Despite all the content Management Systems available, Wordpress remains the most well-known. WordPress powers more than 455 million websites, which means most designers and developers have probably used it at least once, if not more.

WordPress has been the go-to platform for bloggers for over a decade, and thanks to skilled theme developers, it’s also become a popular choice for businesses. The platform itself is barebones, but with a good theme and the right plugins, you can create a powerful website.

Although WordPress is powerful, it’s not the end-all-be-all of content management systems. There are other options out there and some are even better, depending on the features you need. 

If you’re looking for a good website platform, consider these three alternatives to WordPress.

1. Umbraco

Umbraco and WordPress are much different in terms of structure. WordPress was built to be a blogging platform, while Umbraco was built to be a friendly CMS for building professional websites. 

While you need to install potentially insecure third-party plugins to get basic functionality with WordPress, Umbraco has built-in features, making it more secure.

With a more technical user interface, Umbraco is ideal for people who can hire a developer to complete their web project. However, with a little patience it’s not hard to learn.

Another benefit to using Umbraco is the ability to create page templates. Once you create a page layout that you like, you can save it as a template and reuse that template to create additional content. This feature works perfectly if you’re planning on marketing your website using PPC ads with landing pages, for example. When you have templates, you won’t have to design new pages from scratch.

2. Webflow

Webflow is a newer CMS, but it comes packed with features and is ideal when you need to build your site fast. The best part is you don’t need to work with a single line of code in order to customize your site just the way you want. 

With Webflow, you can create and edit your entire website visually, right on the pages from the front-end. This means you can use Webflow to create websites for clients and hand it off for them to edit their own content.

To build a website on this platform, you can start with a basic template or create your own layout from scratch. You’ll build your site by moving elements into place and adding additional elements wherever you like. It’s truly one of the best content management systems around, especially if you need an extremely simple and easy way to edit content.

3. Wix

If you’re looking for a simple website CMS, Wix might be what you need. Although it’s not as powerful as WordPress, it’s easier to use and you can get up and running fast. There’s no software to download and install, no databases to set up, and your account will be hosted, which means you don’t have to buy a separate hosting account.

Wix scores high in terms of being intuitive and customer support – two things many other CMSs lack. Wix is the ideal platform for running a basic business website, a small ecommerce store, and can also facilitate digital downloads. You can also run a blog on Wix, but you can only choose one type of template for your whole site and you can’t change that template later.

While you can run an ecommerce site on Wix, it’s only ideal if you have a limited number of products or services to sell. However, if you have basic needs, Wix would be an excellent choice. You’ll avoid all the complexities that come with having to learn your way around WordPress when you just need a basic site.

Which CMS is right for you?

The answer depends on your needs. To recap, WordPress is great if you don’t mind hosting your own installation and don’t require technical support. However, if you need a powerful website for your business, Umbraco is ideal. 

On the other hand, if you’re after a fast turnaround time, you’ll do great with Webflow. Finally, if you’re after simplicity, Wix is a good option.

If you’re not sure which CMS is right for you, test each one to see which user interface feels right. Or, if you’re planning on hiring a developer, ask for their opinion and let them choose for you.