WordPress

WordPress is the world's most widely used CMS with a market share of 63%*. WordPress has become known for its ease of use and for its endless customization options with various themes and plugins. In addition, WordPress is open source, which means that developers can develop new features for the website.

Advantages

WordPress has many advantages. This is why WordPress has become so popular all over the world. Some of the biggest advantages of WordPress are:

• User-friendly interface
• Large selection of plugins
• SEO friendliness
• User management and different user roles
• Easy media handling

Because WordPress has a user-friendly interface, it is easy for anyone to create and manage content. The user management also means that different roles can be assigned to different users, so that users can only edit the things that they must have access to.

There are more than 60,000 different free plugins for WordPress. In addition, there is also a large selection of premium/paid plugins. All these plugins mean that you can add exactly the functionality to the website that you need. This also applies in relation to SEO optimization – there are many different SEO plugins that make it easy to work with search engine optimization on the WordPress site.

WordPress has many users, and therefore WordPress also has a large and active community support. It makes it easy for WordPress users to find answers and questions and get help.

Disadvantages

Although there are many advantages to WordPress, there are also some disadvantages. Some are the biggest disadvantages are:

• Security risks
• Updates and compatibility
• Plenty of plugins
• Complexity
• Scalability

When choosing a popular CMS like WordPress, you are also choosing a CMS that is attractive to hackers and malware. WordPress is open source, which means that anyone can see the source code – even hackers. Therefore, hackers try to exploit holes in the source code of Wordpress, themes and plugins.

This is precisely why it is important that updates are carried out on an ongoing basis. This applies both to the WordPress core, the chosen theme and to all plugins. Therefore, there are also regular updates that must be carried out. Before updating, we recommend that a backup is taken - because updates do not always proceed without problems.

Updates of plugins etc. can mean that compatibility challenges arise. Especially if you use many different plugins on your WordPress site, there is a high risk of compatibility problems arising as a result of updates.

Although WordPress has a user-friendly interface, new users may still find the CMS very complex. Therefore, it is also difficult for completely new users to develop and design a WordPress website themselves.

Wix

Wix is a user-friendly solution and is built with a drag-and-drop editor. It makes it easy for anyone with no technical skills to build their own website. Therefore, Wix has also become a popular CMS with a market share of 3.7%*.

Advantages

Some of the main benefits of Wix are:

• Drag-and-drop editor
• Professionally designed templates
• Wide selection of apps

With the drag-and-drop editor, it's easy for anyone to customize their websites just the way they want them. It is therefore easy to insert content and images, just as you would like it.

In addition, there is a large selection of website templates that you can easily customize with colors, images, logos, etc. There is also a large selection of third-party apps that can be used to extend the functionality of the website.

In short, Wix has made it easy for everyone to create their own website.

Disadvantages

However, there are also some disadvantages to choosing Wix as CMS for your website:

• Dependency on the platform
• Limited customization options and functionality
• Limited database management

The biggest disadvantage of Wix is that you lock yourself into their platform. With Wix, you cannot transfer your website to another hosting provider at a later stage – you are locked to Wix, and thus also their prices and subscriptions.

In addition, many also find that they are limited in their customization options of both design and functionality. Wix is closed source, which means that it is not possible to develop new functions for the website, just as it would be with WordPress, for example.

Our experience is therefore that if you need a standard website without the high requirements for functionality and design, Wix can be a good solution for you. However, we also experience that the vast majority of companies make demands on their website's functionality and design - if this also applies to you, you should choose a different CMS.

Squarespace

Just like with Wix, Squarespace is a closed CMS, which has made it easy to create a website using a drag-and-drop editor. Squarespace has a market share of 3%*, and is therefore also a popular CMS globally.

Advantages

Squarespace has a number of advantages:

• Drag-and-drop editor
• Professionally designed templates
• Built-in image editing tool
• Extended functionality with third-party apps

Squarespace allows you to build a website based on a design template or by building your own template. Once the desired template is selected, it can be easily customized with the right colors, images, texts, etc., and the contents can be easily rearranged using the drag-and-drop editor.

When an image is inserted on the website, Squarespace has a built-in image editing tool, so it is possible to edit the image directly on the platform. In this way, you can easily get an overview of how the image looks on the website as it is being edited.

