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poll What is the best CMS of 2021? (Poll and questionnaire)

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What's the best CMS you used in 2021?

  • This poll is still running and the standings may change.
  • Bespoke (hand coded)

    votes
    5.6%
  • Blogger

    votes
    5.6%
  • Bolt

    votes
    0.0%
  • Bynder

    votes
    0.0%
  • Drupal

    votes
    0.0%
  • Grav

    vote
    2.8%
  • Joomla

    votes
    0.0%
  • Kirby

    votes
    0.0%
  • Laravel

    votes
    0.0%
  • Magento

    votes
    0.0%
  • Magnolia

    votes
    0.0%
  • Squarespace

    votes
    0.0%
  • Statamic

    votes
    0.0%
  • TYPO3

    votes
    0.0%
  • Vue

    votes
    0.0%
  • Weebly

    votes
    0.0%
  • Wix

    votes
    0.0%
  • Wordpress

    28 
    votes
    77.8%
  • Other (please add in comments)

    votes
    8.3%
  • This poll is still running and the standings may change.

redemo

Mug RuithTop Member
Impact
3,028
What is the best overall content management system (C.M.S.) you have used this year, and the katana of the C.M.S. world? Please select your favourite C.M.S. that you've used in 2021 from this list or add a new one in the comments below. Thank you for contributing to this poll (and questionnaire).

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

katana.png

Optional 10 questions to answer about your favourite C.M.S.
  1. What type of website did you use the C.M.S. for?​
  2. Do you pay for the software, and if so is it a fair price?​
  3. How do you rate the customer support?​
  4. Does the F.A.Q. section answer most of your questions?​
  5. Can you edit/post content from your mobile phone?​
  6. Are there enough templates to choose from?​
  7. Are there enough extensions/addons to choose from?​
  8. What specific features do you like the most?​
  9. What specific features do you dislike the most?​
  10. Would you recommend your chosen C.M.S. for a domain name portfolio?​
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
I voted WordPress but in a way I felt too uninformed to really vote!

One place I write for uses WordPress. But someone else handles the tech.

I have used , and like, Blogger for quite awhile but well, control not in my hands (although lots of individualization possible). I would say though it is the easiest way to get a site up and change it regularly with ease. And free of course.

I have used Moodle a fair amount (not on your list, since more an educational CMS I guess). It is free, has been around for some time, and has lots of features suited to an educational setting (presentation, testing, interaction, document delivery).

Although I write and discuss here at NamePros I don't really know anything about the forum management software they use. I find it does almost everything I would want, and pretty painlessly. I write the blog posts offline using the markup language then import to test and refine the final document before posting.

A number of years ago I set up a site for a nonprofit with no money, and did it on Wix. It was fine, good in some ways, limiting in others. It i probably much better now.

I have interacted slightly with SquareSpace which is used by a community organization I volunteer with, but the web site is not one of my roles. Not strong opinions either way.

The white label SH is I suppose a sort of CMS for doimainers in a way? While I wish the categories were better thought out. overall it seems pretty incredible. If starting, I would probably mainly use it.

Just because I am stubborn, I keep pouring hours into a website no one much uses. I use a Mac 3rd party product RapidWeaver for that but it is not really a CMS but more a web development platform. Has a well established community of users and add-ons. It is not free but not very expensive, especially during periodic sales. It comes with some themes included 'free', others are available paid or free from the community.

I think WordPress so dominates the market that is a reason to use it or not to use it :).

'I don't know' is my answer to all questions posed. :)

Bob
 
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I know @dncafe 😍 Joomla C.M.S. @Corey uses Wordpress C.M.S so do I mainly but constantly testing other platforms. I would use bespoke P-H-P code for sales page and contact form. Needs to load at lightning speed. Tech Radar said in Oct 21 (in U.K.) https://www.techradar.com/uk/best/cms it's

1. WordPress

2. Squarespace

3. Magnolia

4. Weebly

5. Wix

6. Bynder
 
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I think most would agree that the best overall CMS is Wordpress.

There are many different variables though when it comes to what kind of CMS you would want for your site.

Personally I would never use a SquareSpace or WIX type service, as their business model is to lock you in with their proprietary addons and upsell you their services. You also have a lot less control on what you can do, but it could be the best CMS for someone who has zero web experience - maybe someone who runs a little antique shop and wants to put up a simple 5 page website with a contact form. A WIX type service is something easy for them to understand and setup.

Not every site would need a general CMS. I've used 100's of standalone "scripts " over the years for sites that serve a niche purpose/function: real estate listing aggregation, meme generators, link directories, stock photography sales, mp3 search engine, URL shortener, classifieds, crypto prices.......

If your website will have a narrow function, often times you're better off buying a dedicated script that can serve that purpose.

