When we want to build our first website, we always want a platform that doesn’t require coding skills or huge investments. Today, with over 65% of all websites powered by CMS tools, choosing the right one is crucial. The 12+ Best CMS Platforms in 2025 offer diverse options that balance ease, power, and affordability.
Every website has unique needs. Some require advanced customization, and others prioritize security or scalability. We know these priorities vary, so this guide highlights essential features and benefits to help you choose a platform that perfectly fits your business goals and technical requirements so that you can confidently create, manage, and grow a website.
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12+ Best CMS Platforms in 2025: Quick Overview
A Content Management System (CMS) is a tool that lets you build, edit, and manage websites without needing advanced coding skills. From content editing to layout control, the 12+ Best CMS Platforms in 2025 make web development more accessible than ever.
Modern CMS platforms offer powerful features like drag-and-drop website builders, plugin support, media libraries, and SEO tools. Whether you’re a blogger, business owner, or developer, CMS solutions help streamline your digital content management.
From customizing templates to assigning team roles and enhancing site functionality, CMS platforms offer it all. Below is a quick overview of 12+ CMS platforms in table format, features, pricing, ratings, and more. All compared to guide your choice.
CMS Platform | Best For | Key Feature | Technology Used | G2 Rating (Reviews) | Market Share | Cost |
WordPress | Blogs, business sites, full flexibility | Massive plugin/theme ecosystem | PHP | 4.4 ⭐ (9,000+ reviews) | ~43.2% | Free (Hosting extra) |
Shopify | Online stores, dropshipping, eCommerce | Built-in store management | Liquid, JS, CSS | 4.4 ⭐ (4,600+ reviews) | ~4.0% (eComm only) | $25–$399/month |
Magento (Adobe Commerce) | Enterprise eCommerce with customization | Scalable product/order handling | PHP | 4.0 ⭐ (500+ reviews) | ~0.6% (eComm) | Starts ~$22,000/year |
Wix | Simple business or portfolio websites | Drag-and-drop builder | Velo (Javascript) | 4.2 ⭐ (1,600+ reviews) | ~3.7% | Free–$159/month |
Squarespace | Stylish websites for creators & stores | Modern templates with built-in features | JavaScript, Ruby, PHP | 4.4 ⭐ (1000+ reviews) | ~3.0% | $16–$52/month |
Joomla | Custom multilingual & community websites | Multilingual, advanced user controls | PHP | 4 ⭐ (380+ reviews) | ~1.7% | Free |
Drupal | Complex sites needing scalability | Robust content & permission control | PHP | 3.9 ⭐ (400+ reviews) | ~1.2% | Free |
Webflow | Designers creating interactive websites | Visual front-end builder | HTML, CSS, JavaScript | 4.4 ⭐ (800+ reviews) | ~0.7% | Free–$39/month |
OpenCart | Budget-friendly eCommerce stores | Lightweight and open-source eComm | PHP | 4.3 ⭐ (100+ reviews) | ~0.5% | Free (Extensions extra) |
Weebly | Easy websites for individuals & SMBs | Drag-and-drop simplicity | PHP, JavaScript | 4.2 ⭐ (470+ reviews) | ~0.5% | Free–$26/month |
BigCommerce | Growing brands needing multi-channel | Headless-ready, multi-channel selling | PHP, Javascript | 4.2 ⭐ (500+ reviews) | ~0.4% (eComm) | $29–$299/month |
HubSpot CMS | Marketers needing CRM-powered websites | CRM integration, smart content tools | Java, HubL | 4.5 ⭐ (1,700+ reviews) | ~0.3% | $20-$1500/month |
October CMS | Developers building Laravel-based sites | Flat file + Laravel framework | PHP, Laravel | 4.5 ⭐ (5+ reviews) | <0.1% | Free (Self-hosted) / pro $29/per project |
PrestaShop | European online stores with add-ons | Flexible product/catalogue management | PHP, MySQL | 4.3 ⭐ (150+ reviews) | ~0.4% | Free (Add-ons extra) |
How To Select the Best CMS Platform in 2025?
