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22.02.2023

Content Management

Strategy & Conceptualisation

Comparison of 4 content management systems

Find out which content management system is right for your project!

Author

Christa Schwandtner

Content management & editor

What is a CMS?

The tasks of a website sound quite simple: It needs to provide information to potential customers, include contact details and possibly come with a webshop. To achieve this, you fill it with text, images and videos. But in order for this content to be displayed properly, it has to be fed into a content management system – CMS for short. This system forms the basic framework for the content on your website.

The great thing about CMS is that developers have configured the systems in such a way that no programming knowledge is required to add or change the content on a website. Even though content management systems from various providers differ from one another, they are all based on a kind of “modular architecture”.

Spoilt for choice

Which CMS is right for your project?

When looking for a suitable content management system, you will soon come to realise: The choice is vast! Many CMS revolve around one of these three main areas:

Content management for blogs and news: The focus is on a clear structure and presentation of text and images. The Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) and WordPress are ideal for this.
Web content management: These types of CMS focus on the optimal presentation and maintenance of your content and web copy – Pimcore and TYPO3 offer what you need.
Social publishing and community management: The task of this type of CMS is to build a community and enable communication with and between users. WordPress or Drupal, for example, are suitable for this.

To help you choose, we will discuss four of the most common content management systems, including their advantages and disadvantages.

For the best experience on the web

WordPress

WordPress scores points with easy installation and intuitive operation. Small businesses and self-employed individuals in particular like to use it. Bloggers also find WordPress to be a handy CMS.

Plus, WordPress is especially budget-friendly. Installing it is free of charge, and its functionalities can be extended as desired with inexpensive plug-ins and templates.

Advantages	Disadvantages
inexpensive	many security gaps due to the countless plug-ins from various providers
search-engine friendly URLs	frequent security updates necessary
intuitive user interface	quickly overloaded with too many simultaneous accesses
large community that helps in case of problems	the system offers little overview for large websites

Flexible design of large websites

TYPO3

TYPO3 is a powerful open-source CMS that is mainly used for extensive web projects. As a licence-free CMS, it is free of charge, but it takes a developer to implement sophisticated functionalities. Once the website is up and running, the management and maintenance of website content can be done by anyone. But beware: Website content management requires a lot of time. If you can’t or don’t want to spend time on it, you should rely on the help of professional content managers!

Our tip: Before you decide on this CMS, we advise you to test it thoroughly in the demo version.

Advantages	Disadvantages
open-source	hardware-intensive
user-friendly backend	requires extensive specialist knowledge
high protection against web attacks on the system	developments and changes often incur high costs
possible integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP)	developer needed for implementation

“Own the Digital World”

Pimcore

Just like TYPO3, Pimcore offers a licence-free CMS. If you don’t have any programming knowledge, you will need the support of developers for the initial setup. They will design the structure and functions of the backend according to your personal taste and the digital needs of your company.

At the same time, this possibility for individualisation is one of Pimcore’s greatest strengths. In addition, the intuitive user interface makes it easy to add content. We have summarised how to avoid common mistakes in our blog.

Just give it a try: You can test Pimcore in the demo version.

Advantages	Disadvantages
very user-friendly and intuitive backend	programming knowledge required for the initial setup
manifold possibilities for individualisation	extensions always require a developer, which results in additional costs
also suitable for e-commerce solutions
multi-channel publishing functionality

Nice to know

More than a CMS

Pimcore is often considered a classic CMS. Nevertheless, we want to point out that it combines several functions in one system.

Besides the CMS module, Pimcore also contains:

product information management (PIM)
digital asset management (DAM)
its own e-commerce framework
a customer data platform (CDP)

As you can see, Pimcore is an extremely comprehensive system. Nevertheless, it remains absolutely intuitive.

You can touch this!

Adobe Experience Manager

The CMS from Adobe Systems Incorporated differs from others in one thing in particular: It has both a classic user interface (UI) and a touch UI. What’s more, the Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) stands out due to numerous out-of-the-box solutions. For example, you have access to templates for forms, workflows and e-commerce components.

Unique: The AI function Adobe Sense delivers tailored results to your customers. Once created, content can be displayed in all areas.

Advantages	Disadvantages
touch UI	complex folder structure, which can be confusing at first
pre-built, out-of-the-box solutions	costly software
native connection to Creative Cloud	complicated tool with steep learning curve
commenting function for better workflows

The bigger the choice, the harder to choose

So which CMS is right for you?

We asked our programming professionals at elements, Florian and Gerhard, to give us some tips:

Be clear about what you want! Which CMS suits you and your brand depends entirely on you and your business goals. Do you run a small business or give tips on your blog? Then you’ll be happy with WordPress. Do you want to offer your products in an online shop and in several languages? Pimcore offers perfect solutions for that.
Trust the professionals! Your neighbour has already set up a website and would be willing to design your company page for little money? Better trust the professionals! Thanks to their years of experience, they can advise you best. They will also be quick to help you if you encounter problems with the CMS.
The system is only half the battle – but it is indeed half of it! The success of your website depends on relevant content. If the CMS functions poorly, the content will be presented less than optimally or even incompletely.

Conclusion

A CMS takes time

Which CMS you want to use to create your website depends not only on your needs but also on your resources. How much time can you take per week or even per day to keep the content of your website up-to-date?

At punkt & komma, we offer you professional content management support: From creating the navigation structure to regularly adding new content to small updates and changes. Would you like to know more? Send us a message!