Creating a website is not as simple as it seems. It requires planning, designing, coding and continuous maintenance. But if you choose a CMS to make your site, you do not have to go through all this.
Unlike other tools and technologies, a CMS (Content Management System) allows you to create websites without writing code. You already know that WordPress is the most popular CMS, supporting more than 40% of websites on the web. While it is the best open-source CMS, it does have some shortcomings. Or it may not meet the needs and goals of a particular website.
So, do we have other options?
Yes, numerous companies offer open-source options other than WordPress development services in India. Based on your needs and demands, you can choose the most suitable WordPress alternative. In this post, we will list the top CMS WordPress alternatives.
Leading WordPress Alternatives for Modern Websites

Drupal
After WordPress, Drupal is the best content management system for website creation. Written in PHP, it is a free, open-source CMS. When it comes to the features and workflow of Drupal, they are similar to WordPress. Some of the exciting features that make Drupal a WordPress alternative are:
Multi-user content creation and editing
- Multi-site support
- Notifications of security and new release update
- Caching
- Multiple access control restrictions
- Multi-level menu system
- Lazy-loading content
Regardless of your needs and preferences, Drupal can help you create all types of websites. It includes enterprise-level websites, personal blogs or websites, social networking sites, e-commerce stores, discussion sites, resource directories, intranet applications and so on.
Do you know what makes Drupal a preferred CMS for government and security-conscious organizations? Well, it is lockdown security. It makes sense why many enterprises go for a Drupal over WordPress development company in India.
ExpressionEngine
If you are looking for a CMS that helps to create feature-rich websites and web apps while serving content, ExpressionEngine is the best option. Like Drupal, ExpressionEngine is a free, open-source content management system that allows you to store site content in channels.
It serves as a flexible content storage box with fields for various types of information. Hence, you can build channels for anything, such as blogs, news, product/service descriptions, document downloads, team bios, etc. One of the best things about installing ExpressionEngine is that you can take care of everything in one place.
Besides this, it allows you to post your data on any device, from a computer to tablet and phone. Did we mention ExpressionEngine comes with a robust set of privacy tools and consent?
As a result, it offers seamless integration of cookie consent, GDPR compliance, and many more. What is not to love about this content management system?
Joomla
When we talk about the top CMS WordPress alternative in current times, we cannot miss out on Joomla. It is an open-source content management system that helps you publish web and website content with ease.
Released in 2005, Joomla became a go-to solution for businesses to build dynamic websites in no time. Today, this CMS supports approximately 2 million websites, and 9% accounts for enterprise-level websites.
One of the primary benefits of using Joomla for your website is the access to countless high-quality templates. With these templates, you can leverage the graphical user interface to change the layouts, colors, features, and fonts without coding. Other excellent features of Joomla are:
User management
- Easy-to-manage cache
- Search engine optimization
- Menu management
- Multilingual content management
- Two-factor authentication security
ProcessWire
Another free, open-source content management system WordPress alternative is ProcessWire. It is also known as a content management framework.
What makes ProcessWire stand out from others is that it helps save time while letting you work as per your terms. In addition to this, if you want extreme customization for your website, ProcessWire is a reliable option. For this reason, we can witness many enterprises choosing not to hire a dedicated WordPress developer in India but going for ProccessWire services.
Apart from this, it comes with a clean and logical design, letting you create a highly scalable website. Do you know ProcessWire allows you to build a website with millions of pages without compromising performance?
Grav
If these content management systems do not serve your business goals and needs, you may consider Grav. It is an open-source flat-file CMS. Grav was voted the best flat-file CMS for three consecutive years – 2017, 2019, & 2020. Are you wondering what a flat-file content management system is? If yes, we are here to clear all your doubts.
A flat-file content management system refers to a CMS that helps to store files and data in text files and folders. Of course, it is unlike other CMS that use databases for storing data and files. Well, this feature makes it easy to create short-term sites, microsites, standalone sites, high-traffic campaign sites, and single-page websites.
Plone
Are you searching for a secure, user-friendly, and mature CMS? Plone is an ideal WordPress alternative. Written in Python, Plone is built with Zope, an open-source web development system and application server. It serves as both a headless CMS and a feature-rich, classical server-side rendered CMS.
Here are the features that make Plone an ideal WordPress alternative. It includes:
Multiple installation options
- Easy and convenient content management
- Interoperability with several relational database systems
- Multilingual
- Availability on various platforms
Wrapping Up
These are the top open-source CMS options you can consider if WordPress is not the best candidate for your website. Please remember, the choice is based on your needs and preferences regarding the website. You may hire a Drupal or WordPress development company.
If you are searching for a company that offers multiple solutions, like Drupal, Joomla, Plone, and WordPress development services in India, contact SoftProdigy. We have years of experience in delivering custom CMS development services.