When selecting the best CMS platforms in 2025, we should focus on critical factors such as user-friendliness, flexibility, scalability, and security. We should evaluate a variety of content management systems to ensure they meet the required standards for seamless content creation, management, and publishing.
To ensure a comprehensive evaluation, we should consider multiple aspects, including customization options, performance speed, and integration capabilities. The CMS platforms should be tested using various real-world scenarios to ensure they provide reliable solutions for both beginners and advanced users.
Here are the CMS platforms we recommend based on in-depth research and personal use.
1. WordPress - Best For Blogs and Business Sites
WordPress is among the best CMS platforms in 2025. With more than 58,000 plugins available, it has support for everything from blogs to big eCommerce stores. Its easy-to-use dashboard enables users to manage content and optimize sites with no technical expertise.
It also provides hosting managed by WordPress. It automates updates, backups, and security. Plus, AI tools like the WordPress AI Troubleshooter help maintain a smooth website by automatically fixing common issues and errors.
What sets WordPress apart is its enormous plugin base. With more than 100K plugins to choose from, it is simple for users to make their sites serve certain purposes. WordPress leads the CMS marketplace, providing scalability and flexibility for any project.
Pros & Cons of WordPress
Pros | Cons |
Easy to use for beginners and non-technical users. | It can be vulnerable to hacking if not updated regularly. |
Offers great flexibility with over 58,000 plugins and themes. | Websites with many plugins may experience slow loading times. |
Built with SEO in mind and supports various SEO plugins. | Requires frequent updates to plugins and themes, which can be time-consuming. |
2. Shopify - Best For Online stores, Dropshipping, and eCommerce
Shopify is widely recognized as one of the best CMS platforms in 2025 for eCommerce. It simplifies the setup process, making it ideal for entrepreneurs who want to launch an online store without worrying about hosting, updates, or complex configurations.
One of Shopify’s standout features is its vast library of apps and themes, which allow users to fully customize their store. From product management to payment processing, Shopify provides all the tools needed to run a successful eCommerce site with ease.
What truly sets Shopify apart is its integrated payment solutions and smooth setup process. These features make it a top choice for users looking to get their online store up and running quickly without the need for technical expertise or external solutions.
Pros & Cons of Shopify
Pros | Cons |
Easy setup with no technical expertise required. | Transaction fees can apply unless using Shopify Payments. |
Extensive library of apps and themes for customization. | Monthly fees can be higher than other CMS platforms. |
Integrated payment solutions streamline the sales process. | Limited flexibility for advanced customizations compared to open-source platforms. |
3. Magento (Adobe Commerce) - Best For Enterprise eCommerce with Customization
Magento, now known as Adobe Commerce, is one of the top CMS platforms in 2025 for large-scale eCommerce businesses. It provides a free, open-source version packed with features that help users build, manage, and grow their online stores efficiently.
This platform is designed for enterprises, offering multi-store management, multilingual support, and multi-currency options. Magento excels at handling vast product catalogs and high-traffic volumes, making it ideal for growing businesses that need scalable solutions to expand quickly.
While the initial setup can be complex, Magento’s scalability makes it a perfect choice for aggressive business growth. With advanced SEO tools, mobile responsiveness, and secure payment processing, Adobe Commerce provides a comprehensive solution to enhance the customer experience.
Pros & Cons of Magento (Adobe Commerce)
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Highly scalable and customizable for large businesses. | Complex initial setup and requires technical expertise. |
Advanced SEO tools and mobile responsiveness. | It can be resource-intensive, requiring robust hosting. |
Supports multi-store, multi-currency, and multilingual features. | Expensive development and maintenance costs for customizations. |
4. Wix - Best For Simple Business or Portfolio Websites
Wix is one of the easiest CMS platforms of 2025. Its cloud-based design enables users to create fully functional sites without any technical skills. The drag-and-drop builder can be fully customized to create pages that complement your brand’s style.
