There are a lot of options for content management systems on the market, and it can be tough to decide which one is right for you. In this article, we go over some of the key features to look for in a CMS, and also provide a list of some of the best CMS providers in 2021.
7 Key Must-Have Features to Look for in Content Management System (CMS) Software
The popularity of content management software (CMS) is on the rise, as is the number of buyers. With more people working remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, there is an increased demand for cloud-based CMS options. According to a 2020 Forrester report, the CMS market is expected to grow from $62 billion to $116 billion by 2025.
Here are some of the key features a CMS should have in 2021:
1. Feature-rich content formatting tools
The most important thing that writers and publishers need are the correct formatting tools to make their content look the way they want it to. This might involve having a ‘table of contents’ section for long articles, being able to change the spacing between lines (like having 1 space between sentences), choosing the right indentations, and being able to add tables and charts.
Your customer and user experience (UX) teams may have a set theme for content displayed on the website that matches the overall design and customer experience goals. The content management system (CMS) needs to be format-rich and customizable enough to incorporate these brand requirements to affect the overall user and customer experience, even beyond reading a content piece.
2. Multilingual page support
If your business serves users from different linguistic backgrounds, then a multilingual website will be key to expanding your customer base.
The CMS software can automatically show different language versions of the same page to users in different locations, based on their IP addresses. You can also give users the option to choose other languages on your website, especially if it is a multilingual mixed market (with different languages in the same location).
This greatly reduces the need for coders and expands the reach of your hosted content. By expanding the reach of your hosted content, you potentially expand your business across languages and geographies. This is a necessity for global companies or companies with global ambitions.
A content management system (CMS) is a software that helps people create, manage, and modify content on a website. A CMS typically has two main components: a content management interface (CMI) and a content delivery application (CDA). The CMI is the front-end interface where users can create, edit, and delete content. The CDA is the back-end application that stores the content and makes it available to the website. A content management system is a software that helps people create, manage, and modify content on a website. A CMS typically has two main components: a content management interface (CMI) and a content delivery application (CDA). The CMI is the front-end interface where users can create, edit, and delete content. The CDA is the back-end application that stores the content and makes it available to the website.
3. The flexibility to host content on-premise or on the cloud
No one can deny that we are living in a world where software is delivered as a service (SaaS). Most of our software licenses are moving to a subscription format, eliminating the need to host services on a physical or private data center near you. However, content management is an area where the option to stay on-premise is important. For example, a bank or a health insurance company might not want to store all its data and data governance systems remotely on the cloud.
A CMS that is on-premises will also allow developers to update the website more quickly, which can be beneficial when traffic is high. This makes the ability to be on-premises or in the cloud one of the most important features for content management systems.
4. Insightful data on content engagement
The best content management systems are good for both marketing and developers. This can happen in two ways:
- The CMS includes a built-in dashboard for analytics – e.g., Site Dashboard on Pantheon.
- You integrate an extension, adding third-party analytics capabilities to your CMS – e.g., this Google Analytics plugin for Joomla.
Open source CMS software like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal are more popular than the former.
If you want to solidify your brand, you should use a content management system. A content management system will help you create, manage, and publish your content. It will also help you keep your content organized and easy to find.
5. Secure plug-in support and troubleshooting resources
It is important that your chosen CMS has a variety of free plug-in options that are checked by the provider for malware and can be easily installed and uninstalled.
Some of these external plug-ins can be based on content themes, adding special page sections or specific back-end actions that may otherwise need a developer to customize.
6. Support and service from a vendor
Any problems with your CMS will cause your website to go offline, which will stop your business from running smoothly. That’s why it’s important to have good support when you’re choosing a CMS for your company.
The advantage of open-source systems is that they are backed by a community of developers who have experienced a wide variety of issues and have found solutions for them. The downside is that these systems don’t always have dedicated experts, like a 24/7 support team or customer success team, that are commonly found in SaaS offerings.
Paid platforms like Contentful come with robust support to solve your CMS issues based on their severity.
Do you want to know what Content-as-a-Service is? Content-as-a-Service is a cloud-based content management system. With a CaaS system, you can manage your content more effectively and connect with your customers more easily. Plus, a CaaS system can help you save money on content management. If you’re interested in learning more about Content-as-a-Service, check out this article. It covers the definition of CaaS, examples of how CaaS can be used, and the top 15 CaaS vendors in 2020.
7. De-index, Redirection, and SEO essentials
There are some web pages that you will want people to only see if they are relevant to the project or campaign. If these pages are indexed by search engines, it can negatively affect your SEO ranking. To fix this, you can add a no-index tag to the page code. This can be done easily using an app in the CMS or a plug-in.
If you need to direct an old content page to a new one, the CRM tool you are using should be able to do this easily- whether it has a built in tool to do this or if it supports external plugins.
This text is saying that a good blog post should have certain sections that are optimized for search engines, such as a meta description, title, and H Tag setting.
WordPress vs. Joomla vs. Drupal vs. HubSpot: Which is the right CMS for you?
Ease of Use
If you are not a web developer or designer, it is important to select a CMS that is easy to use.
We will compare how easy it is to use HubSpot, WordPress, Joomla and Drupal so that you can choose the one that best suits your technical skills.
