A content Management System (CMS) is an application that allows users to create, publish and manage content effectively. This powerful tool can help you to easily set up websites in minutes that are both scalable and customizable.

Content management systems are very popular these days and are used to run sites like e-commerce

, blogs, online magazines, social networks,s and enterprise sites all over the world. There are several popular PHP content management systems are available such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.

But which PHP cms are best? It’s difficult to give a single-word answer since it really comes down to who you are and what you require the cms for? For instance, WordPress is best for blogs and non-technical users. Drupal is for developers and complex websites. Joomla is for advanced users.

Each CMS has its own charm and what works for some may not work for the other. To guide you in picking the right cms tool, here we have compiled the list of best PHP cms software that discusses their functionalities, pros, and cons.

1. WordPress

WordPress is the most popular blogging platform and for bloggers, there is no better choice than WordPress. It is best suitable for non-technical users and allows users to easily configure and manage content. Anyone can set up a WordPress blog in minutes and install and change themes without disturbing the content and structure of the site. Plus its wider array of plugins allows users to extend and customize the functionality of WordPress websites without hassle.

Fundamentally a blogging platform, WordPress has evolved into a complete cms solution in recent years. WordPress is rich in plugins and themes and allows users to build any sort of website. Even building a REST API backend is possible now with WordPress thanks to projects like WP-API.

• Great for a blogging platform
• Suitable for non-technical users
• The minimalistic design and simple user interface
• Can be slow for large content portals (requires CDN to increase speed)
• Supported by an active community with thousands of plugins, templates, and online tutorials

Learn more at:wordpress.org

2. Drupal

Drupal is another best PHP cms that power millions of websites and applications. This is the content management system for developers and comes with a steep learning curve. Drupal is powerful and versatile and gives a lot more freedom to developers.

With the release of Drupal 8, the CMS now focuses on modern web-development practices and offers Symfony 2 components, Composer packages, and a Twig template engine. Drupal is highly scalable, modular, and developer-friendly and has been the popular choice of developers to build feature-rich, data-intensive applications.

• A content management system for developers
• Have a steep learning curve
• Great for all sorts of websites
• Excellent to build websites with complex functionalities
• Drupal community is very active and has thousands of themes, plug-ins, and online tutorials to get started with

Learn more at:drupal.org

3. Joomla

Joomla is an award-winning content management system based on PHP. Like Drupal, it’s very popular among developers and has a high learning curve. Its community is large and offers thousands of extensions to build robust and powerful online applications. While WordPress plugins are centered on blogging, Joomla plugins are versatile in nature and provide complex functionalities. It is highly recommended for building online stores and large social networks and other web applications.

• It’s a developer-friendly CMS that offers freedom and creativity
• Recommended for building E-commerce and Social Networking Sites
• Surrounded by a great community and offers thousands of extensions, themes, and online tutorials
• Easy to install

Learn more at:joomla.org

4. MODX

MODX is one of the most creative and flexible content management systems for web platforms. This open-source cm is based on PHP language and comes under GPL license. MODX is very easy to install and use and lets you build sites that provide an exceptional user experience.

MODX gives you complete control over the application and is easily scalable to adapt to growing requirements.

Learn more at: modx.com

5. Concrete5

Concrete5 is another best PHP cms. Claimed to be the Next generation Content Management System, Concrete5 is extremely powerful and comes with an easy-to-use admin panel. Managing your content is never that easy.

It has a great supporting community and is lined up with a wide array of plug-ins, add-ons, and themes. Concrete5 user interface is very easy to use and lets you build and manage any sort of website right from e-commerce to magazines and enterprise to personal sites.

Some of the Websites you can build with concrete5 are,

• Corporate Websites
• Online Shops
• Personal Websites
• Community Portals
• Blogs, Magazines Newsletters, etc

Learn more at:concrete5.org

6. Grav

CMS like drupal or WordPress is great but they will be too much if you want to build a small website or a personal blog. The rich functionalities of a traditional cm are not required in this case.

What you really need is a lightweight solution. Grav is a popular flat-file cms and can be the best alternative. It is smart, speedy and light-in-weight and stores website data inside files and folders and does not require a database.

You don’t even have to install the cms; just upload the files to the web server and your website is ready. Grav supports a markdown editor and all your WebPages are stored as .md files.

Grav cms offer twenty-something readymade themes and several plugins to extend the functionalities of the website. It also supports the Twig template engine so if you want a custom theme you can easily create one with some knowledge of HTML and CSS.

Learn more at:getgrav.org

7. Kirby

Kirby is another file-based content management system and is dead simple to use. The huge plus of Kirby is its comprehensive features for such a minimal cm.

Here you can either upload website content manually or use the Kirby Panel which is a web interface that allows you to publish a page, blog roll, or image/video gallery. It also features a user and role management system by which you can add multiple users and assign roles to them.

Just like Grav, Kirby supports markdown and stores files as a .md extension.

It also offers a visual markdown editor plug-in which makes writing and publishing content a real fun. You can also use other sorts of Kirby plugins to build comprehensive websites.

Website:getkirby.com

8. RazorCMS

Razor is another Php based cms with a small footprint. Creating a fully functional website with RazorCMS is just a cakewalk even if you don’t understand the A. B. C. of coding. Just log in to the dashboard and from there simply add/edit and adjust the look and feel of the website easily.

One of the coolest features of RazorCMS is its in-page editing which is offered by the rich text editor. In this way, you can easily edit and publish content in one place. With a little coding, you can even create a custom theme with their theme guide.

Learn more at: razorcms.co.uk

That makes the list of best PHP cms. I hope you find this post helpful to choose the right content management system based on your requirement.