Introduction

If you’ve decided to branch out into opening your own brand or business, one of the first things to do is set up a website so you can take advantage of all the wonderful online marketing opportunities available nowadays.

No matter what kind of brand or business you own, a website is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to promote yourself in the digital era.

When you’re running a website, you’ll need some way to manage all the content that goes along with it. Fortunately, there are a host of platforms available today which do precisely that, i.e. manage content of every kind.

What is a Content Management System?

In the simplest terms, a content management system (CMS) is a software application that you can use to create your website as well as modify digital content. It’s the foundation on which most websites are built, and it’s also where you will go to update your site and to keep all your information current.

A CMS allows you to structure, manage and display images, videos and written text (content) to visitors to your website with relative ease. It follows that a good CMS goes hand in hand with building and maintaining a website.

These are, in our opinion, some of the best content management systems available for anyone who wants to start a website these days, whether it be for business or personal use:

WordPress

WordPress is by far the most popular and well-known CMS around today. It’s open-source (free) software that anybody can use to create their own business website.

It’s easy to use WordPress as long as you are comfortable around computers and even beginners can set up a website, blog, or online store using this CMS. There are thousands of free themes and templates to choose from, or you can opt for more customizable paid-themes.

Joomla

Like WordPress, Joomla is also free and open-source software. It’s easy to use, with one-click installations, and is suitable for starting a blog, or any kind of business or community website.

While Joomla doesn’t offer as many options as WordPress, there are still plenty of choices when it comes to free themes and useful extensions.

Shopify

Shopify is designed with ecommerce stores in mind and it’s one of the fastest-growing content management systems around. It’s easy and quick to set up shop online with Shopify as well as manage products and receive payments from your customers.

If preferred, you can integrate your Shopify store with your WordPress site too.

Drupal

Drupal is also free software with several modules and themes to help you design your own website.

Unfortunately, this platform is a little trickier to use than the others when it comes to setting up your site. However, once your website is set up and live, adding content is super easy and quick.

Squarespace

While Squarespace falls far behind WordPress with regard to how many people are using it, it’s actually easier to operate than WordPress. Drag and drop functionality means setting up your site and making changes is really simple.

Squarespace also offers a style editor, modern templates, and customizable content layouts, as well as free Typekit and Google fonts.

Wix

With the free version of Wix, you can set up a website without a domain or hosting provider; they’ll give you a free Wix one instead.

This popular CMS is exceptionally user-friendly, although the customization options are a little limited. You can create a perfectly useable website for your business, blog, or online store with Wix.

Bitrix24

Bitrix is an all-in-one business tool that offers a CMS platform as well as collaboration tools. The basic plan is free, but you’ll need to pay for any additional extras you want.

Free website hosting at this level is a bonus, as well as a wide range of customization features and the drag-and-drop functionality makes it a breeze to use.

With so many features, Bitrix24 can be confusing for novice users.

Blogger

Blogger is a very popular CMS for people who only want to publish blogs and it’s totally free. Unfortunately, you never actually own the work you place on it, so Google could delete your site at any time.

It’s not suitable for creating a conventional business website either, unless you’re in the business of blogging.

With so many features, Bitrix24 can be confusing for novice users.

Magento

Magento is easy to use if you want to build an online store, receive online payments, manage products and more. The community edition of this open-source software is available for free.
There are also paid plans available that include cloud hosting, support, and other nice-to-have features.

Some people find it difficult to install Magento since some hosting providers don’t offer the one-click installation that makes other CMS solutions so user-friendly.

Prestashop

It’s free and easy to create a customized ecommerce store using Prestashop, but you’ll need a web hosting provider to make your site live online. Alternatively, you can buy the ready-to-use version which comes with hosting.

Opencart

Opencart isn’t suitable for big businesses, but it’s perfect for small entrepreneurial ventures. It’s easy to set up pages in several different languages with this CMS and it also has a number of handy data collection tools.

The only drawback with Opencart is that things can get complicated when you want to make changes to the layout of your site.

Typo3

In general, this CMS is difficult to install and takes some time to master. As such, it’s not recommended for novice users.

Weebly

This popular free website builder is easy to use and offers a huge range of options to choose from. You can use it to create a business website, blog, or ecommerce site.

It’s pretty easy to customize your page layouts with Weebly too.

Are You Ready to Get Started?

A website extends your reach way beyond the realms of your neighborhood. Depending on the types of goods and services you are selling, a website can even replace a physical premises. In fact, there are thousands of brands today that operate solely online, for example, Airbnb.

Setting up a website is one of the first and most important steps for any entrepreneur, and in many companies your website is your online shopfront. Keep reading our blog for more about all the things that are involved in getting your business up and running.

