Top 40 best free CMS

At BLORGE we’re great fans of open source, and in particular, open source content management systems (CMS).

While we all know about content management systems such as Joomla and Drupal, you may be surprised to learn that there literally dozens and dozens of other content management systems out there, many of which  do have their special niche.

While some CMSs are great for putting up a dynamic website in a snap, others are too difficult to implement and use. We’ve compiled a list of what we consider to be the top open source content management systems available to help you choose the most appropriate tool for your needs.

1. Joomla – a very  popular open-source CMS that is found at the heart of many well known websites (the United Nations is just one example)
2. Drupal – another very popular, powerful and flexible content management system
3. WordPress – although geared for publishing blog, WordPress has proven that it can be a powerful CMS too, as you can see with my publisher’s custom publishing web site
4. Movable Type – like WordPress, Movable Type is also a weblog creation tool which is also used for building non-blog dynamic websites
5. b2Evolution – a full-featured weblog creation tool/CMS that supports multiple categories, sub-categories, multiple weblogs, skins, statistics, comments, anti-spam filters, photo management and multiple blogs
6. Xoops – extensible, OO (Object Oriented), easy to use dynamic web content management system written in PHP
7. Alfresco – powerful enterprise content management system featuring web and document management
8. DotCMS – J2EE/Java Web Content Management System (wCMS) which includes an AJAX calendar and events management, e-communications tools, personalization/CRM tools, eCommerce hooks and more
9. e107 – PHP-based content management system designed for the quick creation of websites or community portals
10. Exponent- a website CMS that allows site owners to easily create and manage dynamic websites without necessarily directly coding web pages, or managing site navigation.
11. ImpressCMS – a community developed CMS for easily building and maintaining a dynamic web site offering easy to use, secure and flexible system which is said to be an ideal tool for business to community users, from large enterprises to people who want a simple, easy to use blogging tool
12. Liferay – offers an enterprise portal solution using Java and Web 2.0 technologies
13. KnowledgeTree Document Management System – document management software designed for business people for team collaboration, storing documents with ease
14. Pivot – a web-based tool for maintaining dynamic websites, weblogs or online journals
15. Magnolia – widely used by most Government websites, it offers an easy-to-use editing interface that allows authors to lay out content exactly as it would appear to a website visitor. Contains “best-of-breed” Java technology
16. MediaWiki – is a free software wiki package originally written for Wikipedia, but that is now used by several other projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation and by many other wikis
17. MiaCMS – is a fork of the Mambo CMS and offers simple installation, graphical content editors, RSS content syndication, powerful/extensible 3rd party extension system
18. MODx – described as a “PHP application framework that helps you take control of your online content”; it allows developers and advanced users to give as much control as desired to whomever they desire for day-to-day website content maintenance chores
19. Nucleus CMS – extensible and powerful CMS based on PHP/SQL blogging tool that features multiple weblog capabilities, and RSS syndication
20. Nuxeo CPS – is said to be “the most complete open source platform” for building Enterprise Content Management (ECM) applications, and is described as an user-friendly accessible application ready to for enterprise-grade content management with many collaboration features.
21. OneCMS – most commonly used by gaming websites, it can be used by webmasters to manage their website, allowing the user to upload files, add content and various other features
22. OpenACS – an open architecture community system toolkit for building scalable, community-oriented web applications.
23. PhpCMS-  a CMS characterized by simple system requirements, high performance and flexibility, which is said to be suitable for both small, private websites, as well as complex high-traffic websites
24. Plone- easy to use, set-up and run CMS, well suited for project groups, online communities, small business websites
25. TextPattern – a flexible and easy-to-use feature rich CMS with a built-in search engine
26. PhpNuke – a CMS and portal solution that features web-based administration, surveys, customisable blocks, modules and themes with multilingual support.
27. Zope – application server for building content management systems, intranets, portals, and custom applications, written in Python
28. Plone – suited for building an intranet, web site or community site, Plone is a Content Management, Document Management and Knowledge Management system
29. Jahia – is an enterprise web content and portal management system that includes a web publishing system, a content management server, and a portal server
30. Website BAKER – a PHP-based CMS developed with one goal in mind, to enable users to create websites easily
31. ezPublish – is both an open source content management system and content management framework, which offers an enterprise content management solution, community portal and social networking platform
32. jLibrary – a CMS engine geared for both personal and enterprise use and offers a very flexible system that can almost be used for any information management purpose
33. Pligg – ever wanted to create your own Digg clone? Well Pligg is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a content management system based on PHP/MySQL with features such as multiple authors, article rating, private messaging and much more
34. Mambo – full-featured CMS that can be used  for small or large websites; described as a “powerful enough for the most demanding Internet or intranet site, simple enough for everyone to use!”
35. Jaws – a Framework and Content Management System for building dynamic web sites that is user-friendly and easy-to-use
36. Geeklog – PHP/MySQL based application for managing dynamic web content, offering out-of-the-box blog engine, and CMS with support for comments, trackbacks, multiple syndication formats, and spam protection
37. CMS Container – enables an organization to efficiently maintain a large content-driven website using single CMS. This CMS features the ability to create a staging and live environment, scheduling of content for publication, and automatic removal of content on expiry
38. SiteFrame – a lightweight, web-based CMS designed for the rapid deployment of community-based websites. A group of users can share stories and photographs, create blogs, send email to one another, and participate in group activities.
39. Xaraya – offers a “cutting edge open source framework” written in PHP, on which developers can create sophisticated web applications featuring modular design, stable and extensive API and fully internationalized platform
40. PHP Fusion – PHP-based light-weight open-source content management system that includes a simple, comprehensive administration system.

Editor’s addition: Recently while developing an online directory, I came across Tiki Wiki. While Tiki wiki didn’t make it onto our Top 40 list, it’s worth bearing in mind, especially if you want a CMS for a project that includes a link directory. Having said Tiki Wiki is a full featured CMS system, which also supports forums, wikis and blogs (to name just a few things).

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