Top 6 Content Management Systems and Their Global Market Share

Building a website requires research, ample knowledge, patience, time, and money. You’d need a team of experts to consult with and build the website as there are lots of things that you need to consider beforehand.

One of the most important factors to consider is choosing the right CMS for your website, which we will also discuss today. We will see which Content Management Systems are the most popular and what their current market shares are.

Definition of a Content Management System or CMS

To put it simply, content management systems or CMS are software that help individuals and teams create their own website or online platform. They can be used by anyone to publish and manage all types of web content – text, images, tables, etc. – without having a vast knowledge of coding.

Most CMS are web-based and can be used by business owners, companies, and bloggers. A CMS makes building a website easier, especially for non-tech people. It is also used to update and maintain the website as a dynamic system.

With regard to ownership, there are two main types of CMS, namely: Proprietary CMS and Open-Source CMS.

Proprietary CMS

Using a proprietary CMS means that you would have to secure a license or permission before using the CMS. These licenses are owned by companies, which means that they hold all the rights that are associated with the system. Most of these companies prevent users from making any type of changes and duplication of the CMS.

Pros of Using a Proprietary CMS:

  • The company that owns the CMS system will handle all the technical aspects of it, and you don’t have to worry about coding and such. You’d only have to think about uploading your content.
  • The CMS tech and designer teams are not anonymous and usually very highly qualified
  • You’d have good choices when it comes to website designs and templates.
  • There is usually a very clear calculation of your costs for website support, hosting, updates

Cons of Using a Proprietary CMS

  • You have to pay for using a proprietary CMS
  • There is some uncertainty what would happen to your site and content if the CMS company-owner experiences any difficulties, shuts down or is sold
  • Customizations and enhancements are often not an option with a Proprietary CMS. You cannot view and change the code even if you are a developer.
  • Moving to a new CMS is not possible as you will lose access to your website once you decide to cut ties with the company. You’d have to start from scratch if ever you decide to move to a new CMS.
  • You have to check if your web-hosting company supports the proprietary CMS you have chosen as not all hosts do

Examples of proprietary content management systems are Adobe Experience Manager, Kentico, and SiteCore.

Open Source CMS

Most companies use Open Source CMS for their websites, as this gives them a lot more freedom and flexibility when it comes to managing their websites. Open Source CMS doesn’t require its users to obtain a license or permission, meaning that they have the freedom to do whatever they want with their websites. The most popular Open Source CMS include WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla.

Open Source CMS Pros

  • There is no need to worry and pay for commitments, licenses, or rights.
  • Thousands of plugins are available for purchase and download. These plugins can make your website user-friendly and attractive.
  • You have the freedom to choose from a wide array of design templates.
    Open Source CMS is more search engine-friendly.

Open Source CMS Cons

  • The free templates are used by many so your website might look similar to tons of other websites.
  • You might need to hire a developer if you are looking to work on a more advanced website.
  • You can’t transfer to another CMS if you are using your current CMS template. You’d have to change it altogether if you want to move to a new one.

Top CMS and Their Market Shares

Market share determines the number of people that are using a specific product. It is usually used to compare the statistics or marketability of one service, product, business, or company to another.

Let’s talk about the top CMS companies and their current market shares so you can decide which one is right for your business and company.

WordPress

WordPress is undeniably one of the most popular and widely-used open-source CMS. As of 2020, it has a market share of 61.8%, with over 27,000,000 websites using the system. WordPress has a lot of advantages that make it the most popular choice for CMS among business and website owners.

Some of the most popular companies using this CMS include Sony Music, BBC America, The Walt Disney Company, and Tech Crunch.

Some of the WordPress Pros

  • WordPress allows you to download and install thousands of plugins to your website to provide all the functionalities you need
    You can choose from thousands of themes and widgets for better user experience and custom design.
  • Highly customizable
  • SEO-ready
  • Mostly free – the CMS itself is forever free, however, some plugins and themes are paid or have premium versions
  • Responsive design suited for mobile devices
  • High security
  • You may download your content and use it in another WordPress website
  • You have full control of the website and your content
  • The WordPress community is huge and you get advice for anything

WordPress Cons

  • You are responsible for everything – from the backup, security, and even installing updates.
  • The main editor is not drag and drop but you can install a plugin that provides this feature.
  • You’d have to be knowledgeable when it comes to CSS and HTML as this will make it easier for you to use the system. The other option is to pay for a designer/developer.
  • You will have to additionally pay for hosting

Joomla

Joomla owns 4.7% of the CMS market share, making it number two on this list. The CMS hosts over 1,600,000 live websites. Companies such as Ikea, Peugeot, and Lipton Tea use Joomla to run their websites.

