Kevinleary.net: WordPress Alternatives to Power Your Website

With all of the drama going on between WPEngine and Automattic over the past few weeks, it may be time to consider what a CMS ultimately is and what you as a business owner need it to do.

WordPress is a great system, but there are other options out there that may be best suited for a corporate website. It all depends on your specific needs and requirements, but here are a few options worth considering.

Payload

Payload CMS is a modern, headless CMS built with TypeScript and Node.js, known as a modern, fast and forward thinking system.

Built with TypeScript and Node.js: Payload is designed for developers who are familiar with modern JavaScript/TypeScript stacks. It seamlessly integrates with existing Node.js applications.
Headless Architecture: As a headless CMS, Payload focuses purely on content management, allowing developers to use any front-end technology to consume and display content via its REST API or GraphQL API.
Customization: Payload offers a high level of customization without locking developers into opinionated architectures. It uses a JavaScript configuration file for defining content models, making it highly flexible for custom data structures.
No-Code Interface: Payload’s admin panel provides a no-code interface for managing content, which is customizable and easily extendable with React components.
Open-Source: Payload is open-source, meaning it can be self-hosted, giving developers full control over their application, including security and scalability.

Hubspot CMS

HubSpot CMS (also known as CMS Hub) is a cloud-based content management system that integrates seamlessly with HubSpot’s marketing, sales, and CRM tools. It is designed with marketers and developers in mind, offering a balance of user-friendly content editing and robust customization capabilities. HubSpot CMS is particularly well-suited for businesses that prioritize inbound marketing, lead generation, and CRM integration, but it is also flexible enough for building fully customized websites.

Cloud-Based and Fully Managed: HubSpot CMS is fully hosted and managed by HubSpot, eliminating the need for developers to handle server management, updates, or security patches. This provides a hands-off infrastructure for marketers and developers alike.
Integrated CRM: A standout feature of HubSpot CMS is its deep integration with HubSpot’s CRM, allowing businesses to personalize content based on user data, track interactions, and create tailored experiences for site visitors.
Drag-and-Drop Content Editing: HubSpot CMS features a drag-and-drop editor, making it easy for marketers and non-technical users to create and manage content without needing developer assistance.
Developer Tools and Flexibility: For developers, HubSpot CMS offers a flexible development environment with custom themes, modules, and advanced features such as serverless functions, custom APIs, and integrations with external tools.
SEO and Marketing Automation: HubSpot CMS comes with built-in SEO tools, analytics, and marketing automation capabilities, allowing businesses to optimize their content and track performance directly from the CMS.

CraftCMS

Craft CMS is a flexible, content-first CMS known for its developer-friendly approach, ease of use, and customizable content modeling. Built with PHP and powered by the Yii 2 framework, Craft is popular among developers and designers for creating custom websites and applications where control over the design and content structure is paramount.

Built with PHP (Yii 2 Framework): Craft CMS leverages the Yii 2 framework, providing developers with a solid foundation to build custom applications, while also giving them access to advanced PHP features.
Content-First Approach: Craft places a heavy focus on content, making it easy to create complex content structures through its flexible matrix fields and content modeling capabilities.
Twig Templating: Craft uses Twig as its templating engine, which developers appreciate for its simplicity and power in handling frontend layouts and rendering dynamic content.
Highly Customizable: Craft allows developers to customize almost every aspect of the CMS, including content models, templates, plugins, and more.
Commercial & Open Source: Craft CMS is available under a commercial license but also offers a free version (Craft CMS Solo) for small projects, making it accessible for a range of users.

Strapi

Strapi is a popular open-source, headless CMS built with JavaScript (Node.js) that allows developers to create powerful APIs quickly and efficiently. It’s known for its flexibility, developer-friendly interface, and ability to integrate with any frontend framework or technology stack. Strapi is API-first, allowing you to access content via REST or GraphQL, making it highly adaptable to modern web development needs.

JavaScript/Node.js Based: Strapi is built with JavaScript, making it a natural choice for developers familiar with modern JavaScript ecosystems. It also leverages Node.js, allowing it to integrate easily with server-side JavaScript applications.
Headless and API-First: Strapi focuses on delivering content through APIs (REST and GraphQL). This headless architecture means you can use any frontend technology, from React and Vue to mobile applications.
Customizable Admin Panel: Strapi provides an easy-to-use and customizable admin panel where content creators can manage content, while developers can extend the admin interface with custom features.
Open-Source: Strapi is fully open-source, allowing developers to self-host it, customize every aspect, and maintain full control over their data and infrastructure.
Extensible with Plugins: Strapi supports plugins, enabling developers to extend its functionality without starting from scratch.

Statamatic

Statamic is a flat-file, content management system built with PHP and powered by the Laravel framework. It is designed for developers and content creators who value simplicity, flexibility, and performance. Unlike traditional database-driven CMS platforms, Statamic stores content in flat files (Markdown and YAML), making it lightweight, fast, and easy to version control. Statamic is a good fit for projects where flexibility in design, ease of use, and performance are priorities, especially when a headless approach isn’t required.

Flat-File Architecture: Statamic does not require a database; instead, it stores all content in flat files. This makes the system lightweight and fast, particularly for smaller to medium-sized sites. Content is stored in Markdown, making it easy to work with, especially for developers.
Built on Laravel: Statamic is built on top of the Laravel framework, which is a modern PHP framework known for its elegance and simplicity. Laravel developers will find Statamic easy to extend and customize, as it fits naturally into Laravel projects.
Control Panel for Content Editors: Despite its developer-friendly nature, Statamic offers a user-friendly control panel for non-technical content editors. The control panel is clean, modern, and highly customizable.
Extensible: Statamic is highly extensible with add-ons and custom fields. Developers can create custom data structures and workflows without being tied to a rigid CMS structure.
Optional Headless Mode: Although Statamic is designed as a full-stack CMS, it can be used in a headless mode to deliver content via APIs, offering flexibility for those who want to separate the frontend and backend.

