Millions of people choose WordPress to create their websites, and it’s no coincidence. It allows users of all backgrounds to build custom sites easily and quickly with its myriad of themes, widgets, and plugins and its intuitive block editor.
However, WordPress is not a universal solution. It comes with some responsibility, and you need to look for hosting.
This article provides an in-depth look at WordPress alternatives to help you find the right solution for your goals and needs.
Should you ultimately decide to stick with the most popular website builder, have a look at this quick WordPress installation guide to make operation easier.
CMS Alternatives
The alternatives to WordPress come in two categories: CMS (content management system) and website builder alternatives. The first group includes Drupal, PrestaShop, Joomla, Magento, and more. Here are the details.
Drupal
Drupal’s customization options are practically endless. However, it’s most suitable for users with a background in PHP, CSS, and HTML.
Drupal may have fewer themes and modules than WordPress, but they’re very configurable. You always have control over how your site looks and works.
Needless to say, it’s harder to set up a Drupal site than a WordPress one. It’s also more complicated. If one makes an effort, they end up with a highly customized and secure site that can cope with large volumes of traffic and data.
Drupal is best for institutions like universities, agencies, and big corporations.
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is open-source, which means you can use the basic software without paying. You can also change the code as you wish. Compared to platforms like WordPress and Shopify, its dashboard can look really busy. It’s also harder to set up. However, it allows users to create a highly customized site out of the box.
Joomla
Joomla lets users configure many settings and modify banners, articles, media, menus, redirects, and more. The official directory has 6,000 extensions for added functionality. You must install these via the backend, so you can reckon with a steep learning curve.
Users with some expertise in web development will avail of the builder’s inbuilt flexibility to create more customized platforms.
Magento
Like PrestaShop, Magento is self-hosted with free software. However, extensions are not free, and the costs can add up.
Magento is suitable for e-commerce. It’s highly secure and flexible and has a steep learning curve. You can design your site as you wish as long as you have some coding experience.
Website Builder Alternatives to WordPress
This section looks at some website builders that can be used to create a site quickly. They include Wix and Jimdo.
Wix
Wix offers very high security, free and quality web hosting, and various SEO tools. There is a helpful and friendly support team to assist you in building and administrating the site.
There are hundreds of preset templates, which you can modify easily via the drag-and-drop editor. You can add scroll effects, video backgrounds, and animation for visual appeal. You can also design details from the ground up if you have experience with HTML and CSS.
Wix is perfect for small businesses or people creating portfolios due to its intuitiveness and comparatively low price.
Jimdo
Jimdo offers domain name registration, hosting, a user-friendly editing tool, and an email account. Its paid plans are the go-to option if you want search engines to index your site. These come with SEO tools, an SSL certificate, and other basic features.
Jimdo is a good option for startups and small businesses creating small online shops or simple websites. Its ease of use and affordable prices will please those who want to create portfolio sites or set up personal blogs.
Squarespace
You can choose from more than two dozen templates optimized for mobile with the final choice. They can be customized to build a site fast. You can create and optimize content using their SEO and blogging tools as you design your pages.
Once your site is live, the analytics tools will tell you what your visitors are looking for, the source of your website traffic, and how they’re interacting with your products or content.
Limited functionality is the most frequent complaint about Squarespace. There are neither plugins nor extra modules.