Expersight Intelligence
Content Management System (CMS), also known as WCMS (Web Content Management System), is a software platform that enables users to create, manage, edit, report, publish and distribute blogs, articles and websites. The software’s graphical user interface (GUI) seamlessly interacts with the website’s database.
Usually, HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) are used to create and design a website. For a website to reach a lot of people, it needs to be attractive and user-friendly. So, to build such a website, hiring skilled-developers would cost so much. This might not be a conventional way if you run a startup or SME. But using a CMS platform makes this process absolutely easy and it does not require any prior coding experience.
A content management system is made up of two important components such as content management application (CMA) and content delivery application (CDA).
CMA is a part that allows the user to add and manage content on the website. Whilst, the CDA stores content entered into the CMA and acts as the backend.
Features to look for while selecting a CMS platform for your business
1) Security
The contents on the internet are always vulnerable to cyberattacks. Hence it is important for content creators and bloggers to find the right CMS platform that can take care of the security updates. It should also protect against DDoS attacks and offer two-layer authentication for additional security.
2) Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools
One of the essential components of CMS is search engine optimization. While selecting a CMS platform that has inbuilt SEO tools, verify if the platform possesses the following factors:
- Customization of page title and meta-data
- Built-in navigation tools for CSS
- Should not rely on frames for content display
- Include 301 redirects and not 302
- Support fast page-load time
- Include pagination features
- Consolidate duplicate URLs
3) Easy updates
CMS enables customers to update or alter the site faster and easier. These updates include redesigning websites, changing images on the homepage, etc…The right CMS platform that provides this feature completely eradicates the need to hire a bunch of front-end developers and designers.
4) Device compatibility
The CMS platform that you choose must be device compatible. That is, it should be able to adapt to the website of any device and must work the same in all OS environments. This can be done by optimizing and altering the viewing experience depending on the constraints of the device and screen size.
5) Predesigned templates
CMS platforms must offer a predefined set of templates that enables the user to quickly customize the appearance of the website. These templates are cross-platform compatible. This also ensures that the website still looks good and functions the same. Using these templates not only ensure that the deployment of the website is easier, but also ensure that there’s no coding required to use these templates.
There are so many CMS providers in the market today. Out of which some of the best CMS providers are mentioned below.
Best CMS Providers In The Market
1) CMS Hub
CMS Hub by HubSpot enables users to build secure and powerful websites that are optimized for search engines. Users can create personalized content based on data, create templates, redesign websites, launch and view performance analytics of the website using CMS Hub. This platform is very flexible. Hence it is used by developers, marketers and IT professionals. CMS Hub offers their services under two categories namely professional and enterprise.
Pricing: The pricing plan for the professional version starts from $270 per month.
The price of the enterprise version starts at $900 per month.
Expersight Rating: 4.8/5
Website: https://www.hubspot.com/products/cms
2) WordPress
WordPress is a self-hosting platform that powers millions of websites across the globe. WordPress offers various plugins and themes to customize a website. WordPress helps in creating blogs, portfolios, e-commerce websites, etc…
Pricing:
The pricing for a personal plan starts at $160 per month.
The pricing plan for the premium version starts at $280 per month.
The pricing plans for business and e-commerce starts at $640/month and $1152/month respectively.
Expersight Rating: 4.6/5
Website: https://wordpress.com/
3) Magento
Magento offers a self-hosted version called the Magento Opensource. It is highly secure and flexible. With Magento, you can manage multiple stores. It supports multiple languages and currency methods.
Pricing: The commerce pricing for Magento starts at $1988 per month. Magento also offers free-trials.
Website: https://magento.com/
4) Webflow
Webflow offers a visual content management system to create and customize security. Webflow provides security and increases the functionality of your website. Although, to completely extract the advantages of Webflow, a little bit of knowledge in HTML and CSS is required.
Pricing:
The pricing for the starter pack ranges from $12 per month.
The pricing for the business version starts at $36 per month.
Rating: 4.3/5
Website: https://webflow.com/
5) Ghost
Ghost is a simple and lightweight CMS that is completely dedicated to hosting. With Ghost, you can create, manage and deliver content using Node.js to any platform or channel.
Pricing:
The basic pricing plan starts at $10 per month.
The advanced version starts at $30 per month.
The pricing plans for the team and business versions range from $100 per month and $250 per month respectively.
Expersight Rating: 4/5
Website: https://ghost.org/
6) Sitecore
Sitecore is an enterprise-level CMS platform that enables the creation and delivery of personalized websites, emails and social media posts. It offers drag and drop functionalities and multi-lingual tools that can be used to customize your website based on the needs of your users. Sitecore powers millions of websites that are used for travel, banking, sports and more.
Pricing: The starting price for implementing Sitecore starts from $65,000 per year and additional licensing costs around $10,000 each year.
Expersight Rating: 4.7/5
Website: https://www.sitecore.com/
7) Joomla
Joomla, an open-source CMS platform has built-in multi-lingual tools and advanced content management systems that is suitable for membership, community and social networking websites.
Pricing: Joomla does not offer any free versions. The starter pack costs around $199 per year.
Rating: 4.1/5
Website: https://www.joomla.org/
With the right CMS platform, building a website and promoting it will become much easier. Before selecting the CMS platform, purchase a web hosting service and a domain name. Then install the CMS platform that is best suited for your business, decide how your website should look and function. Finally, start building the website and put in the contents using the CMS’s interface. CMS platforms greatly reduce the cost invested in hiring engineers, designers and people to maintain and secure your website. Instead, these amounts can be invested in making your website reachable to a lot of customers by promoting it.
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