40+ Best WordPress Alternatives Open Source CMS and Blogging Platforms
Nobody can disagree that WordPress is the best blogging Platform out there. In fact it is the most used blogging platform and CMS out there but it should be known that WordPress is not the ONLY Blogging Platform and CMS. I am sure many bloggers out there think that they can use only WordPress to create their blogs or websites but it is wrong. There are in fact, hundreds of WordPress alternatives out there which gives stiff competition to WordPress.
In this post, we will try to learn more about the other alternatives to WordPress that you may want to try out in our upcoming projects.
GNARL!! WHY WOULD WE NEED AN ALTERNATIVE TO WORDPRESS!!
I know you are probably thinking this in your mind. Yep! I agree, WordPress is robust, WordPress is easy to learn, WordPress has a huge community to support it, WordPress has a huge plugins and themes repository which will help you convert WordPress into any kind of site/blog that you may want BUT there may still be reasons why WordPress is not the best option for your blog or site. Some of which may be:
- Maybe WordPress just does not suit your requirements. It may just not fit in your needs
- WordPress being too popular attracts a huge amount of spam. many bloggers would not want to deal with that.
- WordPress popularity has also made it a target point for hackers, since the code is easily available for the developers as well as the hackers.
- WordPress was developed as a blogging platform and using it as a CMS certainly has a lot of disadvantages. Why not use other full fledged CMS?
MIGHTY COMPETITORS
Below is the list of WordPress Alternatives CMS that gives WordPress a run for their money. Each of these CMS systems (WordPress Alternatives) have a huge community behind them and a lot of plugins and themes in their repository.
JOOMLA
If you have been around for long enough then you probably have already heard about the name Joomla. Joomla is a robust and an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla one of the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.
DRUPAL
Drupal is an open source Content Management System that can create anything to a small blog to a large community website. You can even create discussion websites, corporate pages, personal blogs, directories and even social networking sites – all in a breeze.
MOVABLE TYPE
Movable Type is a powerful all-in-one tool that lets you create blogs and entire websites with one platform. Being flexible with themes and plugins, you can really do anything with Movable Type! Movable Type is free, but for those who need a larger amount of support (like a business), Movable Type Pro comes with more features – and is not free.
HABARI
Habari is a free blogging system that, although is still new – proves to be a safe, firm, and well-rounded solution for many. Called the ‘future of blogging’, this flexible system is well on its way to being a huge force in the CMS market. Habari gets its name from a Swahili Word that means “whats the news”. A feature that makes Habari unique is its built-in importers for Serendipity and WordPress, so it’s easy to make the change.
SERENDIPITY
Serendipity is a PHP-powered weblog application which gives the user an easy way to maintain an online diary, weblog or even a complete homepage. It’s designed for causal bloggers but plugin and development options are available that allow it to be tweaked for your purpose. This platform has native anti-spam support, nested categories and comment threads that offer it unusual functionality.
TEXTPATTERN
Textpattern is a robust CMS. It’s most useful for blogs, although full sites can and have been created with Textpattern as well. It happens to be quite flexible – you can create almost anything with plugins and a custom sections and styling. Personally, I would only recommend this to people who have dealt with PHP and other CMS’s before; although using Textpattern is fairly easy to learn.
LIFETYPE
LifeType is an open-source blogging platform with support for multiple blogs and users in a single installation. LifeType provides a brilliant WYSIWYG interface that makes publishing content a cinche. LifeType features integration for media that’s great for images, podcasts, and video. The anti-spam filter built in to LifeType takes the headache out of managing spam, so bloggers can do what they want – blog – rather than mess with spam.
B2EVOLUTION
b2evolution is a powerful, but basic platform that has photo management, multiple blog support, skins and plugin support as part of its default installation. Add news feeds, trackbacks, feedbacks, and localization and you have yourself a powerful blogging platform that even advanced bloggers will appreciate. Businesses can use b2evolution as a powerful Web CMS that can manage product information, blogs, wikis, downloads, and workflow to present a unified Web presence to customers.
