CMS, or content management systems, accompany us practically everywhere, regardless of which website on the Internet we are browsing. Of course, if we are only consuming content, e.g. reading information available online, we will not be able to observe all the mechanics taking place "under the hood". However, if we are developing our online service, then choosing the right platform is absolutely key. What should we keep in mind?
CMS - what is it?
It stands for Content Management System, which should be translated as content management system. It is worth noting that such software does not have to be paid for at all. You can find many highly regarded CMS systems on the market that are available for free. The most popular ones are:
- Drupal,
- Joomla,
- PrestaShop,
- Magento,
- WordPress.
Each of these tools offers some basic functionality, but invaluable support is provided by access to plug-ins. These can usually be downloaded from external sites and from dedicated repositories that are available to users of the platform. Some solutions are available for free, others have to be paid for. In a similar vein, a comment can be made about graphic themes.
The times when these were simple tools that slightly altered, for example, the structure of the .css code and the design of a website, are long gone. Today, these are sophisticated, easy-to-configure applications that realistically allow us to change the appearance of almost every element of a website.
The best developers also give access to free updates, and implement new features that are available as updates. One of the most popular sites on the web for finding such themes is ThemeForest. 
What types of CMS are there?
They can be divided both commercially and in terms of the market segment where they will perform best.
We therefore distinguish between CMS systems:
- free,
- payable,
- available on a subscription basis (SaaS - Software as a Service).
If we are looking at the key areas where a particular platform will perform best, CMS can be pointed to here:
- sales,
- informative,
- blogging.
If you want to run an online shop, PrestaShop is a good choice. It is a highly regarded, versatile solution that allows you to manage such an e-store from the inside out: from creating a user account to adding products to optimising SEO activities. A worthy rival for this CMS, is WooCommerce, which is a huge sales plugin that greatly enhances the potential of WordPress.
If you want to run a blog, a local news website or a company website, then WordPress, as well as Drupal or Joomla, will work perfectly. The latter solution is based on modules, which makes the process of installation, implementation and maintenance much easier. It should be noted, however, that although this CMS is extremely intuitive, it will be more suitable for simple websites, for example those with only sections, such as Drupal:
- Home page,
- About the author,
- galeria,
- contact.
The more sub-pages, the better to opt for a CMS such as Wordpress. This is the most popular service of its kind in the world, so we can be fully confident that if we have any doubts, we will quickly find a solution to our problem. The Polish community centred around "WP" is one of the largest and most rapidly developing.
What functions and capabilities should a good CMS offer?
A professional CMS can certainly be called a tool that is continuously developed, supports as many language versions as possible and is very intuitive to use. The possibility of positioning the website is also of great importance.
WordPress and the plug-ins available in its repository, will help us to carry out a number of optimisation measures. We can point to internal linking schemes, verification of the redirection chain, or checking the level of saturation of texts with key phrases. These measures will certainly help us to understand the basics of positioning. 
A dedicated auto-installer will also be an advantage. This is a solution that many web hosts offer, both in Poland and elsewhere. No need to use a file manager like FileZilla. All you need to do is log in to your administrator account on the service and then fill in a few boxes in the options, including:
- username,
- password,
- domain and installation path,
- e-mail address.
WordPress, incidentally, is not the only option available to the user. Other CMS systems are also available in auto-installer mode. Which ones? It already depends on the hosting you decide on. You will usually also find Joomla, WIX or TextPattern there.
Popular CMS systems for content management
The undisputed leader is the aforementioned WordPress. The huge number of plug-ins, the large number of developers who create their solutions are assets that should not be underestimated. When looking for a CMS that is close to perfection, a significant proportion of users, but also developers, will point to this platform.
Joomla is also certainly worth serious consideration. It is a well-established software that has been developed for many years and is considered very secure. There is no shortage of plug-ins or templates, but you should be aware that learning to navigate this platform smoothly may take a little more time.
A great tool that is minimalistic yet offers a lot of scope for expansion is Publii. It is a so-called 'static' CMS, i.e. one that needs slightly less data to load an entire page quickly - regardless of whether the user is using a desktop or viewing a mobile version. In turn, this translates into slightly better results in PageSpeed Insights.
What should be kept in mind when choosing the right CMS software?
The choice between CMS systems can make us quite dizzy. As of today, it is unfortunately impossible to say that there are universal CMS programmes that will work in every usage scenario. While each of these tools supports standards such as PHP, HTML and JavaScript, it is the small, subtle differences that are key and are behind the fact that the graphic designer, e-commerce owner and blogger look at these services very differently.
Whichever tool we choose, we should also remember that it is not only modules, water features and the possibility of making complex modifications that count. In order to skilfully manage the website, we should also very carefully select our hosting. Its parameters may even determine whether our venture will be successful.
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