Directus

Directus is an open-source, headless CMS that acts as a database-first platform, allowing developers to manage custom databases through a modern API and intuitive admin interface. Unlike traditional CMS platforms, Directus focuses on providing a real-time API over existing databases, making it a powerful tool for projects that need direct control over their database architecture without compromising on flexibility or ease of use.

Database-First Approach: Directus operates as a data layer on top of an existing SQL database (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite). It allows developers to design and interact with their own database schemas, while Directus automatically generates an API for content management.
Headless Architecture: Directus is headless by design, meaning it provides REST and GraphQL APIs to deliver content to any frontend technology. This gives developers full flexibility to build web applications, mobile apps, or other frontend interfaces while managing content centrally.
Customizable Admin Interface: Directus features a fully customizable admin panel for content editors, allowing developers to tailor the interface based on the specific needs of the project and users.
Open-Source and Self-Hosted: Directus is open-source, allowing developers to self-host it on any cloud service or server. It also offers an enterprise-grade cloud version for those who prefer a managed solution.
Real-Time API: Directus generates real-time APIs on top of custom databases, giving developers dynamic access to data as it’s updated.

Ghost

Ghost is an open-source, headless CMS designed primarily for publishing content, making it a popular choice for blogs, news sites, and content-driven platforms. It’s built on Node.js and is focused on simplicity, speed, and delivering a clean user experience for both developers and content creators. Ghost is especially known for its minimalist approach to content management, offering a powerful Markdown editor and built-in SEO tools while giving developers the flexibility to create custom frontends or use Ghost’s default themes.

Built on Node.js: Ghost is developed using Node.js, making it fast, lightweight, and scalable. It’s known for its high performance, especially in handling high-traffic websites focused on publishing.
Headless Architecture: Ghost can be used as a traditional or headless CMS. It provides a REST and GraphQL API, allowing developers to deliver content to any frontend framework or platform.
Markdown Content Editor: Ghost uses a Markdown-based editor that offers a clean, distraction-free writing experience. It’s designed to be simple and intuitive for content creators while still allowing for rich formatting and multimedia embedding.
Built-In SEO and Performance: Ghost includes SEO optimization features out-of-the-box, such as automatic XML sitemaps, structured data, and fast page load times. It’s optimized for performance and comes with modern web standards.
Subscription and Membership Features: Ghost also includes built-in membership and subscription functionality, making it an excellent choice for content creators and publishers who want to monetize their content via paid subscriptions.

Custom CMS

Building a custom CMS by pulling in modular code from open source packages provides a minimal approach that’s a very viable option. I’m not suggesting that you create everything from scratch, I’m talking about the use of open-source modules and packages for specific use cases. The result is a lean and effective system built specifically for your business, and it’s highly likely that you’ll be able to out-perform others if you’re development team is skilled and well organized (very important).

Less Abstraction: Custom-built solutions reduce abstraction layers, allowing easier diagnostics and maintenance.
Modular Approach: Utilize open-source modules tailored to specific needs rather than using a full framework.
Developer Skills: Allows a developer to work directly with JavaScript or PHP without a specific framework dependency.
Upgrades and Security: A modular approach can make maintenance simpler, focusing on individual module updates instead of framework-wide changes.
Faster Development with AI: With AI tools like ChatGPT, generating code has become more efficient.

Custom Coded Systems

Custom-built systems were once the norm before frameworks and popular open-source modules came onto the scene. At the time, it made sense to move on—browsers were quirky, and a lot of the technology we rely on today wasn’t yet mature. But today, building an in-house CMS with something like Slim PHP, Laravel, or even from scratch is a viable option worth considering.

A lot of modern web development relies on layers of abstraction we’ve added over the years. Many of these layers addressed problems that have since evolved, yet we keep using them out of habit and a desire to follow “best practices.” Stripping away—or minimizing—these layers can make it faster and easier to diagnose and fix issues, without the complexities frameworks add.

Modular vs. Frameworks

Instead of a monolithic framework, building a custom CMS with targeted, open-source modules can be a strategic move. There’s a module for nearly every aspect of a web application today, making it easier to create exactly what you need. Here are some common concerns about going custom:

Hiring & Developer Skills – Companies often use frameworks to standardize and ensure a consistent developer skill set. But JavaScript is JavaScript, and PHP is PHP—if your job posting emphasizes core skills rather than a specific framework, you may even attract more developers interested in contributing to a custom-built stack.
Upgrades, Deprecations, and Security – Frameworks can bring security and maintenance burdens due to shared dependencies and frequent updates. A custom-built system with specific modules reduces the risk of being forced into large-scale upgrades. When updates or security patches are needed, they tend to be smaller and more manageable.
Development Time – Building from scratch doesn’t have to be time-intensive. With AI tools like ChatGPT and a vast ecosystem of ready-made modules, developing a streamlined, minimal system focused on your needs can be fast and efficient. Plus, fewer layers of abstraction mean easier diagnostics.

Final Thoughts

If you’re considering a new CMS or web app, start by clearly defining your goals and needs. Having a solid evaluation framework will help you choose the right approach. The best solution is often the simplest one that fits your requirements without unnecessary complexity.