As a matter of fact, the rapid growth of online shopping encourages more and more people to monetize with an online business. However, it has never been easy to figure out which CMS eCommerce platform is the cream of the crop to create a perfect cyberstore, especially when there are hundreds of choices available.
Therefore, in this article, we will be providing you with a comprehensive analysis of the 5 best CMS platforms for your consideration.
Without further ado, let’s check it out!
What a good CMS should have?
CMS is the abbreviation of Content Management System software. A CMS platform allows you to create, manage, edit and modify content on a website. Being different from a website builder, CMS requires you to have basic technical skills.
However, with such flexibility, CMS still comes as a preferable option for e-merchants to build a website for various purposes, from writing blog posts to selling products.
Before diving deeper into the top CMS platforms l an analysis, it is important to point out the standards to evaluate the best CMS platform. Below are some highlighted features that you should take into consideration.
- Ease of use
Opting for a user-friendly CMS means you can save a significant amount of time because the content will be uploaded automatically. However, without a content management system, you need to be a competent programmer to edit the underlying code, which is quite sophisticated.
- Customizability
A highly customizable CMS platform gives you the flexibility to modify content on the storefront or backend. In addition, you can freely integrate third-party apps to equip your store with more specialized features.
- Pricing
It is easy to start selling products online, but it is not easy to run and maintain an online store. You may need to spend money on a pricing package, a theme, add-ons, and integrations.
Even with a free-to-download platform, you still have to pay for hosting, domain, security patches, and the like. Hence, finding a CMS with an affordable price ensures the sustainable growth of your business.
- Theme and design
Explicitly, a mesmerizing store design helps you seize the chance to enhance product visibility in front of more Internet shoppers. Furthermore, choosing a suitable theme also helps you clearly present the product category that your store offers. Therefore, a CMS eCommerce platform with an extensive collection of store templates surely benefits you in many ways.
- Add-ons/Extensions/Modules
Besides basic features, you may need to add some apps into your store to enrich its features and fulfill specific business demands.
For example, a tax automation module helps ease tax compliance, or an inventory management app will notify you of product status for better management.
- Support
Although CMS platforms offer almost everything you need to create and customize an online store, some problems may arise along the way. In this case, dedicated support will be a plus point for the CMS providers to get a positive review from you and other store owners.
Top 5 Best CMS platforms that blow your mind
In the next section, we have compiled an insightful list of the best CMS platforms based on the must-have features discussed above.
- WordPress
WordPress is one of the best open-source CMS that provides a reservoir of top-notch features for e-merchants to build a website from scratch with unlimited customization. With its open-source nature, WordPress is totally free to download and install. However, you need to spend at least $100 on basic setups.
Thanks to the user-friendly interface, WordPress is an ideal destination for beginners rather than tech-savvy individuals only. In addition, this prominent CMS outperforms other competitors with an enormous gallery of 3000+ themes and 58,000+ plugins to extend your store’s functionality, which is quite impressive; WordPress offers a free support function including video tutorials, text guides, and other official documents. More importantly, you can easily dig into WordPress’s strong, active community for a solution whenever problems arise. Additionally, you can ask WordPress experts for help if you cannot solve the technical issues on your own.
Useful tips for you: We offer a wide range of effective tips and tricks that help you to develop your WordPress site effectively. You can easily search for best practices for WordPress development, WordPress Design for business, or WordPress SEO Writing tips to improve Search Engine Optimization and so on. Let’s check it out!
- Joomla
Like WordPress, Joomla is a prevailing open source CMS with a tremendous number of users worldwide; however, youYou need to spend around $700 to $6500 per month or even higher to build and maintain a Joomla store regardless of free installation.
In comparison to WordPress, Joomla doesn’t have as many themes and extensions as its direct competitor. Nonetheless, Joomla is still powerful enough for you to run a feature-rich store smoothly. Remarkably, you can even display different themes for different pages, which is useful for running a multi-store.
As an open-source CMS, Joomla requires a higher level of technical skills to customize your site. Especially, the complicated process to create content on Joomla is definitely not for non-coders. However, Joomla offers a collaborative community and comprehensive support plans for the full service from their experts.
Indeed, Joomla and WordPress are two rivals that possess similar features. If you are still confused, the break-into-pieces comparison of Joomla vs. WordPress would be what you need.
- Drupal
Drupal is another self-hosted CMS that serves as a platform for various purposes, namely, online store, blog, forum, and the like. Initially, Drupal was developed as information storage for some students at the University of Antwerp. Nowadays, Drupal designs three different frameworks for Developers, Marketers, and Agencies.
With the same nature as WordPress and Joomla, Drupal is free to download and install; however, you need to purchase hosting, domain, theme, add-ons, etc. Also, it would be best if you had funds to invest in web development and maintenance costs along the way.
The plus point of Drupal is that you can avail of regular updates and upgrades that fix the bugs of the previous version. However, it would be best if you were good at coding to keep your store up-to-date. This means that Drupal is truly a steep learning curve for newbies and non-coders. Instead, it is recommended to be suitable for large enterprises.
- Squarespace
Unlike the three CMS discussed above, Squarespace is a hosted cart that gives you the flexibility to make a stunning site with the drag-and-drop interface. No technical skills are required.
Squarespace offers a wide range of basic and advanced features for all sizes of businesses, from small-scale websites to SMEs and high-volume stores. To create a website on Squarespace, you need from $16 to $54 per month for a compulsory pricing plan after a 14-day free trial expires.
Originally positioned itself as a CMS solution, Squarespace can impress anyone with a collection full of artistic themes. However, only 21 premium apps are provided by third-party for those who want to enrich the online stores built on Squarespace.
Obviously, Squarespace offers a more dedicated support system in comparison with the three open-source platforms mentioned above. The support includes Knowledgebase, Email, Live Chat, Webinar, Video Tutorial, Text Guide, Forum, and a Developer Center. One plus point for Squarespace!
- WIX
Another hosted cart that we would like to mention in the list of best CMS platforms is WIX. Instead of editing complicated code lines, you can take full advantage of available toolkits to create any web page.
WIX charges a relatively lower price than Squarespace, which is around $4 to $24 per month for the Website Plan and $17 to $35 for Business & eCommerce Plans.
In addition, you can access more than 700 freemium templates that cover various categories ranging from health & wellness, beauty & hair, to travel & tourism. Plus, an ecosystem of over 300 apps would probably support the development of your website.
Like most hosted carts in the market, WIX offers high-quality customer service that supports you whenever you neeIn addition, there There are detailed documentation and instruction tutorials right on the Help Center and FAQs page. Besides, Squarespace’s forum is a decent place where you can find precious sharing of knowledge and experience from experts and other business owners.
Final thoughts
We hope that this article will help you grasp an overview of the best CMS platforms that you should heed in 2021 based on certain fundamental features like pricing, customizability, themes & design, and so on.
Besides eCommerce platform review, we provide a wide variety of tips and tricks for you to facilitate your online business after opting for a suitable CMS platform; for example, you can take a look at the 5 best SEO Reporting tools for better ranking, 7 tips to improve Customer Service or 5 important eCommerce KPIs to track and more.
If you are planning on migrating to WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Squarespace, or WIX, consider using LitExtension – an automated shopping cart migration service that automatically transfers all your data from one eCommerce platform to a more robust one effortlessly.
