Choosing the right content management system (CMS) is one of the most consequential decisions you’ll make for your website. The CMS you select will shape how you create and manage content, how your site performs, how secure it is, how much it costs to maintain, and ultimately how effectively it supports your business goals. With so many options available, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases, the decision can feel overwhelming.
This guide cuts through the noise by providing an honest, comprehensive comparison of the most popular CMS platforms on the market today. Whether you’re building your first website, planning a redesign, or evaluating whether your current platform still serves your needs, this guide will help you understand the trade-offs and find the right fit for your situation.
We’ll cover traditional CMS platforms like WordPress and HubSpot, developer-focused options like Craft CMS, ExpressionEngine, and Statamic, website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow, and the emerging category of headless CMS platforms. For each, we’ll examine the pros and cons, identify who it’s best for, and flag situations where you might want to look elsewhere.
WordPress
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites on the internet, making it the most widely used CMS in the world. Originally launched in 2003 as a blogging platform, WordPress has evolved into a full-featured CMS capable of powering everything from simple blogs to complex enterprise websites. Its open-source nature, massive ecosystem, and low barrier to entry have made it the default choice for millions of site owners.
Pros
- Enormous ecosystem: With over 60,000 plugins and thousands of themes, WordPress offers a solution for virtually every feature or functionality you might need. From e-commerce (WooCommerce) to SEO (Yoast) to page building (Elementor), the ecosystem is unmatched.
- Low cost of entry: The WordPress software itself is free. Hosting can be found for just a few dollars a month, and many themes and plugins are available at no cost, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes.
- Large community: The WordPress community is massive, meaning you’ll find extensive documentation, tutorials, forums, and local meetups. Finding a WordPress developer is generally straightforward and affordable.
- Flexibility: WordPress can be adapted to build almost any type of website: blogs, portfolios, e-commerce stores, membership sites, learning management systems, directories, and more.
- Content editing: The Gutenberg block editor provides a modern, visual editing experience that makes content creation accessible to non-technical users.
- SEO-friendly: WordPress has strong SEO foundations out of the box, and plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math make optimization accessible even for beginners.
Cons
- Security vulnerabilities: WordPress’s popularity makes it a prime target for hackers. Security vulnerabilities, often stemming from outdated plugins or themes, are a constant concern. Regular updates and security plugins are essential.
- Maintenance burden: Keeping WordPress secure and performant requires ongoing maintenance: core updates, plugin updates, theme updates, database optimization, and security monitoring. Neglecting maintenance can lead to serious problems.
- Performance can suffer: Without careful optimization, WordPress sites can become slow and bloated, especially when loaded with plugins. Achieving fast page load times often requires caching plugins, CDN configuration, and image optimization.
- Plugin dependency: Many essential features require plugins, which creates dependencies on third-party developers who may abandon their plugins, introduce incompatibilities, or create security vulnerabilities.
- Design limitations without development: While themes and page builders offer visual customization, achieving a truly custom design typically requires development expertise. The gap between what a theme promises and what it delivers can be significant.
- Content modeling limitations: WordPress’s native content types (posts and pages) are limiting for complex content architectures. Custom post types and Advanced Custom Fields help, but the experience is less elegant than purpose-built content modeling systems.
Who it’s for
WordPress is an excellent choice for businesses that need a versatile, cost-effective platform with extensive community support. It’s particularly well-suited for blogs, content-heavy websites, small to medium business sites, and e-commerce stores (via WooCommerce). Organizations with limited budgets that need to get online quickly will find WordPress accessible and capable.
When to avoid it
Consider alternatives to WordPress when security is a top priority and you lack the resources for ongoing maintenance, when your project requires complex custom content modeling that goes beyond posts and pages, or when you need a highly performant site and don’t want to spend time optimizing through plugins and caching layers. Enterprise organizations with stringent security requirements may also find WordPress’s attack surface too large for comfort.
