WordPress has long reigned as the go-to content management system (CMS) for websites, powering over 40% of the internet as of 2023. However, in 2024, inconveniences began to manifest themselves, which affect its dominant position in the market. Issues surrounding third-party plugin vulnerabilities, compatibility struggles with the Gutenberg editor, the growing complexity of the platform, and disputes with hosting companies like WP Engine have left some users searching for alternative CMS solutions.
Whether you're a small business owner, a developer, or a content creator, it's essential to explore alternatives to WordPress that might better suit your needs in 2024. In this article, we'll examine several leading content management systems (CMS), each offering unique strengths and weaknesses. These platforms include Joomla, Drupal, ClassicPress, and JavaScript-based CMS options like Ghost and Strapi. By the end, you'll have a clear understanding of what's available and which CMS might be the right fit for your next project.
1. Joomla
Joomla is one of the most stable and most well-established alternatives to WordPress. It has built a reputation as a flexible and robust CMS, offering more advanced features out-of-the-box than WordPress. With an active community and a wealth of extensions, Joomla is a powerful platform for developers and users who need more control over their website's design and functionality.
Pros:
- Flexible and Extendable: Joomla offers more complex and customizable layouts than WordPress without relying heavily on plugins. Its extension library includes modules, components, and plugins, offering extensive functionality.
- Multilingual Support: Unlike WordPress, Joomla natively supports multilingual websites, making it ideal for international projects.
- User Management: Joomla has a more advanced user access control system compared to WordPress, allowing for better management of user permissions and groups.
- More Secure: While no CMS is immune to security vulnerabilities, Joomla has fewer third-party dependencies, reducing the potential for plugin-based exploits.
Cons:
- Fewer Themes and Plugins: Joomla's community is smaller than WordPress's, meaning there are fewer pre-built themes and extensions.
- Support and Documentation Joomla's documentation is extensive, but it can be hard to navigate, especially for beginners. Finding solutions in the community forums is not always as easy or as fast as with WordPress, which has a much larger user base.
- Lower Popularity: Due to its smaller market share compared to WordPress, Joomla has less community support, fewer developers specializing in it, and fewer resources like tutorials or guides. This makes it harder to find freelancers or agencies proficient in Joomla compared to WordPress.
Learn more: Joomla!
2. Drupal
Drupal is the choice of many large enterprises, government websites, and educational institutions. Known for its scalability, power, and security, Drupal is a robust CMS for developers who need to build large and complex websites.
Pros:
- Highly Scalable: Drupal can handle vast amounts of content and traffic, making it suitable for enterprise-level projects.
- Security: Drupal is recognized for its top-tier security features, making it a popular choice for high-security websites, such as government and financial services.
- Custom Content Types: Drupal allows for the creation of highly customized content types and taxonomies, which offer greater flexibility in organizing content.
- Developer-Friendly: Drupal's architecture is extremely flexible, and it has strong APIs for custom development.
Cons:
- Complexity: Drupal's powerful features come with a steep learning curve. It is not ideal for beginners or those who want a simple setup.
- Resource-Intensive: Because of its complexity, Drupal requires more server resources, potentially driving up hosting costs.
- Fewer Themes and Plugins: Similar to Joomla, Drupal's ecosystem is smaller than WordPress, meaning there are fewer pre-built solutions for non-developers.
Learn more: Drupal
3. ClassicPress
ClassicPress is essentially a fork of WordPress that keeps the classic, pre-Gutenberg editing experience. It was born out of frustration with the block-based Gutenberg editor that was introduced in WordPress 5.0, and it remains a good choice for those who prefer the old WordPress interface or want a more lightweight CMS.
Pros:
- Familiar Interface: For WordPress users who disliked the shift to Gutenberg, ClassicPress offers a familiar, classic editing experience.
- Lightweight: ClassicPress strips away many of the newer WordPress features, making it a more lightweight and faster platform for simple sites.
- Easy Transition for WordPress Users: ClassicPress is built on the same codebase as WordPress, making it easy for WordPress users to switch over without learning an entirely new system.
- No Gutenberg Bloat: ClassicPress doesn't include the block editor, so it performs better on sites where this feature is unnecessary.
Cons:
- Smaller Community: With WordPress evolving quickly, ClassicPress remains a niche CMS with a small user base and fewer themes and plugins available.
- Limited Long-Term Potential: The future of ClassicPress is somewhat uncertain, as it does not have the same development resources or ecosystem as WordPress.
- Few Advanced Features: Since ClassicPress is focused on simplicity, it lacks some of the more advanced features and updates that WordPress has introduced.
Learn more: ClassicPress
4. Ghost (JavaScript-Based CMS)
Ghost is a JavaScript-based CMS that has gained popularity in recent years, particularly among bloggers and content creators. Built on Node.js, Ghost is designed for speed and simplicity, making it a powerful alternative for those focused on writing and publishing content.
Pros:
- Blazing Fast: Ghost is built on modern web technologies (Node.js), making it much faster than WordPress. It's optimized for performance and load speed.
- Minimalist and User-Friendly: Ghost is incredibly user-friendly, with a clean and minimalistic interface that's easy to navigate for non-technical users.
- Perfect for Content Creators: Ghost is tailored to content creators, especially bloggers, with a focus on writing, SEO, and clean presentation.
- Modern Tech Stack: Ghost uses a JavaScript-based stack, making it easier for developers who prefer modern frameworks like React or Vue to extend functionality.
