Best CMS Platforms in 2024 [WordPress vs Joomla vs Drupal vs Squarespace vs Wix vs Medium]

Selecting a perfect CMS platform in 2024 is really a challenge. Lots of platforms are waiting out there- how will you decide about the best one?

CMS refers to a Content Management System that lets you manage your online resources and publishing.

Back a few years ago, we had to struggle to find a CMS platform for blogging, doing business, or other purposes. But the scenario is totally different now. You can see close competition among popular CMS platforms and that's almost like a war!

So, how would you choose the best CMS platform to start your content marketing? Which criteria would help you meet your needs ?…Don't worry, we're here to help you.

In this article, we have covered everything you need to know about the best CMS Platforms– definition, a short introduction, features, pricing, top platforms for 2023, detailed comparison, and more.

Let's get started.

What is a Content Management System: Things to Look for in a CMS Platform

The number of total websites is increasing rapidly. Around 2 billion websites are live now. Thanks to CMS (Content Management System) for making it possible to start and manage a website with ease. So, what are the cms platforms?

A CMS is a software that allows users without programming knowledge to create, edit, and publish web content, such as text or multimedia elements, collectively via a graphical user interface.

– Digital Guide

To perfectly manage your content marketing, you need to decide about your content strategy and set up the goal. There are basically 4 types of content management solutions in the market.

1. Web content management solution
2. Blog or news publishing solution
3. Social publishing solution
4. eCommerce store or marketplace

When you're going to build your own site, you should consider certain facts. This will help you perfectly design and customize your site.

1. Web Content Management

If you're going to start a classic content publishing site rather than blogging, news publishing, or social networking; you would need to have the capability of multiple editors' access to the backend, the optimized process of multimedia content publishing, user role management, full-text search option, multilingual support, etc.

The requirements of a classic web content management site are quite larger than a blogging or community publishing site.

2. Blog or News Publishing

If you want to build a blog or news publishing site, find a solution that offers easy content preparation templates, a simple way to engage with readers and content categorization, the ability to allow and manage guest posting, link building, and a powerful social sharing option, etc.

3. Social Publishing or Community Building

Social networking site requires much more functionality than a blogging site. On a social networking site, you need to deal with a community that is active, live, and not passive by any means. So, with your own content, you have to manage your users' content too. It's called user-generated content.

So the performance, speed, and flexibility of your social networking site need to be better and stronger.

4. eCommerce Store or Multivendor Marketplace

eCommerce is the most complex type regarding all other sites. With all the features that a regular blog, news, or social site requires; you should have additional features like payment, delivery, shipping, and more.

So, to build your own eCommerce store or multivendor marketplace you need to choose a versatile CMS that can fulfill all your needs and requirements.

Now, let's summarize the all above points regarding each type of website-

What to Look for in a CMS?

In general, you should look for 11 features when you choose a CMS to build your website.

1. Core functionality like user-friendly interface, speed, user roles
2. Customization ability with multiple themes
3. Versatile UX and designing
4. Data portability to easily manage, import, or export data
5. Easy content management applications
6. Easy search option and User interaction
7. Modules, plugins, and add-ons
8. Pricing and management cost
9. Multiple site support
10. Multilingual support
11. User guides and support, etc

6 Best CMS Platforms to Build Your Personal Blog or Business Site

In the software industry, things are changing every day. So preparing a CMS platforms comparison post regarding the best ones isn’t an easy task. We made this list considering the number of active installations, live sites, cost, ease of use, functionality, performance, SEO, security, support, etc.

Hope this CMS comparison will help you narrow down your options and choose the best one. Check our list-

1. WordPress
2. Joomla
3. Drupal
4. Squarespace
5. Wix
6. Medium

Now, let's dive into the details.

1. WordPress- Best Open Source CMS for All Purposes

WordPress started its journey in 2003 as a simple blogging platform. It became so popular both to users and developers for its easy and user-friendly interface within a short period of time. WordPress sets itself as a fully functional CMS platform in just the next few years and now it powers over 43% of the web.