Joomla Pros

  • As we’ve mentioned earlier, Joomla is an open-source platform, which means that it’s free to use and doesn’t require a license or permission.
  • You can choose from hundreds of templates and extensions.
  • It supports eCommerce components which is great if you own a shopping site.
  • Joomla is easy to install.
  • It uses PHP scripting, which is the most common web development language.
  • Offers hundreds of plugins.
  • Expandable through some basic HTML coding.
  • Joomla has a large community that you can get help from.
  • SEO-ready.

Joomla Cons

  • It can be a little more complex to use compared to WordPress.
  • Joomla can sometimes have compatibility problems when used with some plugins, modules, and extensions.

Shopify

Shopify is by far the most popular website for e-commerce. It owns 3.2% of the market share and has over 1,053,000 live websites. Some of the most popular businesses using this system include Bulletproof, Budweiser, and Penguin Books.

Shopify Pros

  • Shopify offers guides for beginners, so you do not have to worry about the technical stuff.
  • Shopify is mobile-responsive, and the design quality is excellent.
  • Attractive templates and coding access.
  • Caters to both big and small online stores.
  • User-friendly.
  • Offers add-ons, both free and paid.
  • Huge community and 24-hour customer support.

Shopify Cons

  • It is created for eCommerce alone
  • You cannot download the CMS to use it on your own but have to pay a monthly fee
  • Their URL structure, blog posts, and other pages are not SEO-friendly.
  • Shopify usually charges a payment processor fee and transaction fee.
  • Content that’s outside of e-commerce can be a bit complicated to apply and build.

Drupal

Drupal is another open-source CMS. It focuses on handling websites that are content-heavy and have large databases. Drupal owns 3% of the market share and has over 555,000 live websites. It can handle all types of websites and businesses, though it might require the use of additional platforms and extensions.

Drupal Cros

  • Perfect for sites with large databases.
  • Drupal makes use of small modules that developers can use and get for free.
  • Community-platform websites can benefit from using Drupal.
  • Can handle complex coding and functionality.

Drupal Cons

  • You’d have to be knowledgeable with coding if you want to use Drupal as a CMS. It requires advanced coding, which can be difficult for beginners.
  • You’d have to hire a developer to install Drupal, as it requires technical expertise.

Squarespace

Squarespace has a drag-and-drop builder feature, which makes it easier for beginners to use. It owns 2.7% of the market share and has over 1,870,777 live websites to date. Some of the most popular Squarespace users include Idris Elba, Keanu Reeves, and John Malkovich.

Squarespace Pros

  • Squarespace has a collection of over 100 themes that you can choose from. Their themes are meticulously curated with amazing fonts, designs, and images. They are also highly customizable so you can match them to your website’s overall theme.
  • Their blogging feature is amazing, too, so if you are looking to populate your website with articles and blogs, then you might want to look into Squarespace. They have a commenting feature, post scheduling, multi-author functionality, AMP support, and more. You can even host a podcast!
  • They have an amazing chat support team that you can talk to if you need any type of assistance with Squarespace
  • It has an app that’s available for iOS users, wherein you can edit your website, blog, pages, and store.

Squarespace Cons

Squarespace doesn’t have an autosave feature, so you’d have to remember to save every time you make a change.
Squarespace is not ideal for multilingual websites.
Its templates are on the lower side of the ranking for Google’s Page Speed Tool. This could harm your search engine rankings in the long run.

Wix

Wix offers both free and premium subscriptions and has a CMS market share of 2.3%. They currently have about 3,800,000 live websites and some of their clients include Copper Bay Candles, Conqr, and Tea Story.

Wix Pros

  • Wix has amazing and unique pre-built templates.
  • Pixels can be moved around.
  • You have the freedom to animate your texts and other elements.
  • Website apps such as online booking widgets, newsletter tools, and live chat software can be integrated into it.
  • Has a software assistant that helps you generate a contact form, connect your social media to your site, and more.
    Offers automatic backup.

Wix Cons

  • It can be a bit costly with the ad-free plan starting at around $13 per month.
  • Templates cannot be changed once they’re implemented.
  • Wix can sometimes have slower loading times.

Conclusion

Choosing the right CMS to use for your enterprise can be quite confusing, but if you do your research, then you can surely make the right decision for yourself and your brand. Look at the pros and cons of each CMS. Make a list first of what your business and website need then choose the one that meets your needs the best.

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