HubSpot CMS
HubSpot CMS is part of the broader HubSpot ecosystem, a suite of marketing, sales, and customer service tools. Unlike traditional CMS platforms, HubSpot CMS is a fully hosted, SaaS-based solution that integrates natively with HubSpot’s CRM, email marketing, automation, and analytics tools. It’s designed specifically for marketing teams that want to create, optimize, and personalize website content without heavy developer involvement.
Pros
- All-in-one marketing platform: HubSpot CMS integrates seamlessly with HubSpot’s CRM, email marketing, social media tools, and analytics. This means your website data, lead information, and marketing campaigns all live in one place.
- Built-in personalization: HubSpot CMS allows you to create personalized content experiences based on visitor behavior, CRM data, lifecycle stage, and more, a feature that typically requires complex development on other platforms.
- Security and hosting included: As a fully managed SaaS platform, HubSpot handles hosting, security, SSL, CDN, and updates. You don’t need to worry about server management, WordPress updates, or plugin vulnerabilities.
- A/B testing built in: Test different versions of pages, CTAs, and content directly within the platform without needing additional tools.
- Drag-and-drop editing: The visual editor makes it easy for marketers to create and update pages without developer assistance.
- SEO recommendations: Built-in SEO tools provide actionable recommendations and topic clustering features to guide your content strategy.
Cons
- Cost: HubSpot CMS pricing starts higher than most alternatives and scales up significantly as you add features from the broader HubSpot suite. The total cost of ownership can be substantial, especially for organizations that need Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise features.
- Platform lock-in: Building your website on HubSpot creates significant dependency on their platform. Migrating away from HubSpot means rebuilding your website, and your CRM data and marketing automations are deeply intertwined with the CMS.
- Limited design flexibility: While the drag-and-drop editor is user-friendly, achieving highly custom designs requires HubL (HubSpot’s templating language), which has a smaller developer community and fewer resources than platforms like WordPress.
- Template marketplace is smaller: Compared to WordPress’s thousands of themes, HubSpot’s template marketplace is more limited in variety and style.
- Overkill for simple sites: If you don’t need HubSpot’s marketing, CRM, and automation features, the CMS alone may not justify the cost compared to simpler alternatives.
- Learning curve for HubL: Developers accustomed to traditional CMS development will need to learn HubSpot’s proprietary templating language, which adds friction to the development process.
Who it’s for
HubSpot CMS is ideal for marketing-driven organizations that are already using or planning to use HubSpot’s broader marketing and sales tools. It’s particularly well-suited for B2B companies, SaaS businesses, and marketing teams that want deep integration between their website and their marketing automation, CRM, and analytics. If lead generation, content personalization, and marketing attribution are top priorities, HubSpot CMS delivers.
When to avoid it
HubSpot CMS may not be the right choice if budget is a primary concern, if you need maximum design and development flexibility, if you want to avoid vendor lock-in, or if your website requirements are simple and don’t warrant the investment in HubSpot’s ecosystem. Organizations that prioritize open-source technology or need extensive e-commerce capabilities may also find better options elsewhere.
Craft CMS, Statamic, and ExpressionEngine
These three platforms represent the developer-focused tier of CMS options, purpose-built for teams that need precise control over content architecture, templating, and output. While they differ in their specific approaches, they share a common philosophy: provide powerful, flexible tools for building custom websites without the bloat and compromises of mass-market platforms.
Craft CMS is a modern, PHP-based CMS that uses the Twig templating engine. It’s known for its elegant content modeling system, beautiful control panel, and developer-friendly architecture.
Statamic is a Laravel-based flat-file CMS (with optional database support) that offers a unique blend of developer flexibility and content editor usability. Its flat-file architecture means content is stored as files rather than in a database, which offers performance and version control benefits.
ExpressionEngine is a mature, battle-tested CMS that has been powering complex websites since 2004. Its channel-based content modeling and tag-based templating system provide complete control over content architecture and output.
Pros
- Superior content modeling: All three platforms offer powerful, flexible content modeling that far surpasses WordPress’s native capabilities. Custom fields, relationships between content types, and complex data structures are first-class features, not afterthoughts.
