CMS Toolbox: 80+ Open Source Content Management Systems

 

A content management system, or CMS, is the easiest way to get a content driven site up and running fast. Frequently, they’re also used for building social networks. We’ve rounded up more than 80 popular CMSs due to reader requests. For the sake of brevity, we haven’t delved too deeply into CMSs for personal blogging or wikis (although we recommend Wordpress and Mediawiki, respectively).

Editor’s note: Selecting a CMS is about selecting the right tool for the job. However, the most highly recommended general purpose CMSs tend to be Drupal and Joomla. We welcome your own recommendations and experiences in the comments.

Joomla - popular, award-winning CMS that will help you build powerful online applications.

XOOPS - extensible, easy to use; ideal tool for developing small to large dynamic community websites, blogs, portals and much more.

Drupal - equipped with a powerful blend of features, rich set of modules, very popular.

e107 - totally customizable content management system written in PHP using MySQL database.

Plone - ready-to-run, easy to set up, extremely flexible, and ideal for project groups, communities, websites, extranets and intranets.

Zope - an open source application server for building content management systems, intranets, portals, and custom applications.

PHPnuke - established CMS featuring web-based administration, surveys, customizable blocks, modules and themes with multilanguage support.

Dotnetnuke - port of PHPNuke into Microsoft .NET platform.

Typo3 - flexible and extensible CMS with an accomplished set of ready-made interfaces, functions and modules.

PostNuke - fork of PHP-Nuke to make it more secure, stable, and able to work in high-volume environments with ease.

SyntaxCMS - simplify publishing , create and edit site content online, and approve it before publishing to the web.

jLibrary is a DMS (Document Management System), oriented for personal and enterprise use.

V2 CMS - simple CMS, easy to install and modify.

Website Baker - PHP-based CMS designed to make website creation easy.

Jahia - use the Jahia community edition for publishing, managing files, and workflow.

eZPublish - created by eZ Systems, which has a team of professional software developers responsible for creating and maintaining the CMS.

Magnolia - makes Enterprise Content Management simple by being user-friendly, battle-tested, enterprise-ready and open-source.

WebGUI - built to give average business users the ability to build and maintain complex web sites.

OpenCMS - helps content managers worldwide to create and maintain beautiful websites fast and efficiently.

PHP-Fusion - a lightweight, small and versatile CMS.

Collaborative Portal Server (CPS) - most complete platform for building Enterprise Content Management applications, built on top of the Zope application server.

SiteFrame™ - lightweight content-management system designed for the rapid deployment of community-based websites.

TribalCMS - includes multilanguage support, template architectures, AJAX User Interfaces and unique administration.

Xaraya - create sophisticated web applications; designers enjoy considerable flexibility.

Krang - designed to publish magazine websites.

MMBase - CMS with strong multi media features and advanced portal functionalities.

Pligg - based on Menéame (Spanish Digg clone), Pligg enables you to create Digg-like sites.

elevateIT - an extension of ZOPE/Plone server.

Cofax - manages your text and multimedia content, and simplifies the presentation of newspapers.

DBPrism - first open source CMS based on Oracle XMLDB repository.

Flux CMS - XML/XSLT based, easy to use, extensible and suitable for developers to fill specific needs.

Apache Lenya - Java/XML based CMS that comes with revision control, multi-site management, scheduling, and workflow.

Rubricks - CMS for Ruby on Rails fans, boasts simplicity and speed.

Silva - built on top of Zope, enables you to export to Word, stream media, store content as XML, and manage hierarchical and traditional websites.

YACS - build your online blogging communities.

Clever Copy - A scalable website portal and news posting system.

Fundanemt - focused on usability and aimed at small and medium sized websites.

Dragonfly CMS - feature-rich open source content management system, based on PHP-Nuke 6.

ContentNOW - simple to use, flexible, multilanguage, modular CMS.

Bitweaver - suitable for large-scale community websites and corporate applications.

Elxis CMS - professional free open source CMS released under the GNU/GPL license.

Etomite - allows you to remotely administer your website from anywhere.

fuzzylime - simple way for you to run your site and keep it up-to-date.

iGaming CMS - build your own gaming websites.

MODx - CMS that helps you take control of your online content.

PHP comasy - simple, multilingual and fast content management system.

Mambo - very well-known CMS. Can be used for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications.

Jupiter - one of the most lightweight portal systems available.

Ovidentia - integrate an environment for publishing content on the www or a groupware portal.

Jaws - build your own modules on the powerful Jaws framework.

Geeklog - out of the box blog solution with support for comments, trackbacks, multiple syndication formats, and spam protection.

CMS Made Simple - make a home page for your family or your multinational corporation.

Eazy portal - solution allowing you to maintain your own online community.

Papoo - accessible content management system

phpWebSite - develop an interactive, community-driven website.

RunCms - portal system that includes most things a webmaster would expect from a CMS.

Exponent - allows site owners to easily create and manage dynamic websites without necessarily directly coding web pages, or managing site navigation.

SPIP - publishing system, use it freely for your own site, be it personal, co-operative, institutional or commercial.

Silverstripe - powerful enough for any website or intranet design and simple enough for anyone to use.

Pheap - created for folks who don’t like complex CMSs like Joomla and Drupal.

MDPro - an innovative and imaginative content management system.

TYPOlight webCMS - specializes in accessibility and uses XHTML and CSS to generate W3C/WAI compliant pages.

PlumeCMS - have multiple websites, multiple authors with different rights.

Xepient Open-Point - create a professional website quickly through the browser.

SlashCode - the original code for the Slashdot geek news service.

YaWPS - is a hybrid between a content management system and a web portal for medium or small-sized websites.

APC ActionApps - allow authorized users to easily update the content of their website.

Pagetool - suitable for people with limited technical skills to modify and contribute to an organization’s web site

OpenACS - toolkit for building scalable, community-oriented web applications.

ttCMS - build your community website with calendars, surveys, member management and authentication, file downloads, forum, articles, and announcements.

MySource - enables technically unskilled users to build and maintain their own web solutions.

Ariadne - web application server and content management system.

Mason CM - makes it easy to manage the workflow of information as it moves from staging to the live site.

Managee - comprehensive web based CMS.

ESY Web Builder - an intuitive content management system that allows non-technical people to create and manage websites and extranets.

PHProjekt - a groupware suite, for the coordination of group activities and to share information and documents via intranet and internet.

PROPS - extensible publishing system designed specifically for periodicals such as newspapers and magazines

Midgard CMS - internationalized set of tools for building web sites and networked applications.

Pivot - web-based tool to help you maintain dynamic sites, like weblogs or online journals.