Although Squarespace is a closed source CMS, the functionality of the website can be easily extended using a variety of third-party apps.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of Squarespace are:

• Dependency on the platform
• Limited customization options and functionality
• Scaling and complexity

If you choose Squarespace, you will be locked into their platform and infrastructure. Users of Squarespace therefore do not have full control over their own website, and you can therefore also risk that changes in Squarespace's policy, services or subscription services will affect your website.

Like other closed source CMSs, there are also limitations in the customization options and functionalities that Squarespace offers. Therefore, our (or other) developers cannot add functionality other than what is available among Squarespace's Extensions.

Squarespace is suitable if a smaller website is needed. If a large website with a lot of content and complex functions is needed, Squarespace has its limitations.

Joomla!

Joomla is a user-friendly CMS that has a global market share of 2.6%*. Joomla is known for its flexibility, ease of use and customization options. Joomla is suitable for both simple and complex websites.

Advantages

Some of Joomla's biggest advantages are:

• User-friendly administration panel
• User management
• Large selection of extensions and plugins
• SEO friendliness
• Scalability

Even if you do not have deep technical knowledge, you can easily manage your website in Joomla's control panel. Joomla has a user-friendly administration panel from which you can easily update content and manage user access. Through the user administration, you can control what the various users must have access to on the website.

Joomla can be customized with different functionality through the more than 5,800 different extensions available in the Joomla Extensions Directory. Therefore, a Joomla website can also be adapted to exactly your wishes. If the desired functionality is not found in the Extensions Directory, our programmers can develop a solution instead. It can be done because Joomla is open source.

Due to all Joomla's options for extensions, a Joomla website can also be continuously expanded as the need for more content or more functions increases. Therefore, Joomla can also be scaled, and can therefore also be used as a framework for a large and complex website.

Some SEO tools are built into Joomla, which make the work with search engine optimization easier. Joomla has made it easy to optimize metadata, URL structures, etc. Especially with Joomla 4 work with SEO has become even easier.

Disadvantages

Although there are many advantages to Joomla, there are also some disadvantages:

• Requires technical knowledge
• Updates and compatibility
• Limited design freedom

Joomla certainly has a user-friendly administration panel, but if you want to utilize its full potential, you need some technical knowledge. If you also need to carry out some in-depth adaptations or changes in the code, you must have both technical knowledge and experience to be able to carry out these.

In order to get the desired functionality on one's Joomla website, it is necessary to use various plugins and extensions. These must be continuously kept up to date, just as Joomla itself must be kept up to date. Updates are necessary to maintain a high level of security and thus avoid hacker attacks. However, some updates may lead to compatibility challenges between plugins, which will affect the functionality of the website.

Finally, Joomla is a little more limited in terms of design compared to other open source CMS. Here again, technical knowledge and experience are required if you want to have the design adapted further so that it fits better into the company's visual identity. 

​Drupal

Drupal is an advanced CMS, which is known for its flexibility, scalability and extensive functionality - and not least for its modular architecture. Drupal has a global market share of 1.6%*, and is particularly suitable for technically savvy users who want great flexibility and control over their website.

Advantages

Although Drupal is a more advanced CMS compared to other open source CMS, Drupal has some very clear advantages:

• Great scalability
• Advanced user management
• Powerful content management
• Advanced media handling
• SEO friendliness
• High security standard

Drupal has great scalability, which means that you can easily expand your website without compromising the website's performance or user experience. Drupal is known, among other things, for its modular architecture, which makes it possible to add new functions continuously.

Just like with other open source CMSs, Drupal offers advanced user management so that users can access different areas and functions on the website. In addition, Drupal naturally also offers ample opportunity to create, organize and manage content across the website.

In addition, Drupal is also known for its high security standard. There is a dedicated security team and regularly releases new security updates so that Drupal websites are best protected against potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Disadvantages

There are also some disadvantages to Drupal as a CMS. Some of the disadvantages are:

• Complexity and steep learning curve
• Greater requirements for hosting
• Less market share and community resources

Although Drupal is generally a very powerful CMS that has many features and configuration options, for many it will be a very complex CMS. Due to the complexity, it can therefore also be very time-consuming to create and adapt websites in Drupal. If you do not have experience with Drupal, it is often a very steep learning curve compared to many other CMS, especially for users without technical knowledge and knowledge of programming and web development.

