Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
1. WordPress<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
We wanted to start by noting that WordPress gives you two options: WordPress.com and WordPress.org.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
With the former, WordPress hosts your site \u2013 making it quick and convenient for you to get started, but limiting your freedom. On the other hand, WordPress.org lets you self-host.<\/p>\r\n
One other important aspect besides hosting is having the option of choice. For example, there is a big difference between static and dynamic websites<\/a> but WordPress gives you the freedom to choose between the two.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Luckily, we\u2019ve got plenty of respondents speaking in favor of both of the versions. So let\u2019s start with WordPress.com.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Michael Steele from Flywheel Digital<\/a>\u00a0recommends it for its flexibility that they say is \u201csecond to none.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cWe especially appreciate that, while there are a few technical limitations, it\u2019s also very accessible and usable to those with little web or technical expertise,\u201d Steele writes. \u201cWordPress\u2019 flexibility is especially important for our technical SEO work; many other CMS limit what you can do or make it very difficult to implement technical SEO optimizations to a site.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Alejandro Uriarte from 1-800 Personal Injury<\/a>\u00a0agrees. \u201cI find WordPress.com very user friendly with 24\/7 technical customer support. The price is reasonable, at $25 per month. There are extensive support groups and plenty of how-to videos to ensure you are doing it correctly. When dealing with a CMS, you want to know that you are doing it right!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Zety\u2019s\u00a0<\/a>Karol Nowacki also points out, \u201cThe WordPress people are constantly making updates and improvements,\u201d which makes another reason why it\u2019s a worthy CMS. And, when it comes to their plugins, Nowacki says, \u201cthe possibilities seem endless.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n All in all, the following features are heavily applauded according to Luke Genoyer from Global Call Forwarding<\/a>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Steele adds, \u201ca variety of plugins to enable virtually any functionality, even with no development experience or support\u201d and \u201cSEO-friendliness\u201d as two more brilliant features.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n As for WordPress.org, Nikola Roza from SEO for the Poor and Determined<\/a>\u00a0says, \u201cFirst, plenty of plugins and themes to play with. There are thousands of active, regularly updated, premium and free plugins and themes that can transform your site into whatever you want it to be. This is the single biggest benefit of using WordPress, at least that\u2019s my humble opinion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Next, Roza points out, \u201cWordPress as a CMS is highly customizable. This benefit only applies if you know code or can hire a backend developer<\/a>. But, WordPress lets you build some pretty nifty add-ons tacked onto the core installation. In fact, most big and successful websites are running custom themes with lots of added features and functionalities.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Lastly, \u201cWordPress is easy to use,\u201d Roza notes. \u201cOnce you get a hang of it, you marvel how elegantly designed the dashboard is. Everything is there and quickly accessible and you never waste time looking for stuff.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n BreatheWeb\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Oksana Chyketa rounds up the best features:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cShopify is by far the best CMS for ecommerce businesses such as us,\u201d SIGNAL+POWER\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Michael Anderson opines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Here\u2019s why: \u201cFor one, it has all essential ecommerce functionality built straight into the CMS, without requiring a lot of upfront work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Additionally, Shopify<\/a> hits a nice balance between ease of use and customization abilities. For example, Squarespace is very easy to use<\/a>, but it is a nightmare to try to customize certain aspects that the developers did not anticipate users would want to edit (such as their double opt-in email text).\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Anderson continues, \u201cOn the other hand, WordPress is very customizable, but it is not easy to use for the average person. Overall, Shopify has the best functionality and is accessible to business owners that have little to no experience creating or maintaining a website.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Corinne McCarthy from WTM<\/a>\u00a0also appreciates Shopify\u2019s CMS. However, McCarthy thinks WordPress is best for brands of any size and type, whereas Shopify is a better option for ecommerce businesses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In this context, McCarthy outlines, \u201cFor e-commerce businesses, Shopify is a better CMS. Like WordPress, its all-in-one design makes it a viable option for smaller and larger brands. A huge library of templates and plugins offer robust customization and flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cBrands that are looking for further customization can work with their internal web development team<\/a> or an outside vendor to build a Shopify site from the ground,\u201d McCarthy goes on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cSome nice added e-commerce features of Shopify include integrated support for Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest shopping feeds.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Summarizing McCarthy writes, \u201cOverall, Shopify is a scalable Ecommerce option that can be tailored to almost any business type.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n And, before we move on to another CMS, let\u2019s quickly look at Shopify\u2019s best features that Anderson notes:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There\u2019s also a fourth notable feature that McCarthy points out: \u201cintegrated support for Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest shopping feeds.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Founded in 2006, Wix has a whopping 165 million users<\/a>\u00a0(as of 2020). It\u2019s \u201cversatile, flexible and easy to use,\u201d comments Majesty Coffee\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Colin Palfrey. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cIt offers all the tools, integrations and apps we need for our online store at a reasonable price,\u201d Palfrey continues. \u201cI especially like that Wix makes order fulfillment and tracking simple. It is also SSL certified and accepts multiple payment methods. These give our customers a satisfying online shopping experience.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n All these pointers make Wix a good option for ecommerce businesses. And, while we\u2019re at it, let\u2019s also look at Wix\u2019s outstanding features that Palfrey shares:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Quickly gaining popularity, Squarespace is another CMS that made it to our list of the favorite content management systems out there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cSquarespace has an intuitive user interface that is beginner-friendly, especially to those without any coding and programing knowledge,\u201d writes Stephen Light from Nolah Mattress<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n To top user-friendliness, Squarespace offers boatloads of templates so you don\u2019t have to start from scratch. To complement the templates, the CMS has \u201can easy drag-and-drop feature that allows you to create and design the layout of your content,\u201d Light shares. \u201cBeginners will love this feature because they don\u2019t need to study how to code to do things.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Light also notes \u201cthe company has a dedicated mobile app where users can access their website back-end and edit content anytime, anywhere. This function is best for business owners and professionals who are always on the move but need to do immediate work.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Overall, Content Allies\u2019<\/a>\u00a0Jake Jorgovan states Squarespace\u2019s best features:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Another popular name is that of the HubSpot CMS. In fact, BlueTuskr\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Andrew Maffettone is a die-hard fan who says, \u201cI live and die by HubSpot.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The reason? Maffettone explains, \u201cBeing able to schedule all of our articles in one place but while tagging them along with our other marketing strategies to track what is actually working is a game-changer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Not only do we use HubSpot, but I\u2019ve even gotten some of our ecommerce sellers on there, just because it\u2019s easier for them to understand how the content they\u2019re creating is benefiting their revenue and\/or lead generation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n And the best features? Where Maffettone commends the organization capabilities that HubSpot offers, Blake Bobit from Solution Scout<\/a>\u00a0appreciates the following features:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Next up on this list is Drupal \u2013 favorite of the KrakowDirect<\/a>\u00a0team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cDrupal is an open-source platform, which is one of its strengths,\u201d highlights Jacek Ptak. \u201cOn top of that, Drupal has tons of integrations, and the one with Salesforce and Mailchimp did that for me. \u201c<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Ptak shares more of their experience: \u201cSeeing that we\u2019re a transportation and travel business, multilingual capabilities of Drupal were another selling point that was essential for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But that\u2019s not all. Drupal\u2019s scalability gets it bonus points. \u201cIt\u2019s easily scalable, and so even with sudden bursts of tourism we were able to keep up comfortably,\u201d Ptak writes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Plus, here are Drupal\u2019s noteworthy features:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Hugo is yet another CMS that comes highly recommended. Except, it\u2019s not for beginners. The team at ScrapingBee<\/a>, for instance, uses Hugo. But Kevin Sahin warns, \u201cit is not for those who do not have a tech background!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cIt is an open-source static site generator, which promotes dynamic API-driven content. It\u2019s very fast, with SEO friendly pre-made templates,\u201d Sahin adds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In short, \u201cHugo is a dream CMS for anyone who likes the more technical side to the world wide web\u201d in Sahin\u2019s words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n And, for its best features, here you go:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The last name that came up as we asked about favorite CMS platforms was Magento\u2019s<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"wp.com](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pasted-image-0-1024x578.png\" "\\"\\"")
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![\"wp.org](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pasted-image-0-1-1024x578.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n2. Shopify<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"shopify](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pasted-image-0-2-1024x580.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n3. Wix<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"wix](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pasted-image-0-3-1024x580.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n4. Squarespace<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"squarespace](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pasted-image-0-4-1024x578.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n5. HubSpot<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"HubSpot](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pasted-image-0-5-1024x578.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n6. Drupal<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"drupal](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/drupal-1024x580.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n7. Hugo<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"hugo](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pasted-image-0-7-1024x579.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n8. Magento<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"magento](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pasted-image-0-8-1024x581.png\" "\\"\\"")
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