Cons:
- Limited Plugin Ecosystem: Ghost doesn't have nearly as many plugins or themes as WordPress, which might make customization more challenging.
- Not as Feature-Rich: Ghost is designed to be simple and fast, but this means it's less versatile than other CMS options like Joomla or Drupal for building complex websites.
- Hosting Requirements: Ghost's Node.js foundation requires specific server environments, which can make hosting more complex or expensive compared to PHP-based platforms like WordPress.
Learn more: Ghost
5. Strapi (Headless CMS)
Strapi is a popular headless CMS that's built with JavaScript and designed to work with modern front-end frameworks like React, Vue, or Angular. It separates the back-end content management from the front-end display, allowing developers to have full control over the user experience.
Pros:
- Highly Customizable: Strapi gives developers total freedom to create their front-end using any technology they like, while Strapi handles the back-end content management.
- API-Driven: As a headless CMS, Strapi allows content to be delivered to any platform (website, mobile app, IoT devices) via APIs, making it incredibly versatile.
- Modern Development Stack: Strapi is built using Node.js, making it a good fit for teams using modern JavaScript frameworks and libraries.
- Open Source: Strapi is fully open-source, with a vibrant developer community contributing to its growth.
Cons:
- Requires Development Skills: Strapi is aimed at developers, and non-technical users may find it difficult to set up and manage without assistance.
- No Out-of-the-Box Front-End: As a headless CMS, Strapi doesn't include a front-end interface by default, so users need to build their own front-end, adding to the time and cost of setup.
- Smaller Ecosystem: Although growing rapidly, Strapi still has a smaller ecosystem of plugins and third-party tools compared to older platforms like WordPress or Drupal.
Learn more: Strapi
6. Grav (Flat-File CMS)
Grav is a flat-file CMS that doesn't use a database. Instead, it stores all data in files, making it lightweight and fast. It's perfect for small websites and developers looking for a minimalist, flexible solution.
Pros:
- Fast and Lightweight: Without a database, Grav is extremely fast and requires fewer server resources, making it ideal for small websites or blogs.
- Easy Version Control: Since Grav uses flat files, it integrates well with version control systems like Git, making it ideal for developers.
- Simple Installation: Grav is easy to install and doesn't require setting up a database, reducing complexity for simpler projects.
Cons:
- Limited for Larger Projects: Grav is excellent for smaller sites, but its lack of a database can become a limitation for larger, content-heavy projects.
- Fewer Extensions: Grav has a smaller community and fewer plugins available compared to WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal.
- Requires Technical Knowledge: Grav is more technical than WordPress, making it better suited for developers than non-technical users.
Learn more: Grav
Update (based on user feedback)
7. Backdrop CMS
Backdrop CMS is a lightweight, user-friendly alternative to Drupal, designed specifically for smaller businesses and nonprofits. It shares a lot of the same architecture as Drupal but simplifies the user experience, making it a more accessible choice for those who want the power of Drupal without the complexity. With its focus on usability, affordability, and backward compatibility, Backdrop is a solid choice for those seeking a middle ground between the flexibility of Drupal and the ease of use of WordPress.
Pros:
- Familiar for Drupal Users: Backdrop shares many similarities with Drupal, making it an easy transition for those already familiar with Drupal 7. It’s designed to be a "backward-compatible" version, allowing users to bring over much of their existing work.
- Lightweight and Efficient: Unlike Drupal, Backdrop is streamlined for smaller websites, meaning it requires fewer resources, making it faster and easier to maintain.
- Built-in Features: Backdrop comes with many features that would require add-ons in WordPress, such as advanced content management, layouts, and customizable permissions.
- Affordability: With lower hosting requirements and fewer dependencies on third-party modules, Backdrop can be more cost-effective to run than other CMS options like Drupal.
Cons:
- Smaller Community: Backdrop has a much smaller community compared to both WordPress. This means fewer modules, themes, and less support in terms of forums, documentation, and developer resources.
- Less Customizable than Drupal: While Backdrop simplifies a lot of what Drupal offers, it sacrifices some of the extreme customization and flexibility that Drupal is known for. This may not suit larger, more complex projects.
- Limited Market Share: Backdrop has a relatively small user base. This can make it harder to find developers or agencies familiar with the platform, and fewer tutorials or guides are available.
Learn more: Backdrop CMS
Conclusion
While WordPress continues to dominate the CMS landscape, 2024 offers a growing number of compelling alternatives that cater to different user needs. Whether you're seeking more flexibility, enhanced security, better performance, or simply an easier user experience, platforms like Joomla, Drupal, ClassicPress, Ghost, Strapi, and Grav all present viable options.
- Joomla and Drupal offer robust, scalable solutions for developers and businesses needing extensive control and customization.
- ClassicPress gives WordPress fans a familiar, lightweight option for those who dislike the Gutenberg editor.
- Ghost and Strapi are exciting options for those interested in JavaScript-based CMS platforms, offering speed, modern development stacks, and headless flexibility.
- Grav is ideal for developers who need a fast, flat-file CMS for smaller projects.
- Backdrop is streamlined for smaller websites, meaning it requires fewer resources, making it faster and easier to maintain.
Ultimately, the best CMS for your project will depend on your specific needs, technical skill level, and the scope of your website. Whether you're building a large corporate site, a small blog, or a custom application, the alternatives to WordPress in 2024 offer plenty of opportunities to find the perfect platform. Take the time to evaluate each option's strengths and weaknesses, and you'll be well-equipped to create a website that meets your goals, without the frustrations that WordPress can sometimes bring.