FLATPRESS
FlatPress is an open source blogging system that does not need a database to work. This means that those without access to MySQL databases finally have a blogging system to fit their needs!With FlatPress, there are widgets and plugins to make your site as unique as you want it to be.
WORTHY MENTIONS
The following WordPress alternative CMS platforms are either new comers or do not have that huge of a fan following as the above mentioned Content Management Systems.
GetSimple CMS
Frog CMS
Nucleus CMS
WikyBlog
EggBlog
Zotonic
Wolf-CMS
Radiant CMS
JOJO
Magnolia
DeployCMS
CushyCMS
BoastMachine
DotClear
SilverStripe
Plone CMS
LoudBlog
Pods CMS
Zimplit
Contao
Ruubik CMS
sNews
Hotaru CMS
Symphony
Croogo
PyroCMS
Melody
Concrete5
Zomplog
Sweet Rice
Nibbleblog
OpenBlog
Globber
Pixie CMS
You may have noticed that I have not mentioned platforms like Blogger, Tumblr and Posterous because those are all hosted platforms, We are all discussing here only about self hosted platforms, applications which can be installed in your own server and used and modified according to your own will.
Also, I have only mentioned Open Source Content Management Systems (CMS) and Blogging Platforms to WordPress, there are other paid CMS platforms too which give WordPress a good competition.
Have you ever used any of the platforms mentioned above. If so can you share your experience with us in the comments
Share this article
Category: Blogging
About the Author (Author Profile)
Kori is the editor and owner of Netchunks, a premier blog about Webmaster and Blogging Tips. She intends to make the web a friendlier place by sharing info and articles which will help other webmasters and bloggers to become successful online.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Comments (51)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Sites That Link to this Post
- Tweets that mention 40+ Best Wordpress Alternatives Open Source CMS and Blogging Platforms | Netchunks -- Topsy.com | December 7, 2010
- World Spinner | December 8, 2010
- The Ultimate List of Premium Wordpress Theme Providers | Netchunks | May 8, 2011
- 3 Attractive Plugins To Tart Up Your WordPress Site | December 5, 2011
- WordPress vs. Joomla - [Best CMS Comparison] | December 24, 2011
I have never known that there are so many blogging platforms! The list is great! It’s not an easy task but I gonna look at them and choose several better ones.
I am very big fan of Joomla and actually I prefer Joomla for any kind of website. It is perfect for blogging or for building portal or even social community. The webhosting is expensive, but if you know what you are doing, it can be really SE friendly and repay more than 100 times.
Joomla – best cms for blog!!!
This is rediculous, Im aware of 7 platforms and was about to write an article on 15 and was collecting the list. You’ve done 40!
Its of no use if i post it now at GC.
Great post bro!
How many days u worked on this list?
GadgetCage recently posted..5 Essential Tips for Windows 7 That You Must Be Aware off – Part IV
Personally I prefer Joomla, for me this is the most powerful CMS. It is very flexible and heavy, it is good to have reliable shared hosting or VPS.
Richard recently posted..Windows Patch Management and You
You did you’re assignment really really well. So there are these many options? Good Job!
Ivan recently posted..Send Xbox Repair- Simple Fixes to Consider Before Sending Your Xbox for Repair
No no, a thousand times no – I’m WP-centric to the max. Too old to learn new tricks (I just moved from unix VI to WordPress….
)
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach recently posted..AHOY! I need REVIEWERS! The Joys of Rapid Fire Product Creation…
The other solutions are all ok but I still recommend wordpress to my clients because the platform is pretty much guaranteed to stay in business while there is always the danger that lesser known platforms may disappear in the future.
Twitter: rohitbatra14
says:
Pretty Big List…I heard and tried only Joomla and Drupal and now shifted back to WordPress..for Blogging i recommend WordPress otherwise i recommend Joomla its a powerful one..