For example, if you wanted to start a "meme maker" type website, you could do that on Wordpress using Plugins. While this will work, it is not the best solution since Wordpress uses a large file system. The problem with this is that a "meme site" is something you will want to push large amounts of traffic to in order to be profitable (usually with a CMP - cost per 1000 impressions type ad model). Many would host this on a cheap "Unlimited Bandwidth" type hosting plan, thinking it's unlimited, but the hosting company will limit your "inode usuage", which basically means limiting the number of files that are accessed within a month. So using Wordpress will eat through this inode limit fast. Whereas a dedicated script that uses a limited amount of files and makes it easy to integrate a CDN would be a better solution over using Wordpress.

Let's say someone had the goal of getting into Amazon Affiliate sites and wanted to launch a new site every week, Wordpress would probably be their best solution. They could get a cheap $15 a month "unlimited domains/websites" hosting account that had Cpanel and 1 Click Wordpress Install. They could literally buy a domain name, point it at their host at checkout, add the new domain in Cpanel, click to install Wordpress, click and install their theme and have a website up and ready in a matter of minutes.

You also have to consider if you will be selling your website in the future. With Wordpress being the most popular, this is what people will want to buy. Most people wont want to buy a Joomla or Drupal site, and if they do they have to factor in how much time it will take to migrate it over to Wordpress.

  1. What type of website did you use the C.M.S. for?
Many different scripts or CMS depending on the site
  1. Do you pay for the software, and if so is it a fair price?
Yes, if it's something that can't be accomplished in Wordpress. Premade scripts $20-$150, freelance programmer or having a "clone script" made $500+
  1. How do you rate the customer support?
CMS like Wordpress has a huge community for support
  1. Does the F.A.Q. section answer most of your questions?
Web search usually does
  1. Can you edit/post content from your mobile phone?
In most
  1. Are there enough templates to choose from?
Wordpress has the most
  1. Are there enough extensions/addons to choose from?
If there isn't a WP plugin, I will use a custom script outside of WP
  1. What specific features do you like the most?
Fast 1 click install
  1. What specific features do you dislike the most?
Wordpress can feel a bit too bloated (like all CMS) at times
  1. Would you recommend your chosen C.M.S. for a domain name portfolio?
Probably not, would reccomend something like FolioTrader on CodeCanyon
 
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Thank you for the very grounded and informative answer @dncafe . I think the following is the kind of advice someone starting out in development is looking for in terms of how hard the path to getting started would be, and what is easiest possible route to something workable.
Thanks again,
Bob

Let's say someone had the goal of getting into Amazon Affiliate sites and wanted to launch a new site every week, Wordpress would probably be their best solution. They could get a cheap $15 a month "unlimited domains/websites" hosting account that had Cpanel and 1 Click Wordpress Install. They could literally buy a domain name, point it at their host at checkout, add the new domain in Cpanel, click to install Wordpress, click and install their theme and have a website up and ready in a matter of minutes.
 
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Really great input @dncafe. Cheers mate. You are right about C.D.N. and " unlimited " hosting packages. They are not unlimited. Far from it. On busy days, normally because a search term is popular due to external events, my web sites have crashed from too much traffic. Then I changed to C.D.N. and have only had an outage since because of Wordpress hiccups like plug-ins fighting with P-H-P upgrades. Although I agree Wordpress is probably the best all round C.M.S. I find Blogger a lot easier to use and works seamlessly with most Google products and Blogger has come on leaps and bounds this year. Personally I found Joomla and Drupal very clunky and stopped using both after one web site trial each. I haven't tried Wix yet and am adverse to it mainly for the reasons you mentioned. I'm glad you said how easy it is to create a website after you gain access to a new domain name. With practise it can be one hour and you have a fully-functional website or even less than one hour. I maintain several checklists for using Wordpress and other C.M.S.'s to build a web site as quickly as possible (timed). If you have no distractions and a checklist it's ideal. Better than that would be some way to create a program which automates repetitive website creation tasks. I'm sure there are some clever people on Namepros that knows how it's done.
 
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WordPress IMO is the most ideal choice out of the CMS's listed for general use. Simply because it has the largest community of plugins, themes, and developers. Plus it is also a framework that allows you to create your own plugins and edit existing themes through child themes. The Gutenberg editor is consistently being improved.

However, for landing pages any CMS is an overkill. It can become more of a headache since you have to secure each and every installation.

If you are looking for a CMS for landing pages and feel comfortable around WordPress or Joomla, you might consider MegaLander. It is non-db based and offers highly customizable options for fast speed load, self-hosting, and security.
 
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However, for landing pages any CMS is an overkill. It can become more of a headache since you have to secure each and every installation.

Years ago I made a PHP website that would carry part of the URL into a variable on the page, so I could redirect the domain from the registrar to a landing page with the domain and price that would add those variables automatically to a contact/submit offer or buy now button.