- Complete template control: These platforms give developers full control over HTML output. There’s no fighting with theme frameworks or overriding opinionated markup. You write exactly the code you want.
- Strong security: With smaller market share comes a smaller target for attackers. Combined with clean codebases and proactive security practices, these platforms have excellent security track records.
- Clean, purposeful architecture: Unlike WordPress, which has evolved from a blogging tool into a general-purpose CMS, these platforms were designed from the ground up as content management systems. The architecture reflects this intentionality.
- Excellent content editing experience: Once configured by a developer, all three platforms provide clean, intuitive editing interfaces that content creators appreciate. The control panel is tailored to each project’s specific needs.
- Version control friendly: Statamic’s flat-file approach is inherently version-control friendly, and both Craft and ExpressionEngine offer configuration management features that support Git-based deployment workflows.
Cons
- Smaller communities: Compared to WordPress’s vast community, these platforms have smaller user bases. This means fewer tutorials, fewer Stack Overflow answers, and a smaller pool of developers to hire from.
- Higher development costs: Building on these platforms typically requires experienced developers, and hourly rates for Craft, Statamic, or ExpressionEngine developers may be higher than for WordPress developers. The smaller talent pool can also extend project timelines.
- Fewer pre-built solutions: While all three have add-on/plugin ecosystems, they’re fraction of the size of WordPress’s. You’re more likely to need custom development for features that would be a plugin install on WordPress.
- Licensing costs: Craft CMS (Pro) and ExpressionEngine have licensing fees. Statamic offers a free version for solo projects but requires a license for commercial use. These costs are modest but add to the total investment.
- Steeper learning curves: Developers new to these platforms will need time to learn their specific approaches to content modeling, templating, and configuration. This upfront investment can be a barrier for teams used to WordPress.
- Hosting considerations: These platforms require more sophisticated hosting setups than a basic WordPress installation. While standard PHP hosting works, optimized configurations yield significantly better performance.
Who they’re for
Craft CMS, Statamic, and ExpressionEngine are ideal for businesses and organizations that need custom, content-rich websites built to precise specifications. They’re particularly well-suited for digital agencies building client sites, organizations with complex content architectures (universities, media companies, multi-brand corporations), projects where security is paramount, and teams that value clean code, performance, and long-term maintainability over quick-launch convenience.
When to avoid them
These platforms may not be the best fit if you need to launch quickly with minimal budget, if your team lacks development resources and needs a DIY-friendly solution, if you need extensive third-party integrations without custom development, or if the website is simple enough that WordPress or a website builder would serve just as well. The investment in these platforms pays off on complex projects but may be overkill for simpler sites.
Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow
Website builders represent the most accessible tier of CMS options: platforms designed to empower non-developers to create professional-looking websites without writing code. While they share the goal of democratizing web design, each takes a different approach and serves a different audience.
Wix is the most accessible of the three, offering a true drag-and-drop editor where elements can be placed anywhere on the page. It targets small businesses, solopreneurs, and individuals who want maximum creative freedom without technical knowledge.
Squarespace takes a more design-driven approach, offering beautifully crafted templates and a structured editor that ensures professional results even for users with no design experience. It’s known for its aesthetic quality and is particularly popular with creative professionals.
Webflow bridges the gap between website builders and professional web development. It offers a visual design tool that generates clean, production-quality code, giving designers the power to create custom websites without writing code while maintaining the standards that developers expect.
Pros
- No coding required: All three platforms allow users to create and manage websites without writing code. This dramatically reduces the barrier to entry and eliminates the need for developer involvement in day-to-day content management.
- All-in-one hosting: Hosting, security, SSL, and updates are all included and managed by the platform. There’s no server to configure, no software to update, and no security patches to apply.
- Professional templates: All three offer high-quality, professionally designed templates that provide a strong starting point. Squarespace, in particular, is renowned for the quality of its templates.
