Today’s world is digital and building a website is no longer a standalone activity. Some of the most popular CMS tools (Content Management Systems) are here to aid what looks like an overwhelming task.

These most popular CMS tools are user-friendly and allow users to create, manage, and update their online presence (through a website) without needing to write a single line of coding or programming. From writing simple blogs to designing complex e-commerce stores, there’s a CMS tool out there to fit your needs.

Here are the Most Popular CMS Tools

WordPress

WordPress is the most widely used tool across the world. With its user-friendly interface and large community support, WordPress is a powerful and versatile platform for building all sorts of websites.

The top 3 unique features of WordPress are – 

1. Plugin Ecosystem: 

WordPress comes with a vast and ever-growing library of plugins. There are a lot of mini-applications that can be added to a website to extend its functionality in almost any way possible. Whether it’s a contact form or an online store, there’s a plugin available for everything. This makes WordPress incredibly flexible, adaptable, and customizable to a wide range of website needs, without requiring complex coding.

2. Open-Source Nature:  

WordPress is an open-source software system. In open-source architecture the source code is freely available for anyone to modify. Due to this a large and active developer community is involved in constantly creating new themes, plugins, and security updates. It also gives users a great deal of control and customization over their website, something not all platforms offer.. It also gives users a great deal of control and customization over their website, something not all platforms offer.

3. Theme System:

This platform allows you to change the look and feel of your website with themes effortlessly. Themes are pre-designed layouts that control the overall design and presentation of your web content. A wide range of free and paid themes available, catering to a wide range of styles and purposes.

Shopify

While other e-commerce platforms offer similar features, the depth and integration of these functionalities make them particularly unique to Shopify.

Here are 3 of Shopify’s most unique features:

Shopify App Store:

Just like WordPress plugins, Shopify offers a app store. These apps integrate seamlessly with your store, allowing you to extend functionality in various ways. You can find apps for abandoned cart recovery, email marketing, social media integration, dropshipping, and much more. This app store makes Shopify highly customizable and adaptable to specific business needs.

Shopify POS:

Shopify Point of Sale (POS) goes beyond just being an e-commerce platform. It offers a retail solution that allows you to manage in-person sales alongside your online store. Shopify POS integrates seamlessly with your online store. This functionality allows you to manage inventory, track sales data, and offer an omnichannel shopping experience for your customers.

Shopify Shipping:

Shopify Shipping offers a unique advantage by integrating directly with major shipping carriers. This allows you to generate shipping labels, calculate rates in real-time, and even offer competitive shipping options to your customers directly at checkout. This can streamline your fulfillment process and potentially reduce shipping costs.

Wix

Wix’s core strength is making website creation accessible and user-friendly, while also offering options for customization and advanced functionality.

Here are 3 of Wix’s most unique features:

Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence):

This feature sets Wix apart from most website builders. ADI uses artificial intelligence to ask you a series of questions about your website’s needs and preferences. Based on your answers, it automatically generates a customized website layout and design. This is a great option for beginners or those who don’t have design experience, as it allows them to get a professional-looking website up and running quickly.

Drag-and-Drop Editing with Advanced Features: 

Wix’s drag-and-drop editor is intuitive and user-friendly, allowing anyone to easily add, edit, and move elements on their website. What makes it unique is the level of customization it offers within the drag-and-drop interface. You can access advanced design features like animations, custom fonts, and mobile-specific editing, giving you more control over the look and feel of your site compared to many drag-and-drop builders.

Corvid by Wix:

Corvid by Wix is a powerful development platform built within Wix. It allows experienced users and developers to code custom functionalities and applications directly into their Wix websites. This is a unique feature that bridges the gap between simple website builders and more complex content management systems. With Corvid, you can extend the functionality of your Wix site significantly, even adding features not natively available on the platform.

Drupal

Drupal is a powerful and versatile CMS, particularly for complex websites and those requiring a high degree of customization, scalability, and security.

The 3 of most unique features of Drupal:

Unmatched Scalability and Performance

Drupal manages complicated websites and webpages with huge amounts of content and traffic. Its architecture allows for both vertical scaling (adding more resources to a single server) and horizontal scaling (distributing content across multiple servers). Additionally, Drupal’s robust caching system ensures exceptional performance even for highly dynamic websites. This makes it a great choice for large organizations, enterprise websites, and high-traffic publications.

Highly Customizable Content Types: 

Unlike many CMS that offer predefined content types (e.g., blog posts, pages), Drupal allows you to create custom content types with specific fields and functionalities tailored to your exact needs. This flexibility lets you build a website that perfectly reflects the unique structure and content requirements of your project. For instance, you could create custom content types for products in an online store, events in a calendar, or scientific research articles.

Robust Security Focus: 

Drupal is trusted for its rigorous security features and commitment to ongoing updates. The modules and software systems are monitored on a periodic basis and patches are released to address vulnerabilities. Drupal’s user permission system allows for granular control over user access and protects against common security threats. The focus on security makes Drupal a trusted platform for government websites, financial institutions, and other organizations with sensitive data.

Bigcommerce

These features make BigCommerce a powerful platform for businesses seeking a high degree of customization, wanting to leverage headless commerce for a unique customer experience, or heavily involved in B2B sales. 

Here are 3 of BigCommerce’s most unique features. 

Headless Commerce with Stencil: 

BigCommerce has a headless commerce approach. Headless commerce separates the front-end presentation layer (what the customer sees) from the back-end commerce functionalities (shopping cart, product management, etc.). 

BigCommerce’s Stencil framework simplifies headless commerce by providing pre-built APIs and developer tools specifically designed to work with BigCommerce. This makes it easier for developers to create unique and engaging shopping experiences without starting from scratch. 

Built-in B2B Features: 

While many e-commerce platforms cater primarily to B2C (business-to-consumer) sales, BigCommerce offers a robust set of features specifically designed for B2B (business-to-business) transactions. This includes functionalities like customer groups and pricing lists, allowing you to manage different tiers of wholesale customers with specific pricing structures. You can also offer features like quote requests, purchase order approvals, and shared shopping lists, streamlining the B2B buying process. 

Open SaaS Platform: 

Unlike some closed SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms, BigCommerce offers an open architecture with a well-documented API. This allows developers to extend the platform’s functionality significantly through custom integrations and app development. This openness empowers businesses to tailor BigCommerce to their specific needs and integrate it seamlessly with existing business systems. 

Conclusion

The future of CMS is exciting! These are just a few the most popular CMS tools. Whether you’re a beginner seeking a user-friendly website builder or a developer requiring a powerful and scalable CMS, there’s a tool out there to fit your project.  As technology advances, we can expect even more innovation in areas like headless commerce, security, and AI-powered content management. With so many powerful tools available, there’s sure to be a perfect fit to help you build and manage your website in 2024. 

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