With Wix, users can also design mobile-optimized sites with ease. This will make your site appear fantastic on any device. Moreover, the platform has many templates and features, and it is a great pick for small businesses, portfolios, and personal websites.
What sets Wix apart from other CMS platforms is its AI-driven design options. Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) helps users design professional websites in minutes, streamlining the website creation process while maintaining high-quality results.
Pros & Cons of Wix
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder. | Limited control over some aspects of design and code. |
Offers mobile-optimized templates. | It’s not ideal for very large or complex websites. |
Free plan available for basic use. | It can become costly with premium plans and features. |
5. Squarespace - Best For Stylish Websites for Creators & Stores
Squarespace is a top-tier CMS platform known for its elegant design templates and ease of use. It’s a complete solution for building websites, offering everything you need, including hosting, templates, and content management tools, all in one place.
Squarespace is the best option for creating beautiful online stores. It offers beautifully designed templates and strong eCommerce features to sell physical as well as digital products. In-built shipping, marketing, and customer service features further ease the management of the store.
What sets Squarespace apart is its emphasis on design and aesthetics. Whether you’re building a personal blog, portfolio, or online store, Squarespace makes it easy to create visually appealing, responsive websites that stand out from the competition.
Pros & Cons of Squarespace
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Beautiful, high-quality design templates. | Limited flexibility for advanced customizations. |
All-in-one platform with hosting, templates, and CMS. | Higher pricing compared to other website builders. |
Excellent for eCommerce with integrated tools. | Less scalability for large, complex websites. |
6. Joomla - Best For Custom Multilingual & Community Websites
Joomla is a highly capable CMS platform that provides flexibility and rich features. It is suitable for experienced developers and website creators, with many available templates and extensions. Joomla is not a suitable option for beginners and involves some technical knowledge.
Joomla is often used for building complex websites, including corporate sites, online communities, and eCommerce stores. It includes built-in features like multilingual support, making it an excellent choice for websites targeting global audiences.
What sets Joomla apart is its customizability. The platform gives users complete control over content management structures. With advanced tools like banner management and user role management, Joomla makes it easy to organize and oversee content across large-scale websites.
Pros & Cons of Joomla
Pros | Cons |
Flexible and powerful with advanced user management and customization options | Has a steeper learning curve compared to WordPress |
Built-in multilingual support without needing additional plugins | Smaller community with fewer plugins and themes available |
Robust access control system for managing user roles and permissions | Some third-party extensions may cause compatibility issues |
7. Drupal - Best For Complex Sites Needing Scalability
Drupal is a strong open-source CMS used to create scalable websites that support big data. It’s a favourite among developers who require advanced functionality, complex workflows, and custom content types. Drupal suits enterprise-level content management.
Security is one of Drupal’s most impressive strengths, making it arguably the most secure CMS platform in operation. Governments and big corporations use it to create secure sites. Regularly updated, with robust user permissions and security modules included, it stands out.
Though Drupal has a steeper learning curve than other CMS options, it offers unmatched flexibility. You can create multilingual websites, manage high traffic loads, and customize every aspect of the site, making it a future-ready solution for dynamic content needs.
Pros & Cons of Drupal
Pros | Cons |
Highly secure with strong built-in security features | A steeper learning curve, especially for non-developers |
Extremely flexible with custom content types and fields | Requires more technical expertise to set up and manage |
Scalable and reliable for large, high-traffic websites | Smaller theme and module ecosystem |
8. Webflow - Best For Designers Creating Interactive Websites
Webflow blends a visual editor with powerful site management, making it ideal for creating responsive websites without writing code. Designers can visually craft layouts while developers fine-tune styles and functionality using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript control.
Webflow stands out for its no-code flexibility paired with full front-end access. Webflow enables pixel-perfect design, custom animations, and seamless user experience, all without relying on third-party builders or restrictive templates common in other tools.
Recognized as a top CMS, Webflow supports dynamic content, flexible SEO settings, and fast site performance. It empowers creatives to design, build, and launch professional websites that look great on all devices without sacrificing customization or speed.