The site would be a one page site like MyDomainsForSale.com and the trailing URL would be something like mydomainsforsale.com/domains?name=shittybrandabledomain.com&price=7999

shittybrandabledomain.com is for sale!

[BUY NOW] for $7,999


So at the registrar you just do a forwarder for the domain and add the domain name and price to the URL.

This basically gives you unlimited landing pages on a 1 page site.
 
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Years ago I made a PHP website that would carry part of the URL into a variable on the page, so I could redirect the domain from the registrar to a landing page with the domain and price that would add those variables automatically to a contact/submit offer or buy now button.

The site would be a one page site like MyDomainsForSale.com and the trailing URL would be something like mydomainsforsale.com/domains?name=shittybrandabledomain.com&price=7999

shittybrandabledomain.com is for sale!

[BUY NOW] for $7,999


So at the registrar you just do a forwarder for the domain and add the domain name and price to the URL.

This basically gives you unlimited landing pages on a 1 page site.
I prefer a url without variables in it. Either a straight domain in the browser or something like portfoliourl.com/domain/[domainforsale]. The reasons are 1) it looks cleaner, 2) people can mess with GET variables.
 
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I know @dncafe 😍 Joomla C.M.S. @Corey uses Wordpress C.M.S so do I mainly but constantly testing other platforms. I would use bespoke P-H-P code for sales page and contact form. Needs to load at lightning speed. Tech Radar said in Oct 21 (in U.K.) https://www.techradar.com/uk/best/cms it's

1. WordPress

2. Squarespace

3. Magnolia

4. Weebly

5. Wix

6. Bynder
@Bravo Mod Team have sent me a message saying an affiliate link in this post has been removed. I wasn't sent the link so I can't look at the U.R.L. and explain what happened. However I had no intention of adding any such link to any U.R.L. and this was not a link I had either set up or stood to benefit from in any way. I have never posted any performance marketing links I stand to benefit from on Namepros and I never will.
 
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Wordpress is the best and easiest to use. I also use Xenforo for managing online forums and communities.
 
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I can pitch my client's one of the products.

NinjaSites from 500apps - they provide almost 40 apps for $15 and one of them is NinjaSites which comes with CMS. You can create a template and create a form around it to fill.
 
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I notice many sites are built using the boot strap framework however I cannot find a boot strap C.M.S. dashboard.
 
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I notice many sites are built using the boot strap framework however I cannot find a boot strap C.M.S. dashboard.

Look on CodeCanyon for "bootstrap cms"
 
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Developer, working on entirely HEADLESS CMS.
 
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WordPress
It is Good for novice or a programmer

1. What type of website did you use the C.M.S. for?
Any

2. Do you pay for the software, and if so is it a fair price?
Not for my personal project, depends on the client if he want to use a paid plugin or theme

3. How do you rate the customer support?
All the info is available online for free

5. Does the F.A.Q. section answer most of your questions?
Yes

6. Can you edit/post content from your mobile phone?
Never tried with mobile but it is possible

7. Are there enough templates to choose from?
Yes, I can also build my own and have personally published free themes to wordpress.org in 2013-2015 "EazyReader" & "Litesite" and have not updated them after maybe 2-3 version so not recommended for the current use but I can see many sites are still using those themes

8. Are there enough extensions/addons to choose from?
Yes, and yeah I can build my own and for client it depends on the requirements

9. What specific features do you like the most?
Not sure

10. What specific features do you dislike the most?
New editor & I always disable it and install the classic editor or Elementor for quick layout building

11. Would you recommend your chosen C.M.S. for a domain name portfolio
Yes why not
 
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I notice many sites are built using the boot strap framework however I cannot find a boot strap C.M.S. dashboard.

WP all the way!
We are in the process of rolling out a WP plugin and customizable theme based on Bootstrap for creating a domain sales websites. It will have payment integrations, including using marketplace fulfillments such as Dan.com, GoDaddy, etc. Stay tuned.
 
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None. Thanks for replies (as if it is my thread).
What about databases, php/mysql, are they irrelevant now, or do we need some programming skills to add/use them.
I don't know any programming , except for copy/pasting most basic html.
 
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Hi, I just wanted to give me 2 cents to this topic. We are a digital agency since more than 20 years and have created many projects with different CMS. The CMS selection depends really on the scope, budget and requirements of your project.
Wordpress is a good and free CMS for many use cases. There are a lot of plugins available with all advantages and disadvantages (Eg. Security & Performance). Unfortunately Wordpress has not been made for real enterprise projects, where scalability, flexibility, performance and security are key.

IMHO from a technical point of view it's impossible to compare DXP/CMS Enterprise Solutions like Magnolia, AEM, Bloomreach, Contentful, Sitecore with Wordpress or Typo3.

It's like comparing Ferrari or Lamborghini with FIAT or Renault.
 
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