HubSpot Ease of Use
Since the creation and management of content is central to any CMS, we will start by looking at the website building tools of HubSpot. With HubSpot you can easily create posts and pages by selecting a pre-designed template and then adding modules for images, CTAs and forms by dragging and dropping them.
If you have experience in website development, you can create pages from scratch. As far as CMS platforms go, this is standard functionality.
The main thing that makes HubSpot different from other options is its ability to handle marketing and conversion tasks without needing to leave theHubSpot dashboard. Other features include the ability to capture leads, run A/B tests, and personalize content.
If you hover your mouse over different elements on the page, a tooltip will appear and explain what that element is used for.
WordPress Ease of Use
While Joomla and Drupal are more difficult and aimed at people with experience in web development, WordPress is much easier to use and is designed for people without coding knowledge. WordPress is also much more intuitive, so people of any skill level can easily change the appearance of their site, add blog posts, install plugins, and change permalink settings.
Gutenberg is the new editing interface designed to simplify the process of building pages and posts on your dashboard. With this drag-and-drop content editor, you can use blocks to develop media-rich pages rather than relying on custom code and plugins. Choosing among text, media, layout, and code blocks, you can insert, rearrange, and style multimedia content without touching a single line of code.
Gutenberg’s ease of use for creating content in WordPress comes at the expense of flexibility, which might bother some users who want to be able to create more sophisticated pages.
Joomla Ease of Use
You can change aspects of your website such as articles, banners, menus, media, redirects, SEO settings, and more without having to install additional plugins.
Although it will take more time and effort to understand and set up all the additional options, you will be able to create a more sophisticated website from the start.
org There are more customization options available on Drupal.org for users who want them.
Drupal Ease of Use
The Drupal dashboard provides a clear overview for administrators of the content options, modules, user management and more. However, as users click through each menu tab, the number of options available can be overwhelming. For example, if you click on Configuration, you can see how complicated the interface can become.
Some members of the Drupal community are spearheading an initiative to create a new interface because it is easy to understand why it is better in comparison to WordPress’s and Joomla’s content editors.
Themes, Extensions, and Customization
A good CMS will allow you to create any kind of website you want. The level of customization your CMS offers depends on how many add-ons and themes are available. Below is a comparison of the customization options for the four most popular platforms, based on the number of add-ons and themes they offer.
Please note that HubSpot uses the word “apps” to refer to add-ons, “plugins” to refer to WordPress, “extensions” to refer to Joomla, and “modules” to refer to Drupal.
HubSpot Themes, Extensions, and Customization
If you want your site to have more functions, you can download thousands of pre-made templates and apps from the HubSpot Asset and App Marketplaces.
You can filter the templates by price, category, and purpose to find the one you need. For each template, you can also view a live example and see what other users think of it.
WordPress Themes, Extensions, and Customization
If you want to change the way your website looks, you can choose from over 8,000 different themes that are available for free in the WordPress directory. WordPress has a unique feature that allows you to access these themes directly from your dashboard.
over 11,000 premium themes available in this one marketplace, which far outpaces the number available for Joomla and Drupal. In total, there are approximately
31,000 WordPress themes
available for download or purchase.
Rob McBryde says that while WordPress has a wider selection of plugins and themes, it is not as customizable as Drupal in a Drupal Sun blog post. He compares WordPress to Lego Duplo, which provides kids with preformed shapes to build playhouses, bakeries, and larger structures. This ease of use limits their ability to build more intricate structures, like a playhouse with a spiral staircase.
Joomla Themes, Extensions, and Customization
Joomla has a smaller selection of extensions and themes available for users to download and install on their site. However, the platform’s customization options still range in the thousands, with nearly 6,000 extensions available for download in the official directory. Compared to other site-building platforms, Joomla has a smaller selection of extensions and themes available for users to download and install. However, the platform’s customization options still range in the thousands, with nearly 6,000 extensions available for download in the official directory. While this may seem like a small number compared to other platforms, it’s important to note that Joomla is constantly expanding its library of available extensions and themes.
Joomla also allows for the installation of templates, or themes, to customize the appearance of a site. Unlike the other platforms, Joomla does not have an official theme directory but there are hundreds of free and premium themes available for download.
Drupal Themes, Extensions, and Customization
You can make your Drupal site more personalized and efficient by installing any of the 47,000 modules available. Most of these modules are designed for developers, and offer solutions such as expanding Drupal’s core APIs, setting up extra tokens, and managing users more effectively.
You can customize the appearance of your site by choosing from nearly 3,000 free themes in Drupal’s official theme repository.
You may have noticed that the number of modules and themes available for Drupal is smaller than for WordPress. However, each Drupal module and theme can be configured in detail, so you have complete control over the functionality and appearance of your site. In fact, Drupal offers more customization options than WordPress.
The process for importing modules and themes on Drupal is slightly more complex than on the other two platforms. Users cannot access modules from their dashboard. Instead, they have to leave their site, head over to Drupal.org to find the module or theme they want, and return to their site to install it.
Picking the Right CMS Platform for Your Site
rather than trying to find out which CMS is the “best”, you should carefully consider which one will fit your specific needs better. Depending on your level of technical expertise, how customizable you need it to be, how much security you want, and your budget, any of the platforms could be used to make a successful website for your business.
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