Pros & Cons of Webflow
Pros | Cons |
Visual design interface with full HTML/CSS control | It can be overwhelming for beginners due to its feature-rich interface |
Enables no-code website building with advanced customization | Limited support for third-party plugins and backend logic |
Clean, responsive code with built-in SEO tools | Plans can get expensive as project needs grow |
9. OpenCart - Best For Budget-Friendly eCommerce Stores
OpenCart is a powerful open-source platform tailored for businesses of all sizes looking to launch or scale their online store. With user-friendly tools and a clean interface, it simplifies product management, customer tracking, and order processing.
OpenCart offers extensive customization, allowing you to configure shipping methods, payment gateways, and carrier integrations with ease. OpenCart’s modular design supports thousands of extensions for scaling features as your business grows.
Known as a lightweight yet flexible CMS for ecommerce, OpenCart delivers speed, control, and performance. Whether you’re running a small shop or a large catalog site, it provides a scalable foundation to manage your store efficiently and affordably.
Pros & Cons of OpenCart
Pros | Cons |
Lightweight and fast, ensuring good site performance | Limited built-in marketing features compared to competitors |
Highly customizable with thousands of extensions | It can require technical skills to set up and maintain properly |
Supports multiple payment gateways and shipping options | Fewer native integrations; often needs third-party plugins |
10. Weebly - Best For Easy Websites for Individuals & SMBs
Weebly is a popular cloud-based website builder that requires no coding skills, making it ideal for beginners. It offers a range of plans, from free to premium, letting users choose features like custom domains, extra storage, and ecommerce capabilities tailored to their needs.
Weebly is a flexible CMS for small and medium-sized businesses. Weebly provides essential tools like password protection, tax calculators, and marketing features. These options help businesses manage their websites efficiently while growing their online presence with ease.
What sets Weebly apart is its built-in mobile optimization. All websites created on the platform are responsive, providing an uninterrupted user experience across all devices. This mobile optimization enables businesses to connect with customers anywhere, driving engagement and sales.
Pros & Cons of Weebly
Pros | Cons |
Easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface for quick site-building | Limited design flexibility compared to more advanced platforms |
Mobile-responsive websites by default | Fewer advanced SEO and customization options |
Affordable pricing with free and business-friendly plans | Ecommerce features are basic and not ideal for large stores |
11. BigCommerce - Best For Growing Brands Needing Multi-Channel
BigCommerce is a robust hosted platform to make online store building easy. Similar to Shopify, it does the technical configuration so you can concentrate on selling. With no coding required, it’s perfect for entrepreneurs who desire an easy ecommerce experience.
BigCommerce includes a free domain name and allows the use of your custom one, giving flexibility in branding. BigCommerce also offers a trial plan, so you can explore features like inventory control, order management, and payment integration before committing.
As a CMS for brands, BigCommerce stands out with built-in tools for multichannel selling on platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Facebook. It supports fast-growing businesses with advanced SEO, scalable infrastructure, and seamless shopping experiences.
Pros & Cons of BigCommerce
Pros | Cons |
Built-in multichannel selling (Amazon, eBay, social media) | It can be more expensive than competitors as your sales volume grows |
No coding is required with a fully hosted and managed platform | Design customization can be limited compared to open-source options |
Scalable with advanced SEO and ecommerce tools | Limited free themes; premium themes can be costly |
12. HubSpot CMS - Best For Marketers Needing CRM-Powered Websites
HubSpot CMS Hub is a smart choice for businesses looking to manage content, marketing, and sales from one place. With native CRM integration, it enables lead tracking, user segmentation, and content targeting, all essential for growing your digital footprint.
Built as a CMS for marketing websites, it offers a drag-and-drop builder, built-in SEO tips, and adaptive testing to boost performance. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, HubSpot makes it easy to build high-converting pages without writing a single line of code.
