A content management system (CMS) makes it easy to build a slick website and publish content online without needing an in-depth knowledge of programming. Internet pages are made from HTML, JavaScript, and CSS programming languages and without a CMS you’d need a good knowledge of these to build a website from scratch. Luckily, there are some fantastic CMS platforms which provide easy to use, great looking templates which are perfect for publishing web content regardless of your level of IT skills.
WordPress
There’s a reason why over a third of the internet uses WordPress. One of the consistently most popular content management systems it’s used by over 60 million people all over the world. Its popularity is due to the fact that it’s easy for beginners to use with a range of tools to create, edit, manage, and publish content on the web. Another reason for its continued popularity is the wide choice of pre-designed templates and the fact that it’s SEO-friendly meaning that your website won’t get buried in search rankings. It’s free which makes it a great choice if you’re just starting out and is ideal for blogs. There are thousands of plugins available to add customized functionality to your website and it can grow and develop as you use it as it can be customized fairly easily with some simple coding.
Wix
If you’re a beginner and want an easy and quick way of getting your website up and running Wix is a CMS to consider for beginners. You don’t need any design or coding skills and you can design, edit and publish a website in minutes. Its drag-and-drop site builder means that it’s easy to build a bespoke website which reflects your brand. It’s perfect for creating a professional looking blog, running an ecommerce site, or really for publishing any type of content. Like WordPress, there is a free version you can play around with, but you will need to upgrade to a paid plan to remove the Wix branding and use all the added functionality.
Squarespace
Another great option for beginners, Squarespace allows users to build a website without any coding. It’s a popular choice for those in creative industries due to its range of visually appealing designs making it a perfect platform for photographers, musicians, graphic designers, artists or anyone with a creative portfolio. It also works well for restaurants, online stores and professional services and has options for online selling capabilities.
Joomla
Similar to WordPress, Joomla is a free platform which is great for customizing your content. Not one for beginners however, it does need some technical know-how to get the best from it. One of the reasons why it’s popular is that it has tools for managing users, which makes it a good choice for membership-type sites. Unlike many CMS’s you can also use different themes and templates on the same site for different pages and types of content. The site is open source and free and there is also multilingual support available, so you know you’ll be supported throughout whatever your language.
Shopfiy
One of the most popular CMS’s for ecommerce sites Shopify is a website builder and content management system with built-in payment processing for selling online all on one. Perfect for start-ups, Shopify is straight-forward for anyone to use and doesn’t require any coding or web development skills. As long as you have some basic digital skills, you’ll be able to build and manage your ecommerce store with Shopify in no time. There are also options to sell on social media, via online marketplaces and to process in-person sales.
Drupal
If security is important to you then Drupal may be the CMS for you. It’s a free and open-source CMS but with a range of added security measures such as database encryption, user access control, DoS attack prevention, automatic updates and core validation, GitHub partnership, information sharing security reports, and prevention of malicious data entry. Similar in style to WordPress and Joomla you will be able to create, edit and manage content. It has high levels of control over users and permissions and is often used developers, marketers, and agencies. However, this isn’t a site for beginners, so you’ll need some knowledge of coding and development to use all the functionality.
