. Sometimes, users may need to purchase extensions to customize their website
further.
Drupal
Originally created as a solution-based student community, Drupal has become a fully-fledged open
source content management software. The CMS platform comes with an easy installation process that is
extendable using more than 46,000 available modules.
Drupal 9System requirements
Webserver: Apache 2.4.7 or higher, NGINX 0.7.x or higher, MS IIS, or any other web server with
PHP support
Database: MySQL 5.7.8 or higher, MariaDB 10.3.7, Percona server 5.7.8 or higher, PostgreSQL 10
or higher (with PDO), SQLite 3.26 or higher
Middleware: PHP 7.3 or higher
Drupal CMS offers extensive room for customization for developers who already know what they want
on their website and content. The CMS platform prides itself on its highly flexible modular system ideal
for creating dynamic platforms based on content that is user generated.
Pros
Easy to use
A compact software core
Large user community
Easy to use built-in user management system
A wide array of extension modules selection
Pre-defined Drupal module distribution
Supports multi-domain management
Cons
Poor backend compatibility
Additional modules can only be installed via FTP
May require developer input to customize
Which one is best?
When choosing the best CMS platform for your needs, the best option depends on your needs. From the
the list above, Concrete V9 offers new and advanced features missing from other competitors that can make
it the perfect upgrade for Concrete users and anyone looking for a new CMS platform.