A Drupal website also places greater demands on hosting than, for example, a WordPress or Joomla website. Drupal requires more technical resources, and it places great demands on the hosting – and this will also affect the costs and requirements for running the Drupal website.

The vast majority of (open source) CMSs are associated with a community of users and developers who help each other with tips or by developing new plugins, themes, etc. Drupal's community is somewhat smaller than other CMS communities, which means there are fewer plugins, extensions, and themes to use.

In addition, Drupal is so technically heavy that it is targeted at technically savvy users - and therefore it is also more limited how many developers and specialists there are who can help with the development, further development and operation of a Drupal website.

Umbraco

Umbraco is a Danish-developed CMS known for its flexibility and scalability. With Umbraco, there are good opportunities for developing customized solutions using ASP.NET technology. Umbraco has a very low market share of less than 0.1%*.

Advantages

Despite Umbraco's very low market share, there are a number of advantages to Umbraco. Some of the main benefits are:

• Custom content types
• Security and control
• Possibility of customized functionality
• Scalability

Umbraco provides the opportunity to create and adapt different content types to suit the specific needs of the company. It makes it easy to structure and organize content. In addition, Umbraco also has a good workflow management, so that you have a structured and controlled content creation and publication.

With Umbraco's built-in security features and access control, the website is protected against potential threats and unauthorized access.

As written earlier, Umbraco offers good opportunities for developing customized solutions. Thus, a programmer can develop new functionality for the Umbraco website or existing packages (plugins and extensions) can be added. This also means that Umbraco provides good opportunities to scale the website as needed.

Disadvantages

There are also some downsides to Umbraco:

• Technically demanding
• Higher development costs
• Limited theme and plugin selection

In order to make the best use of Umbraco's possibilities, it requires that you have deeper technical knowledge and skills. If you cannot handle this yourself, it usually results in higher development costs, as it will require collaboration with experienced developers to achieve the desired functionality.

Umbraco has a smaller theme and plugin selection (or packages as it is called) compared to other CMS. Therefore, you often also depend on a developer to get your Umbraco website just the way you want it.

Generally speaking, Umbraco also has a steeper learning curve than the more popular CMSs, and it therefore also requires both time, investment and technical knowledge to become completely familiar with the platform.

Headless CMS

It has become more popular to also talk about Headless CMS. A headless CMS differs significantly from other CMSs, as a headless CMS separates the front-end and back-end from each other. With a headless CMS, the content is stored and managed in a central database. From here, content can be distributed to other channels, e.g. a website, app, etc.

Advantages

The main advantages of a headless CMS are:

• Freedom of platform choice
• API based
• High security
• Easy third-party integration

A headless CMS has the clear advantage that you are not tied to one platform. The solution is API-based, so content is distributed via an API to one or more different platforms. In this way, it is possible to send content to both websites, apps, IoT devices, etc. Furthermore, it also ensures high scalability both in relation to platforms, but also in relation to the amount of content.

Because a headless CMS is not tied to a specific front-end, the front-end can be designed and developed for the specific needs and wishes of the company. There is thus an opportunity to create a unique user experience.

The security of a headless CMS is top notch, as content is only exposed through APIs. It protects the content against unauthorized access and at the same time minimizes the risk of security breaches. In addition, it is also easy to track changes to the content and roll back to previous versions if necessary.

Through an API, a headless CMS can be easily integrated with third-party applications and tools. It also provides the opportunity to expand the functionality of a website by adding integrated solutions and services.

Disadvantages

Although there are a number of advantages to a headless CMS, there are also a number of disadvantages. Some of the disadvantages are:

• Requires more development and more dependency on developers
• Higher complexity
• Risk of compatibility challenges
• Complex SEO optimization
• More difficult content editing

When the front-end and back-end of a website are separate, connecting the two parts together requires more development. It takes a development process to build a user interface, and it takes development to distribute the content to other platforms. Therefore, with a headless CMS, you will also be more dependent on help from developers and programmers.

A headless CMS is thus somewhat more complex than other CMS – both in terms of development and administration, and it requires technical expertise and resources to handle. In addition, compatibility challenges can also arise between the various systems and applications to which the APIs must deliver content.

In general, it can be more difficult for users to edit and manage content via a headless CMS, and the search engine optimization (SEO) work will also be more complex and require extra effort compared to other CMS.