Rohit | Ipod Touch 4G recently posted..Wallpapers HD for iTouch 4G
Buddy, that’s a massive list – Great Post and share
Mrinmay Bhattacharjee recently posted..Funny Infographic If Web Browsers were Celebrities!
It really is a massive list isn’t it.
Twitter: esoftload
says:
great list… i used some of the platform and i can conclude that nothing is better than wordpress from my view….
esoftload recently posted..Things To Avoid – Google Adsense
Thanks for sharing the great and big list mate. Joomla and drupal are awesome i dono about the others.
Blogger is the best after wordpress!
Excellent post, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little homework on that. And he in fact bought me lunch because I found it for him.
Hehe.. Great list mate! But still, I don’t think they can beat WordPress. WordPress is really simple and also very powerful!
Pubudu recently posted..Whats The Best Place to Sell Your Old Mobile
Oh, that’s a lot.. but I still believe in WordPress.. I don’t know with you guys.
IT Rush recently posted..TOP HI-TECH GADGETS FOR GADGET LOVERS
Wow, so huge list. Don’t even know that there are so many platflorms. But I think that only Joomla really able competes with WordPress. Joomla is very convenient to create online stores (with VirtueMart script), many users choose it for this reason.
It is good that there are many alternatives to WordPress. Competition only makes each product strive to be better at serving the needs of the users.
Seems like I hear about wordpress all the time. Nice to see there are many alternatives to it out there. Nice list. I will definitely check out some of these other platforms.
omg , i ddnt know there were so many of them … greaet list ….. wp tops all
Sourish
Iphone 4 Jailbreak recently posted..WiFi Sync – Jailbreak App on Sale 299
Great!! thanks for sharing us but maybe for me I just want to master wordpress before doing next alternatives…
Jomar recently posted..Getting Your Ex Back Through Self-Improvement
I’ve been using Joomla for a few of my sites for quite sometimes, and am totally impressed with it
It has all the features I need, and a huge library for extensions!
Amr Boghdady recently posted..Das Wort des Tages
excellent alternatives,……
Crunchynow recently posted..Manage 404 Pages and Get SEO Boost from 404 SEO Plugin
they may be good to be used for corporate site
but if we talk about personal blog, WordPress is way too better than those
I have tried two of the list, which are Joomla and Drupal..
However i still vote for wordpress
Kimi recently posted..w3 total cache vs wp super cache Video review
Great list! Another CMS worth considering is ImpressCMS. It was chosen last year as “Most Promising Open Source CMS” by PacktPublishing.
Wow, a good list of WordPress alternatives. I have heard most of them and have even used a few of them, but my favorite is still WordPress. As we can see from the comments here, almost all love WordPress!
Jasmine recently posted..5 Free Domain Checker Tools
Great list of the best CMS! Thanks for all these discovering!
Maximilien recently posted..New GTA 5 Trailer
you can freely add Campsite CMS from Sourcefabric – here is the link: http://www.sourcefabric.org/
These are all great alternatives but I still think I will stick to wordpress.
i still remember when
i use Dotclear.
but i don’t how
to convert wp theme to
Dotclear theme.
Ali ridha recently posted..Malaysia Juara Piala AFF Suzuki 2010
What a long list of alternatives. But my heart still stays with WordPress, I love its easy to use interface and extendability!
Jasmine recently posted..Malaysia Web Hosting WebServercommy Review
Twitter: vanmarciano
says:
Exceptional list here, I’ve certainly heard of the top 4 as many have and I am familiar with Zotonic. Well done thanks for sharing.
Fabrizio Van Marciano recently posted..56 Ways to Get More People to Like your Facebook Fan Page!
First off I just want to say that this is the most impressive and thorough list of Open Source CMS I have ever seen. Thanks for that!