- Built-in features: E-commerce, blogging, forms, analytics, SEO tools, and social media integration are built into the platform, reducing the need for third-party tools and plugins.
- Fast time to launch: A basic website can be created and published in hours or days rather than weeks or months. For businesses that need an online presence quickly, this speed is invaluable.
- Webflow’s design power: Webflow deserves special mention for its ability to create truly custom designs with complex interactions and animations, capabilities that typically require hand-coded CSS and JavaScript on other platforms.
Cons
- Limited customization ceiling: While these platforms offer significant design flexibility within their frameworks, there’s a ceiling. Complex functionality, custom integrations, and unique user experiences often bump against platform limitations.
- Platform dependency: Your website lives on their platform, and you can’t take it with you. Migrating from Wix, Squarespace, or Webflow to another platform means rebuilding from scratch (though Webflow does export clean HTML/CSS).
- Ongoing subscription costs: Monthly fees can add up over time, especially as you add features, increase traffic, or need higher-tier plans. Over several years, the total cost can exceed what you’d pay for a self-hosted solution.
- SEO limitations: While all three platforms offer basic SEO tools, they may lack the depth of control that dedicated SEO plugins (like Yoast for WordPress) provide. URL structure, schema markup, and technical SEO can be more limited.
- Performance trade-offs: Website builders add their own code and scripts to your site, which can impact load times. While improvements have been made, a hand-coded or optimally configured CMS site will generally outperform a website builder site.
- Content modeling constraints: These platforms offer limited content modeling capabilities compared to developer-focused CMS options. If your content architecture is complex, you’ll likely find yourself working around platform limitations.
- Wix’s code quality: Wix, in particular, has been criticized for generating less-than-optimal code, which can impact SEO and performance. While improvements have been made, it remains a consideration for performance-conscious projects.
Who they’re for
Website builders are ideal for small businesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, and individuals who need a professional online presence without the budget or desire to hire a developer. Squarespace is particularly suited for creative professionals (photographers, artists, designers, restaurants) who value aesthetics. Wix works well for small businesses that want maximum DIY flexibility. Webflow is perfect for designers who want professional-grade design tools without coding and for small to medium businesses that need more sophisticated designs than Wix or Squarespace can deliver.
When to avoid them
Website builders may not be appropriate for large-scale websites with complex content architectures, projects that require custom back-end functionality or integrations, businesses that need complete ownership and portability of their website, organizations with strict performance or accessibility requirements, or e-commerce operations that have outgrown the built-in store capabilities. If you anticipate significant growth in content complexity or traffic volume, starting on a more scalable platform may save you the pain of a future migration.
Headless CMS
Headless CMS platforms represent the newest approach to content management, one that separates the content management back end (the “body”) from the front-end presentation layer (the “head”). Instead of a traditional CMS where the back end and front end are tightly coupled, a headless CMS stores and manages content and delivers it via an API to any front end: a website, a mobile app, a digital kiosk, a smartwatch, or any other channel.
Popular headless CMS platforms include Contentful, Strapi, Sanity, Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS), Prismic, and DatoCMS, among others. Some traditional CMS platforms (including WordPress, Craft CMS, and Statamic) also offer headless or API-first modes, blurring the line between traditional and headless approaches.
Pros
- Omnichannel content delivery: Content created in a headless CMS can be delivered to any channel or device via API. This is invaluable for organizations that need to publish content across websites, mobile apps, IoT devices, and other platforms from a single source of truth.
- Front-end freedom: Developers can use any front-end technology (React, Vue, Next.js, Gatsby, Svelte, or any other framework) without being constrained by the CMS. This allows teams to leverage the best tools for their specific front-end needs.
- Performance: Because the front end is decoupled and can be built as a static site or single-page application, headless architectures can deliver exceptional performance. Static sites served from a CDN load almost instantly.
- Scalability: API-based content delivery scales efficiently. Content can be cached at the edge, and the front end can be deployed globally without the overhead of a traditional server-side CMS.
