What Are the Best CMS Platforms for Small Businesses

What Are the Best CMS Platforms for Small Businesses


Feb 2, 2022
by jessicadunbar

As a communications manager, you understand the importance of effectively managing and distributing information to your audience. One way to streamline this process is by using a Content Management System (CMS). 

Choosing a CMS platform is not an easy task. There are many different options, which means you need to take into consideration everything from the features of each platform to how difficult it will be for your small business to manage and customize it once it's up and running. That being said, we've put together a list of some of my favorite platforms for small businesses:

Concrete CMS

Concrete is an open-source CMS that is designed for users with a minimal technical background. It offers drag-and-drop content blocks that make it easy to manage and customize content. Its user management system is also secure, making it an ideal CMS for websites with multiple developers. This platform is perfect for building complex websites for small to large businesses with complex security needs.

Multilingual

One of the key features of Concrete CMS is its multilingual support. It supports the most popular languages, making creating and managing multilingual and web translations easy

Concrete CMS is created to support international teams. The CMS itself can be fully translated and has been into dozens of languages.

Security

Concrete CMS is built with security in mind. It has built-in CMS security features such as ISO:27001 and SOC 2 compliance, which meets many organizations' standards. The U.S. Army also uses Concrete CMS, which gives you an idea of the level of security it provides. and built-in security features like login history, SSL, content approval, audit trail, captcha, and email verification.

Concrete takes security seriously and has a CISO and team dedicated to overseeing security.

Pros & Cons

Another great feature of Concrete CMS is its built-in SEO tools, such as the ability to create sitemaps and meta descriptions. It also has a user-friendly interface through a comfortable style editor. It does have an autosave feature, which can be convenient for some users. 

Concrete CMS also provides effective marketing tools such as the ability to insert social media profiles, responsive design.

Overall, Concrete CMS is a powerful and secure CMS that is easy to use and perfect for building complex websites for small to large businesses. If you're looking to improve your content management processes, I highly recommend giving Concrete CMS a try.

Price

Concrete CMS is free to use, but the company does provide hosting options. There are two types of hosting plans available: Managed Hosting and Self Service Hosting, which begin at $2.78 per month.

Drupal

Drupal is a widely-used open-source Content Management System (CMS) that is free to use. It's used by many websites around the world, including The New York Times, PayPal, and Wikipedia.

Drupal has a large community of developers and users who can help answer questions or provide new ideas. However, this also means that Drupal may require more time and effort to set up and maintain compared to other CMSs. 

Multilingual

Drupal does not support multilingual out-of-the-box, but you can make it multilingual-compatible. The functionality that you need to build a multilingual site is provided by 4 modules in Drupal core, rather than a suite of many contributed modules. To enable these modules, you'll need to go to the "Extend" administration page.

Pros and Cons

You can be certified in Drupal with Acquia certification, which is the company that provides services and support for Drupal. Some of the notable features of Drupal include performance and scaling, accessibility, marketing automation, personalization, content as a service, and multilingual support.

It offers built-in features like custom menus, but you can also add your own if the default setup doesn't meet your needs. It's easy to customize the interface with themes, but this may require a certain level of technical expertise.

In Drupal, you can extend the CMS features with modules (plugins) such as Admin Toolbar Module, Google Analytics, and Webform Module. Drupal also offers 3000+ themes, which can be contributed by other users or created by yourself with the help of official theme documentation.

Price

Drupal is free because it is open-source and under GPL. This can be a great option for those who are concerned about the CMS development budget. Drupal is also known for its security, as it is resilient against critical internet vulnerabilities and has the advantage of ongoing input from developers worldwide.

Hubspot

HubSpot CMS is a powerful content management system that is designed to help small businesses easily create, edit, and publish content for their website. 

Multilingual

One of the key features of HubSpot CMS is its support for multiple languages, allowing you to easily switch between languages on your website. 

Security 

In terms of security, HubSpot CMS is hosted on Amazon AWS with AES-256 encryption for data security. They also offer certifications for those who complete their training course.