Powerful Features of WordPress

• Customizable design
• Easy and user-friendly interface
• Responsive mobile support
• SEO friendliness
• High security
• Powerful media management
• Multilingual support

WordPress Usage Statistics

• Market share: 63.4% of CMS and 43% of all web
• The number of live sites: 38,539,556+
• The number of sites in the top one million: 87,481
• Popular sites built with WordPress: Forbes, BBC America, Facebook, Bata, etc.

Issues You May Face with WordPress

• Frequent security updates are really a significant matter with WordPress
• Sometimes plugins have security issues
• Some of the themes contain unnecessary generic code
• Limited durability with high-traffic

Verdict: Small-medium or big, WordPress is the perfect solution for all. In this tight competitive era, when other platforms are struggling with their places; WordPress is the single winner in almost every aspect. Not us, data is telling this. All the recent states are witnesses to this statement.

So, you can keep it (choosing WordPress) in your mind when going to start your online journey.

2. Joomla- Best CMS Platform for Developers

Joomla is one of the award-winning CMS platforms that help you easily create websites and powerful online applications. The first version of Joomla was released in 2005 and got its name and popularity within a very short period of time. After WordPress, Joomla is the biggest platform for others.

Joomla has a dedicated community just like WordPress, with plugins, and templates to color your site as you want.

Powerful Features of Joomla

• Unlimited design
• Flexible and extensible
• SEO-friendly
• Mobile support
• Multiple language support

Joomla Usage Statistics

• Market share: 5.4% of CMS and 3.0 of all web
• The number of live sites: 1,343,820
• The number of sites in the top one million: 18,793
• Most popular sites built with Joomla: Harvard University, Linux, etc.

Issues You May Face with Joomla

• Slightly Complex regarding WordPress
• Premium extensions are pricey
• Small Module Marketplace
• Extensions often require manual implementation

Verdict: If you are sure you'll need extra features on your website, Joomla may not be the best CMS choice. The Joomla community offers lots of modules, but they are hard to get and sometimes harder to manage.

But for developers or people who have the technical knowledge, Joomla could be the best CMS solution for others.

You can read a part-by-part comparison of Joomla vs WordPress to get a clear picture.

3. Drupal- Top Enterprise CMS Platform

Drupal was first developed as a student community solution but is now available as a fully customized open-source CMS. It's flexible and highly scalable. The software comes with a far wider range of features out of the box than other alternatives. Drupal offers an extremely easy basic installation.

Powerful Features of Drupal

• Very flexible, user-friendly interface
• Useful for producing highly advanced sites
• It has more than 36,000 modules
• Good choice for community platform sites

Drupal Usage Statistics

• Market share: 3.5% of CMS and 1.9 of all web
• The number of live sites: 583,328
• The number of sites in the top one million: 30,341
• Most popular sites built with Drupal: EntertainmentWeekly, Box, etc.

Issues You May Face with Drupal

• Complex configuration for normal users
• Basic installation requires lots of extra installations
• Module installation only possible via FTP

Verdict: Drupal focuses on social publishing, especially for small and medium-sized community plans.

4. Squarespace- Best SaaS CMS for Entrepreneurs

Squarespace CMS platform is an all-in-one solution for creating beautiful websites. It was launched in 2004 as a basic drag-and-drop website builder. Today Squarespace has over 1 million users, providing its durability and care for customer satisfaction. One of Squarespace’s unique strengths is its exceptional analytics.

You have the opportunity to collect actual data just from the moment you start.

Powerful Features of Squarespace

• Great-looking templates
• Best quality features
• Full customization control

Squarespace Usage Statistics

• Market share: 2.7% of CMS and 1.5 of all web
• The number of live sites: 2,983,826
• The number of sites in the top one million: 11,036
• Most popular sites built with Squarespace: Lumio, Fotio, BigHuman etc.

