Since its inception, WordPress has grown as a widely-used content management system for creating simple web blogs to more complicated web platforms and online shops. But, let me remind you something: WordPress is insanely powerful and flexible, but if it is dominating the market – it does not always mean it is the best choice for every site. Indeed, one can find many compelling prospects in relation to WordPress successors capable of providing specific facilities or a unique strategy of content management. Here is an overview of 13 leading options to consider if WordPress doesn’t seem like the ideal fit:Here is an overview of 13 leading options to consider if WordPress doesn’t seem like the ideal fit:
Pubvana
Describing itself as ‘the ultimate website and digital publishing solution’, Pubvana is aimed primarily at sMMEs operating in the niche of media and publishing. Now, packed with a variety of free and paid monetization tools for creating content for web publication, it also offers integrated ecommerce solution, subscriber management, smart paywalls, and advertising optimization. In case publishers are looking for an end-to-end solution that caters to their requirements above a general CMS, Pubvana deserves more consideration.
Dotclear
Dotclear is an open source blogging platform and is somewhat like WordPress and is lighter and faster, and uses fewer resources to run, yet still provides options to its users for content management. Dotclear offers multiple blogs that need not be limited to a single site they can be hosted on. One of the most important aspects is speed and security, which in turn makes it a possible substitute for sites where the focus is on quick response and a lightweight system rather than any of the benefits WordPress can offer.
Serendipity
For instance, Serendipity is an open source blogging software designed specifically for this purpose, and not a comprehensive content management solution, and as such, it may lack some features in order to deliver users a simple blogging experience. For individual bloggers who do not necessarily aim to create a large media site or an online magazine, Serendipity is a viable way to create a blog that would publish content in a chronological manner; at the same time, it removes some of the extra features and settings that might be useful but could also be overwhelming for the user that is not very experienced with website building.
SitePad
For those who are not able to code or do not want to but still want to be able to freely edit both front- and backend aspects of their site, SitePad gives quite an interesting perspective to WordPress. It has a simple and intuitive WYSIWYG editor consisting of drag and drog elements to place wherever in the page as needed, it already has implemented all the SEO recommendations and very secure backend. For those who are interested in simple and do-it-yourself method of website building, SitePad has visual layout that would attract novices who do not have the time or interest in getting deep into the mechanics of it.
B2evolution
Another example of the mature and open source CMS it is b2evolution that permits using multiple blogs, statics pages, comments, forums, media galleries and other standard site features. Where it is different is in that it permits sites to either be hosted collectively on the same back end as a unified site, or else split into multiple sites that only reside on the same server at the owner’s discretion. For those expecting to manage more than one site/blog with a single account, b2evolution aims at offering the enterprise level CMS freedom or elasticity without necessarily being tied to complex skills.
Textpattern
A content management system that was developed with the intention of being light and modular, Textpattern has several unique selling points, most notable of which are the highly modifiable and easily extensible templates referred to as ‘tags’, the ability to seamlessly integrate with other back-end systems, and the fact that it is faster than a more heavy-duty platform such as WordPress. If you’re not that interested in multimedia aspects and are more concerned with the delivery of text content in a range of appealing and highly flexible formats, then Textpattern might just be like a breath of fresh air as opposed to the CMS behemoth that WordPress has become.
Nibbleblog
As a blog builder and website creator, Nibbleblog is designed for everyday people who want to share their stories online and for small businesses too busy or unable to invest in developing a fully-functional website. For Nibbleblog, free Monthly and Pro paid subscription plans are provided The WYSIWYG editor is one of the highlights of the Nibbleblog, coupled with integrated analytics, photo galleries, contact forms, guestbooks, forums, custom CSS, SEO support and mobile responsiveness. Nibbleblog deserves consideration among new or even very lightly staffed sites seeking a simple and affordable CMS solution for the price range and level of features offered.
HTMLy
Of all the site builders raised and developed at the front end, this one is for those who care less about the WCMs and more about CMSs that can shift and change as the Internet does. HTMLy leverages a building block view to enable users to modify pages using templates for pages, as well as lower-level design elements, and by incorporating third-party applications or existing sites. HTMLy is an ideal CMS for web designers who are unhappy working within strict confines of most CMS platforms but at the same time do not have the inclination to do hardcore coding: imagination and ambition dictate the breadth of the creativity rather than the technical limitations.
Nucleus
Also like WordPress, Nucleus is open source and simplifies the overall administration by organizing the site around a publishing model that directly links pages, items, and categories. While in most aspects it may be comparatively stripped down in terms of features to WordPress, here Nucleus positions itself as simpler, more flexible, and faster – probably good for basic blogs, or informational sites that don’t need patron management, shopping carts, or access controls. A simple administration interface, and the absence of a bloated database might make Nucleus a good choice for quickly creating and launching simplistic sites.
Chyrp
Chyrp calls itself a “simple blogging engine” and utilizes the php scripting language and MySQL database. Consequently, it does not have the size or multitude of plugins that make WordPress what it is today, but rather, it restores users to the basics – post management. Thus, for those individual bloggers who may have little concern over such matters as multimedia options, access controls, the capability to develop and implement new features, and other such features that allow savvy site managers to tweak their site to near perfection, Chyrp is merely a bare-bones blogging solution.
FlatPress
As expected from the name, FlatPress was a flat file blogging platform stating that it does not use databases to enhance the site’s performance. Unlike most of its counterparts, blogs in FlatPress are set in the actual form of file directories on servers and not as tables and data in databases which helps to keep resource utilization minimal and at the same time it comes with the most common features such as, custom themes/layouts, categories, comments etc. For these, FlatPress deserves its merit in blogs where speed and dependability are fundamental values.
PivotX
PivotX is another open source solution which has a skinnable template system to liberate a design from the limitations of the implementation, offering much more customization liberties than in WordPress. It also features an interactive Drag-and-Drop mechanism for arranging the content placement and shares similar simplicity for the viewers, including the options for comments, subscriptions, rates, and Search Engine Optimization. As we know WordPress sites require certain degree of sophistication for customization visually and for site owners who are getting irritated with this, PivotX seems to be an appealing solution.
Leafpub
Of the purely self-hosted and open source options that target simplicity head-on, perhaps the simplest is Leafpub, an Online Journal/spot blog that makes it easy to post text content alongside simple photo galleries. It is intentionally minimal and free of unnecessary frills; it lacks support for previews, tags, comments, etc. , but these are basic blogging tools, such as RSS feeds, which most users should expect from a platform These are common add-ons that the majority of users don’t need or want, or as a simple starting point for personal bloggers who do not want to bother with the setup of a basic WordPress blog.