HubSpot CMS personalizes content using visitor behavior through HubSpot CRM. This makes it ideal for inbound marketing. However, as your feature needs grow, costs can increase. Still, it’s a powerful platform for brands serious about digital growth and engagement.
Pros & Cons of HubSpot CMS
Pros | Cons |
Seamless integration with HubSpot CRM and marketing tools | It can become expensive as you scale or add advanced features |
Beginner-friendly with drag-and-drop editor and built-in SEO suggestions | Limited customization compared to open-source CMS platforms |
Excellent for personalized, data-driven content and inbound strategies | Best suited for users already within the HubSpot ecosystem |
13. October CMS - Best For Developers Building Laravel-Based Sites
October CMS is an open-source platform built on the Laravel framework, designed for creating modern, high-performing websites. With a clean UI and developer-first tools, it offers an ideal blend of flexibility, performance, and simplicity for custom web projects.
As a CMS for Laravel-based sites, October CMS empowers developers to build complex features while offering non-coders an easy-to-use backend. You can manage content, create custom page layouts, and scale your website without touching the core codebase.
Its modular structure supports a wide range of plugins, making it highly extensible. Whether you’re building a simple blog or a dynamic application, October CMS fits well within the Laravel ecosystem, offering speed, security, and total creative control.
Pros & Cons of October CMS
Pros | Cons |
Built on Laravel, offering robust architecture and clean code | Requires Laravel knowledge for full customization |
Modular and extensible with a wide range of plugins | Smaller community and plugin ecosystem compared to larger CMSs |
Clean and intuitive admin interface for content management | Limited out-of-the-box features; more suited to developer-driven sites |
14. PrestaShop - Best For Online Stores with Add-Ons
PrestaShop is a flexible, open-source CMS designed to help users build professional ecommerce websites. Packed with essential tools like product listings, inventory control, and payment integration, it’s ideal for merchants aiming to grow their digital presence.
As a CMS for online stores, PrestaShop simplifies order management and product updates with its beginner-friendly dashboard. You can launch and maintain a store without coding knowledge, making it a go-to platform for startups and small businesses.
Its modular structure allows deep customization through a vast library of themes and add-ons. While some advanced features come at a cost, PrestaShop remains a scalable and cost-effective solution for businesses selling in local or global markets.
Pros & Cons of PrestaShop
Pros | Cons |
Open-source and free to use with a large, active community | Many advanced modules and themes require additional purchases |
User-friendly interface suitable for both beginners and experts | Limited scalability for very large or enterprise-level stores |
Highly customizable with a wide range of themes and add-ons | Requires technical knowledge for deep customization or performance tuning |
12+ Best CMS Platforms in 2025: Which One Is Right for You?
When choosing the best CMS platform in 2025, it’s important to assess what matters most the ease of use, scalability, or advanced customization. Whether you’re a small business owner or an enterprise-level team, identifying your content goals will help you filter the available platforms more effectively.
To make a confident decision, try building a test site or exploring demos across several platforms. Compare performance, flexibility, and integration options. This approach ensures you find the best CMS platform that matches your workflow and future growth plans without compromising usability or features.
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FAQs:
What is the future of CMS?
The future of CMS is moving toward headless and AI-powered solutions. These modern CMS platforms offer greater flexibility, faster performance, and seamless integration across devices, helping businesses deliver personalized content at scale.
What is the largest CMS in the world?
WordPress is the largest CMS in the world, powering over 40% of all websites globally. It’s known for its flexibility, vast plugin ecosystem, and ease of use, making it a go-to platform for bloggers, businesses, and developers alike.
Do big companies use CMS?
Yes, many big companies use CMS platforms to manage and scale their digital content. Brands like Tesla, Sony, and BBC rely on powerful CMSs like WordPress, Drupal, or Adobe Experience Manager for content control, performance, and multi-channel delivery.
What are the advantages of using CMS?
A CMS allows easy content updates without coding, improves collaboration, and speeds up website development. It supports SEO, offers design flexibility, and integrates with tools like CRMs and marketing software, saving time and reducing costs.