TOP-5 CMS and their features
When it comes to choosing a content management system (CMS) for project development, the proposed choice is very huge. Depending on how advanced CMS you need, what its built-in language should be and who will use it, choosing the perfect CMS can turn into difficult process.
First of all let’s determine what CMS means. So, CMS is a system of content and site settings management that allows manage the structure, text and graphic content of the site, configure settings for the entire site or its individual blocks or modules. Usually CMS is used for creation of blogs, web shops or personal pages. As each CMS has individual characteristics, we prepared a short overview of TOP 5.
Today, this site management system is the most popular. Initially, it was designed to create blogs. But as practice shows, using WordPress you can create corporate websites, including online stores. WordPress has the widest set of plug-ins, themes, widgets for galleries, forums, multi language, various catalogues and so on.
Also WordPress is quite a powerful tool for developers and designers who create sites for clients.
This CMS can be the best option if you need an easily administered website. Usage of this system provides a wide, but at the same time simple functionality.
Joomla is also one of the most popular CMS. It is mainly used for creating simple sites and enterprise applications. In addition, Joomla is quite resistant to hacking and attacks. It has convenient admin panel with a wide range of functions: templates, styles, menu management and so on. It has very attractive interface.
Despite all the universality, Joomla has more paid plugins, so be ready to pay for them. Additionally, Joomla creates a lot of duplicate pages, which is not very good for promotion.
In conclusion Joomla is the best solution if you are looking for a CMS with advanced features. It provides more flexible web site structure than WordPress.
Magento has gained the status of one of the most popular content management systems for online stores in the world. It has an open source code, written in PHP (and specifically uses the Zend Framework), and uses MySQL as the database. Magento CMS has an adaptive web design, which means that the online store on this platform is convenient to view on any device.
The main strength is the abundance of built-in functions: it's about currency, languages, discounts and coupons, reports and much more. In addition to the built-in functionality, Magento CMS has many modules (or extensions) and various templates.
It is possible to create several online stores at once, and then manage them from a common administrative panel, which is certainly very convenient.
OpenCart is a free multifunctional platform which is used for an online store with open source code, it greatly simplifies the development of a personal web store. It was written in Perl in 1998 and gained a worldwide popularity.
OpenCart works on the basis of PHP + MySQL.
Using OpenCart as the basis for an online store, you can create discounts, coupons, promotions, divide users into groups, use different characteristics and options to an online store of your dream. OpenCart has many order statuses, and if needed, you can add some of your own. OpenCart protects the transactions of customers, and also has additional tools that will help protect your site from online fraud, hacking or loss of information. Additionally there is an ability to create reports and view statistics.
As for the disadvantages, there is a problem with page duplication, difficulties with creating a contact form, basic functionality not so rich as Magento has.
Using Drupal, you can create the most complex sites, while you can edit both the site itself and the design. This CMS is written in PHP and requires a MySQL database. Drupal works great with various web servers, such as Microsoft SQL Server, Apache, SQLite, MySQL and MariaDB. In addition, it supports various software, such as Flash, Flex, Ajax, Java, PHP, etc.
Drupal is suitable for creating as simple as complex websites. The main advantages of Drupal includes: compatibility with cross-platforms; many free themes and templates; easy site administartion; ability to create multilingual websites; a good set of different plugins.
Usually, Drupal is used for blogs, forums, corporate websites and all kinds of communities and online stores.
To choose the right CMS, you should take into account such important points as: the purpose of the site, its scope, support, resistance to hackers, the convenience of the administrative panel, the flexibility of settings. Given all this, choosing the management system will be easier.