While HubSpot CMS has many benefits, it does have some drawbacks. The platform is not free, and there is no direct technical support available. Additionally, it may not be the best option for e-commerce websites.

Pros and Cons

Some of the notable features of HubSpot CMS include a design manager tool, smart content functionality, and integrated SEO suggestions. The platform also offers a variety of pre-designed website themes and a large collection of apps and plugins to extend its capabilities.

With features like built-in analytics, a drag-and-drop editor, and the ability to integrate with email marketing tools, it is a great option for those looking to streamline their content management process.

Price

The platform also includes a variety of pricing options, starting at $23/month, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes.

Joomla!

Joomla! is an open-source content management system that was designed to be easy to use, install, and customize. It has been around since 2002 and has become one of the most popular CMS platforms in the world. Joomla! is a great option for small businesses because it is intuitive and flexible enough to meet their needs without being too complicated or expensive. Users can choose from dozens of templates specifically designed for small businesses, making it easy to find a design that looks good and fits their needs.

Multilingual

Joomla! also offers multilingual support, allowing users to create websites in multiple languages, which can help to reach a larger audience. Setting up a multilingual site is easy, as users can simply select the language packs they need. Additionally, Joomla! Offers support for RTL (right to left) languages, making it an ideal choice for websites that cater to global audiences.

Security

Joomla! takes security seriously and has a team dedicated to overseeing security issues and implementing specific procedures when dealing with them. Additionally, Joomla! Offers a certification program for professionals to establish a standard and promote a qualified workforce.

Pro & Cons

Some benefits of Joomla! Include the flexibility and options it provides, as well as the community support that comes with being open-source. Users can easily edit text without needing to touch code. Additionally, Joomla! can be used to build an e-commerce store with the help of extensions. 

However, some drawbacks include the fact that it can be difficult to navigate, and users may need to hire a developer for help. Additionally, compatibility issues may arise when using multiple modules and extensions, and there are not as many options for extensions compared to other CMS platforms.

Price

Joomla! is free to use, but users will need to pay for web hosting and a domain name that supports Joomla! Some notable features include media management, user management, and built-in commenting capabilities.

WordPress

WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) that is widely used and popular among businesses of all sizes. 

Multilingual

Multilingual support is not built-in to WordPress, but there are plugins available that can help users create a multilingual website.

Security

WordPress takes security vulnerabilities seriously and has a dedicated security team that oversees the project's security issues and follows specific procedures when dealing with these issues. There is a lot more exploits because of it's popularity in Wordpress, making it more expensive and time consuming to maintain because of it's popularity.

Pros & Cons

WordPress certification is a great way to demonstrate proficiency in the platform and can be beneficial for web developers and designers. There are a variety of certification programs available, such as the Make a Pro Website course and the WordPress Training Course.

Notable features of WordPress include media management, user management, and built-in comments. Popular plugins include WP Forms, Ninja Forms, and Contact Forms 7 for contact forms, All in One WP Migration for backups, and WhatsApp, and Tawk, and Messenger for a chat. Popular themes include Twenty Twenty-Three, Hello Elementor, and OceanWP.

It is easy to use and offers a wide range of features that make it suitable for a variety of uses. WordPress comes preloaded with thousands of themes, which means that there are plenty of options available at no cost or by subscription. However, customizing and scaling a WordPress site can require more time, money, and resources.

That's why I've chosen to create my own WordPress clone. Another advantage of adopting MERN stack app development for your next project is the use of the same programming language (JavaScript) in both the backend and the front end.

Pros of using WordPress include the freedom and flexibility to develop any type of website, the ability to generate money through the website, and the availability of a wide

Price 

The cost of using WordPress includes the cost for a domain name, which can range from $9 to $15 per year, and a hosting account, which can cost around $7.99 per month.

Author

Bhagavati is a technical content writer currently working at Groovyweb. co, writing about SaaS, marketing, web development, and cloud solutions. When not writing, you can find him with his adorable dog or with his friends.

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