Web CMS Software Reviews

Drupal is an open-source, free content management system programmed in PHP. It is cross-platform, supports multiple databases, and has become very popular as a web development framework among professional programmers and designers. Drupal started as a message board, but it was first released as an open source project in 2001. The name, Drupal, is an anglicized version of the Dutch word “druppel”, which means “drop”, which is where the iconic water-drop mascot came from.

CMS Made Simple provides an alternative to the weighty management systems. It was designed with the goal of serving the needs of small and medium sized websites without the clutter of too many stock features. Whether you're just making a personal website, a website for an organization, or a website for a small business, CMS Made Simple will help you develop a simple website with very little knowledge.

Plone is a content management system based on the Zope application server, which is developed in Python. Its primary development is carried out in week long binges referred to as “Plone Sprints” where developers meet to fix bugs and create new additions. Plone is open source, and it is covered by the GPL. It's name comes from the British band of the same name.

MODx is an Open Source CMS created in PHP that uses the MySQL database, and it is a fork of Etomite. It's 1.0 release took place in July 2009, and it has been awarded by Packt Publishing in 2007 for its early development efforts. Even before the stable release, it has been used by many developers to create websites and has been celebrated for its ease of use.

The Kentico CMS has been around for several years and recently released Kentico 5.5, which features several big upgrades and improvements. Overall, it seems like Kentico fans largely outnumber the people who are not happy with it. Since there are a wide variety of licenses, there are several options that you can choose from, including a free-for-life version. There seem to be more advantages than drawbacks; however the drawbacks will weigh more heavily for some people than others. Here is a closer look at Kentico, its price, features, advantages and drawbacks.

ocPortal has broken into the CMS climate and has many webmasters wondering if it is the right option for them. It has a number of advantages, most notably its power right out-of-the-box. It is a robust CMS, not reliant on addons. However, with the comparatively small community, it is not progressing as quickly as some people expected. There are a number of pro's and con's that need to be considered before either accepting or rejecting ocPortal as your next CMS.

There are a large number of CMSs to choose from when you are getting ready to design a new website. Umbraco has consistently proven to be one of the better Open Source .NET CMS options. However, because of the way that it is designed, getting everything set up is a little different than with other CMS options on the market. It is designed with developers in mind, which means that it will take a little extra effort to get it up and running. Additionally, depending on how well versed you are with the .NET framework, there can be a steep learning curve. Fortunately, once you understand how it works, using it is very easy. Here is a closer look at some of the primary features that Umbraco offers as well as some of the potential drawbacks.

If you are new to CMS software, or looking to adopt a CMS solution but worried about your lack of programming knowledge, ImpressPages could be up your street. ImpressPages is an open source CMS platform (released under a GNU GPL License) that epitomizes the term ‘user-friendly’. Designed to provide users with a semi-automated solution for their content management needs, ImpressPages offers a true drag-and-drop interface. And with other content publishing tools such as the smart cut-and-paste feature, this free CMS platform sounds like a real gem. But has ImpressPages’ sacrificed functionality for simplicity?