I personally have used Movable Type and didn’t have any problems with it. I blogged for a now defunct blog network that used Movable Type, and that was my first exposure to a blogging CMS platform.
I would also be interested in a list of hosted platforms. I wonder if there are even more of those than the self-hosted options.
- Andrew
Andrew recently posted..Ever Wondered How To Make Rap Beats
I tried Joomla before but it is quite difficult to use and customize. Therefore, I will continue sticking to the WordPress platform.
Tuan recently posted..Access Blocked Facebook on Apple MacBook
Twitter: netchunks
says:
Well actually dude WordPress is the best for blogging sites and it has no competitors, Joomla and all can come useful when you are developing other kind of sites besides blogging, for example ecommorce, business etc
Twitter: wpblogtips
says:
Finding out what you want from wordpress, for me, is the hardest thing to do. I have worked with the product for years and have used it both as a platform and as a product. I see it as a force, one that can be molded for what ever purposes the end-user dreams.At least, in my experience, this has been the case.
anuj recently posted..How To Add Custom 404 Error Page In Thesis Theme
I’ve been looking for a good alternative to WordPress for awhile now and found Zazavi recently. It’s incredible: http://www.zazavi.com
Just did a new wordpress install through Yahoo and on the Reading tab there is NO option to make a static page the home page. Im using wordpres version 3.04. has something changed recently. how do i do this. i dont want to use the blog as a blog with posts , but as a website with pages.
Thank you for the work you have put into this post, it helps clear up some questions I had.I will bookmark your blog because your posts are very informative.We appreciate your posts and look forward to coming back…
I like your post and the effort made by you because i am feeling very peaceful after reading it which tends me to leave a comment and be a loyal reader i will read your all upcoming posts so keep composing like this one.
I still vote for WordPress. I am accustomed to it. the interface, the user-friendly thing is one way to get things easily done. Unlike others, that makes the user confused and get delayed on setting things up, though some are very good. The important thing is the user-friendly status.
Twitter: Jajodia_Saket
says:
Awesome, I never knew there are so many open source platforms are available I thought there are v.few selected ones.. Thanks man for this info.. Just bookmarked in case if I need them in future..
Saket Jajodia recently posted..Reasons Why Blip.TV Is Better Then YouTube
I only concern about SEO, are the other SEO friendly? Thanks
Latief recently posted..SEO Service For Local Search
“Nobody can disagree that WordPress is the best blogging Platform out there.”
I disagree. Let’s see you serve 1 million unique visitors every month with over 300,000+ posts spanning across 200 different blogs in a single WP install on just one server and not have ANY issues. THEN you can talk about it being the best. WordPress SUCKS. Unfortunately, it is currently the only multi-blog platform out there that has the flexibility we need. As soon as someone else kicks WP’s butt, WP will be a mere memory.
Let me give you an example of what I see daily: Pages randomly not being served to the client, server CPU utilization through the roof, 20+ second page loads, every request that loads the main WP engine consumes anywhere from 32MB to 64MB RAM, no one on the WP Support forums is able to help with the moderators having the tendency to simply ban posts they don’t like, and the web server logs are pretty much useless.
And before you think we aren’t doing everything we can or have an underpowered server – we’ve got WP Super Cache, nginx, PHP opcode caching, and php-fpm all running on very nice dedicated server hardware to keep every request that we can away from the main WP engine. Everything is tweaked for maximum performance and it still isn’t enough – and some of the stuff is causing more problems than it solves.
So our team didn’t come to the conclusion that WordPress SUCKS lightly. Hosts like GoDaddy have dedicated WP server farms BECAUSE WordPress is a hog and they don’t want WP running on their main server farm. Of course, we didn’t learn about that fact until after we started running into problems and had already committed to a WP environment. WordPress simply can’t handle real-world scenarios.
Of course, looking over this list, nothing the author mentions can act as a replacement either. CMSes mixed in with dedicated blogging platforms makes it hard to separate them.