Issues You May Face with Squarespace

• Expensive pricing plans
• Not so beginner-friendly
• Processes are lengthy

Verdict: Squarespace is great for photographers, artists, designers, and any individual who prefers the design for their content.

Check a detailed comparison between Squarespace vs WordPress for eCommerce.

5. Wix- Best CMS for Small Businesses

It's another big player in the CMS market. Wix shines with its combination of user-friendly publishing. If you have coding expertise, Wix could be a better alternative for you. Wix is also known for its outstanding support and quick maintenance.

Powerful Features of Wix

• Easy, intuitive drag-and-drop builder solution
• A bundled solution to get a site up quickly
• Full functional backend and overall design
• A perfect selection of modern themes
• Amazing Speed & Security

Wix Usage Statistics

• Market share: 1.8% of CMS and 1.0 of all web
• The number of live sites: 8,251,201
• The number of sites in the top one million: 3,389
• Most popular sites: GoodFeelingGood, Vintique, etc.

Issues You May Face with Wix

• Long-Term Pricing
• Complexity in Editing & Design
• Limited and false apps collection
• Weakness in SEO support

Verdict: Wix promises 100% convenience with built-in solutions for DIY (Do it yourself) website owners and they’re trying to keep the promise. So, you can consider using Wix for especially your startup projects.

6. Medium- Best Free CMS for Blogging and News Sharing

Medium is famous as a blogging and content-sharing platform. If you want to create a blog or news publishing site, Medium could be one of the best CMS solutions. Not only that, Medium was selected as the top 3rd blogging platform in a survey of the Slant community.

Powerful Features of Medium

• Reader-friendly interface
• Minimalist pages
• Easy setup and easier publishing process
• Stats on views, complete reads, shares, etc.

Medium Usage Statistics

• Total site: 31,833 
• The number of live sites: 20,201
• The number of sites in the top one million: 1,398
• Most popular sites: Reverb, Dollarshaveclub, etc.

Issues You May Face with Medium

• Limited editing with WYSIWYG
• Poor commenting system
• The user interface isn't so good according to some experts

Verdict: Medium is perfect for bloggers who just started their journey and for those who want to increase the site’s traffic or personal branding. Is Medium better than WordPress too?… Check our in-depth comparison post on WordPress vs Medium.

A Quick Comparison of WordPress vs Joomla vs Drupal vs Squarespace vs Wix vs Medium

Now, take a close look at this short CMS comparison infographic. This will surely help you make a decision with ease.

Now, it's your turn to move on with analyzing and making a final drive!

Cloud vs Open Source CMS Platforms (Commercial vs Free Software)

Most of the CMS websites today are available on open source. You may listen to some different solutions like cloud or SaaS. SaaS or software as a service is just a special form of cloud service. So, there are two different solutions in the market- cloud and open source.

The basic difference between cloud and open-source services is their licensing. Open source comes from such a license with which you can change, customize, and improve just as you want. You're free to do almost anything with this free solution.

On the other hand, in cloud services with proprietary software, the CMS is developed by a particular firm and shared as a commercial project. The source code is not available to users. So that the users can’t make changes on their own. Moreover, third-party applications aren't allowed in cloud services.

The solution offered by the open-source providers is more attractive to the entrepreneurs from the viewpoint of budget, freedom, flexibility, a built-up community, and so on. That's why open source-based CMSs are the unbeatable king in today's market.

Wrapping Up on Best CMS Platforms 2024

CMS made it easy to build a website and manage your content. But you need to find the best CMS platform for your content's structure. In this post, we covered almost all the necessary fields of the top 6 CMS platforms that you should know.

Take a close look, and consider your present capability and future needs. You will surely find yourself in a winning position at the end of the day.

What do you think- is our selection perfect? Compare CMS platforms and share your opinion including which CMS platform you’re using now or going to start with!