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WordPress is the global CMS market leader, but how does it compare to Contentful? Let’s take a look.
Your CMS is like the engine to a vehicle for your website. Sure, the end user won’t see much of it. But ultimately, it’s what makes your website go. If it’s not the right fit, you’ll have a significant problems.
That’s what makes the CMS you choose for the backend of your website, so crucial for the success of your online presence. Choosing the right solution is key.
If it’s difficult or costly to update, add content to, or manage, your website is likely going to become an expensive thorn in your side. A website you can keep up-to-date, and constantly evolve with your marketing goals and direction will drive growth and success.
However, choosing the right CMS can quickly get confusing. There are so many players on the market, making all kinds of promises.
We’ve previously taken a look at:
Platforms like Contentful have risen in popularity in recent years, promising a natural, turnkey solution to managing your content, and running your website.
So in this post, we will compare Contentful with WordPress, which is the continued global CMS market leader. Let’s dive in.
Though the platform is actually almost a decade old, its more recent rise in visibility due to a trend for headless websites, has made Contentful a popular CMS option for some businesses.
The solution styles itself as a ‘headless’ CMS, which means that it only sets up the website backend. The front end, everything your user sees, has to be set up externally. This connects to Contentful via its built-in API.
As its name suggests, and due to its headless nature, Contentful bills itself as a ‘content-first’ platform. Multiple team members can access and edit the platform at the same time. Which can then be deployed (with the right integrations) across multiple channels.
The unique setup of this solution has some advantages and disadvantages that are worth exploring further. Let’s take a look at its most commonly cited advantages first. Drawn from independent review sites like SoftwareAdvice.com and GetApp.com:
Of course, it’s not all positive. Its unique system also comes with some significant disadvantages for Contentful, again drawn from customer reviews through independent third-party websites:
Beyond the basic pros and cons, Contentful can also be difficult to use. While access to content across the organisation should be straightforward, this is not a solution set up for smaller businesses, or those without a dedicated web or IT team. Managing multiple platforms for one website comes with additional work and considerations.
The long-time leader in the CMS market, the power of WordPress lies in its flexibility. Though originally a traditional CMS, it has also developed a headless solution for businesses that already have a custom frontend set up.
WordPress is open-source, meaning it is not a proprietary platform requiring a licence. Its code base is open and available for all to use, test, and create with. It’s a system on which any business and company can build. From a one man band with a single page website, to a multinational organisation.
You can be up and running for only the cost it takes to buy a domain name and hosting. Or in the case of larger businesses, to hire someone to consult or build them a custom website. No licence is needed. What’s more, hundreds of thousands of plug-ins have been developed, to help create websites for almost any purpose.
It’s no surprise that, according to most users, the advantages of WordPress clearly outweigh the disadvantages. It owes its popularity to it being easy to adopt, and flexible enough to suit businesses of every size. It’s no wonder that it is the highest-rated CMS on the independent review platform Capterra. Thanks to a few of its central benefits:
Of course, no platform is without its disadvantages. On third-party review sites, current business users pointed out the most common ones:
Perhaps not surprisingly, ease of use is among the most frequently and highly-rated advantages of WordPress. Even out of the box.
But in the hands of experienced developers, WordPress can be used to create exceptional solutions, and allow businesses to manage their website with ease, with little to no technical experience.
Contentful is an innovative, useful headless CMS for some situations. But make no mistake: in a direct comparison between the two systems, WordPress wins.
For businesses as a whole, and those managing a website day-to-day, WordPress offers more flexibility, better ease of use, and lower costs. All while still providing the option to go headless as well, if needed.
WordPress offers a level of future proofing that many other CMS platforms can’t. The WordPress community is always looking to improve, evolve, and meet the growing needs of businesses. Their recent creation of a Performance team, and related plugin, show their commitment to remaining the market leader.
Not only is WordPress the most popular CMS, but it continues to beat other solutions on both features and usability. It can be fully customised too, and offers unrivalled flexibility.
Have any questions? Or custom functionality you require from your website, and you’re not sure if it can be delivered with WordPress? Drop us a message or a call, and we can advise you.
Our team excels at creating bespoke WordPress and WooCommerce websites, along with creating clever custom WordPress integrations to solve challenges.
Make The Move To WordPress
Impact Media® has been crafting award-winning websites since 2003.
If you’d like to learn more about enterprise WordPress web design, drop us an email or give James a call.
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