Introduction

If you’ve decided to branch out into opening your own brand or business, one of the first things to do is set up a website so you can take advantage of all the wonderful online marketing opportunities available nowadays.

No matter what kind of brand or business you own, a website is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to promote yourself in the digital era.

When you’re running a website, you’ll need some way to manage all the content that goes along with it. Fortunately, there are a host of platforms available today which do precisely that, i.e. manage content of every kind.

What is a Content Management System?

In the simplest terms, a content management system (CMS) is a software application that you can use to create your website as well as modify digital content. It’s the foundation on which most websites are built, and it’s also where you will go to update your site and to keep all your information current.

A CMS allows you to structure, manage and display images, videos and written text (content) to visitors to your website with relative ease. It follows that a good CMS goes hand in hand with building and maintaining a website.

These are, in our opinion, some of the best content management systems available for anyone who wants to start a website these days, whether it be for business or personal use:

WordPress

WordPress is by far the most popular and well-known CMS around today. It’s open-source (free) software that anybody can use to create their own business website.

It’s easy to use WordPress as long as you are comfortable around computers and even beginners can set up a website, blog, or online store using this CMS. There are thousands of free themes and templates to choose from, or you can opt for more customizable paid-themes.

Joomla

Like WordPress, Joomla is also free and open-source software. It’s easy to use, with one-click installations, and is suitable for starting a blog, or any kind of business or community website.

While Joomla doesn’t offer as many options as WordPress, there are still plenty of choices when it comes to free themes and useful extensions.

Shopify

Shopify is designed with ecommerce stores in mind and it’s one of the fastest-growing content management systems around. It’s easy and quick to set up shop online with Shopify as well as manage products and receive payments from your customers.

If preferred, you can integrate your Shopify store with your WordPress site too.

Drupal

Drupal is also free software with several modules and themes to help you design your own website.

Unfortunately, this platform is a little trickier to use than the others when it comes to setting up your site. However, once your website is set up and live, adding content is super easy and quick.

Squarespace

While Squarespace falls far behind WordPress with regard to how many people are using it, it’s actually easier to operate than WordPress. Drag and drop functionality means setting up your site and making changes is really simple.

Squarespace also offers a style editor, modern templates, and customizable content layouts, as well as free Typekit and Google fonts.

Wix

With the free version of Wix, you can set up a website without a domain or hosting provider; they’ll give you a free Wix one instead.

This popular CMS is exceptionally user-friendly, although the customization options are a little limited. You can create a perfectly useable website for your business, blog, or online store with Wix.

Bitrix24

Bitrix is an all-in-one business tool that offers a CMS platform as well as collaboration tools. The basic plan is free, but you’ll need to pay for any additional extras you want.

Free website hosting at this level is a bonus, as well as a wide range of customization features and the drag-and-drop functionality makes it a breeze to use.

With so many features, Bitrix24 can be confusing for novice users.

Blogger

Blogger is a very popular CMS for people who only want to publish blogs and it’s totally free. Unfortunately, you never actually own the work you place on it, so Google could delete your site at any time.

It’s not suitable for creating a conventional business website either, unless you’re in the business of blogging.

With so many features, Bitrix24 can be confusing for novice users.

Magento

Magento is easy to use if you want to build an online store, receive online payments, manage products and more. The community edition of this open-source software is available for free.
There are also paid plans available that include cloud hosting, support, and other nice-to-have features.

Some people find it difficult to install Magento since some hosting providers don’t offer the one-click installation that makes other CMS solutions so user-friendly.

Prestashop

It’s free and easy to create a customized ecommerce store using Prestashop, but you’ll need a web hosting provider to make your site live online. Alternatively, you can buy the ready-to-use version which comes with hosting.

Opencart

Opencart isn’t suitable for big businesses, but it’s perfect for small entrepreneurial ventures. It’s easy to set up pages in several different languages with this CMS and it also has a number of handy data collection tools.

The only drawback with Opencart is that things can get complicated when you want to make changes to the layout of your site.

Typo3

In general, this CMS is difficult to install and takes some time to master. As such, it’s not recommended for novice users.

Weebly

This popular free website builder is easy to use and offers a huge range of options to choose from. You can use it to create a business website, blog, or ecommerce site.

It’s pretty easy to customize your page layouts with Weebly too.

Are You Ready to Get Started?

A website extends your reach way beyond the realms of your neighborhood. Depending on the types of goods and services you are selling, a website can even replace a physical premises. In fact, there are thousands of brands today that operate solely online, for example, Airbnb.

Setting up a website is one of the first and most important steps for any entrepreneur, and in many companies your website is your online shopfront. Keep reading our blog for more about all the things that are involved in getting your business up and running.