- Security: With no front-end application connected directly to the CMS, the attack surface is reduced. The CMS back end can be locked down behind firewalls and authentication layers, accessible only via API.
- Developer experience: Modern headless CMS platforms offer excellent developer experiences with well-documented APIs, SDKs, webhooks, and integration tools that fit naturally into modern development workflows.
- Future-proof architecture: As new channels and devices emerge, a headless CMS is ready to deliver content to them without rebuilding the content management infrastructure.
Cons
- Higher development complexity: Building on a headless CMS requires front-end development expertise. There’s no theme to install or template to customize. The entire front end must be built from scratch. This increases development time and cost.
- No built-in preview: Most headless CMS platforms don’t offer a native preview of how content will look on the front end. Preview functionality must be custom-built, which adds complexity for content editors who want to see their changes before publishing.
- Content editor learning curve: Content editors accustomed to traditional CMS platforms where they can see and edit content in context may find the detached, form-based editing experience of a headless CMS less intuitive.
- Multiple systems to manage: A headless architecture means managing separate systems for content management, front-end hosting, build processes, and potentially CDN configuration. This distributed architecture requires more DevOps knowledge.
- Cost can add up: While some headless CMS platforms offer generous free tiers, costs can escalate as content volume, API calls, and team members increase. Combined with front-end hosting and build pipeline costs, the total investment can be significant.
- Overkill for simple projects: If your content only needs to be displayed on a single website, the added complexity of a headless architecture may not be justified. A traditional CMS with good templating can be simpler and more cost-effective.
- Plugin ecosystem is limited: Unlike WordPress, headless CMS platforms don’t have extensive plugin ecosystems for adding functionality. Most custom features need to be built by developers.
Who it’s for
Headless CMS platforms are ideal for organizations that need to deliver content across multiple channels (web, mobile apps, digital signage, etc.), development teams that want to use modern front-end frameworks and build processes, projects where performance and scalability are critical requirements, companies with dedicated development resources and the budget to support a custom front-end build, and enterprises that need a future-proof content infrastructure that can adapt to new channels and technologies.
When to avoid it
A headless CMS may not be the right choice if your budget is limited and you lack in-house development resources, if your content only needs to appear on a single website, if your content editors need a visual, WYSIWYG editing experience, if you need to launch quickly without significant custom development, or if your team doesn’t have the DevOps knowledge to manage a distributed architecture. For many small and medium businesses, a traditional CMS with good performance optimization will serve their needs without the added complexity of a headless approach.
Conclusion: Finding the right CMS
There is no single “best” CMS, only the best CMS for your specific situation. The right choice depends on your budget, your technical resources, the complexity of your content, your performance requirements, your growth plans, and the experience you want to provide for both your content editors and your website visitors.
Here’s a simplified decision framework:
- Choose WordPress if you need a versatile, cost-effective platform with massive community support and you’re willing to invest in ongoing maintenance and security.
- Choose HubSpot CMS if marketing automation, CRM integration, and content personalization are central to your strategy and you’re comfortable with the platform’s cost and vendor dependency.
- Choose Craft CMS, Statamic, or ExpressionEngine if you need precise control over content architecture and templating, you value security and clean code, and you have the development resources to build a custom solution.
- Choose Wix, Squarespace, or Webflow if you need to get online quickly with a professional-looking site, your budget doesn’t allow for custom development, and your content and functionality needs are relatively straightforward.
- Choose a headless CMS if you need omnichannel content delivery, you want to use modern front-end frameworks, and you have the development resources to build and maintain a decoupled architecture.
Whatever platform you choose, remember that the CMS is a tool in service of your broader web strategy. The most important factors are the clarity of your message, the quality of your content, and the experience you create for your visitors. A well-executed website on a modest platform will outperform a poorly executed website on the most sophisticated CMS every time.
Take the time to evaluate your needs honestly, consider not just where you are today but where you want to be in two to three years, and choose a platform that supports your growth without creating unnecessary friction. Your future self, and your website visitors, will thank you.
