Best CMS for Small Business (2023)  » Small Business Bonfire

Small businesses need to be able to manage their websites easily, and the right CMS can make this process much more manageable.

There are many different CMSs available for small business use in 2023, so choosing one that meets your individual needs is essential.

To help you decide, we have tested and reviewed some of the best CMSs available for small business use in 2023!

What is a CMS?

A content management system (CMS) is a software application that helps users create, manage, and modify digital content. Organizations use it to inform their audience in an organized and accessible way.

The benefits of using a CMS are many. They can help with the following:

• Providing structure and organization for content
• Helping support the development of user-friendly websites
• Allowing content creators to make changes to the website quickly
• Encouraging collaboration among members of the organization

A CMS typically has three components:

• A database
• An interface where users can add content or make changes
• A web server that stores all the data

This allows administrators to store large amounts of data in an organized fashion, which can then be accessed through an interface or third-party applications.

To ensure security, some systems also have access control features that allow only certain people to view different parts of the site.

The primary purpose of a CMS is to make managing content easier for non-technical staff, such as editors and writers.

The system allows these people to quickly update website pages without knowing coding languages like HTML or CSS. It also makes saving multiple versions of files much simpler since everything is stored in one place.

In addition to making things easier for non-technical staff, a CMS can help make processes more efficient across departments since everyone has access to the same database/content management system regardless of their location or job title within the organization.

Overall, this type of software enables organizations—both big and small—to quickly update their online presence with new information or changes while still maintaining control over who can view what parts of their site.

By allowing multiple users to work on content simultaneously, teams can collaborate on updates more efficiently than ever before while ensuring accuracy and timeliness across all platforms.

A well-designed CMS will enable businesses to focus on providing quality services rather than worrying about how they’ll keep up with technological advancements when managing their online presence.

What to Consider When Choosing a CMS for Your Small Business

When choosing a CMS for your small business, there are several important factors to consider.

You’ll want to pay attention to the following:

• Ease of use
• Customizability
• Integrations

Ease of Use

A good CMS will be straightforward and user-friendly, allowing users to quickly find what they need and complete tasks with minimal fuss. It should also be easy to learn, so non-tech-savvy staff members can quickly become proficient in using it.

An intuitive interface should allow employees to quickly find the content or features they need with minimal navigation and effort.

In addition, the platform should include certain key usability elements, such as the following: 

• User task flows
• Contextual menus
• Drag-and-drop components

This means that even inexperienced users can quickly figure out how to get around and perform necessary tasks.

Furthermore, it should emphasize accessibility so that the entire team can work without barriers caused by disabilities or language barriers.

Lastly, support documentation should be provided so that users can quickly find answers if they have difficulty using the CMS. All these considerations are critical when selecting a CMS for your small business.

Customizability

When choosing a CMS for your small business, customizability is one of the most important factors to consider. It’s essential to have a platform that you can tailor and adjust to your needs so that it works best for your brand.

Customizable features such as drag-and-drop design capabilities make it easy to create an engaging website that looks professional and functions smoothly.

With customizable options, businesses can easily add new sections or content, change layout designs, alter font styles and colors, control page elements like buttons and sliders, and much more.

Customizing your CMS with plugins can also be extremely helpful in adding a unique touch to your website. Plugins allow you to enhance the features of your website by adding specialized functions such as contact forms, shopping carts, search engine optimization tools, and analytics tracking.

Additionally, custom plugins can expand the capabilities of the CMS even further by allowing users to create plugins explicitly tailored to their business needs. 

Access to customizable themes is another excellent benefit of using a highly customizable CMS. Themes vary in style and complexity; some are minimalist, while others feature full-page layouts with detailed animations and graphics that draw attention from viewers.

No matter what type of theme you choose for your website, customizable themes help you customize it even further with anything from fonts to colors or background images — all without having any coding knowledge! 

A significant advantage of a fully customized CMS is that it allows businesses to build a powerful online presence without hiring web designers or developers — saving money while still creating an impressive product.

Furthermore, because all changes are made within the platform rather than through external services or programs, businesses don’t have to worry about compatibility issues when making updates or changes down the line. 

Finally, customizing a CMS allows businesses more control over their online presence — ensuring their website stands out from the competition.

With so many advantages available through customization options alone, there’s no doubt why customizability should be taken into account when considering which CMS is best for your small business endeavor.

Integrations

It’s essential to choose a CMS that is easy to use, customize, and integrate with your existing systems.

Integrations are simply the ability of the CMS to connect easily with other software and applications, allowing you to create an integrated suite of solutions that work together seamlessly.

With integration capabilities, a website owner can add features such as e-commerce shops, payment processing tools, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems without investing in costly custom development.

A well-integrated website also allows businesses to create automated processes and tasks so they can focus on more critical tasks. 

Integration is essential for small businesses since it allows them to leverage existing technology and resources while staying competitive with larger organizations.

An integrated system of applications and services can provide customers with a unified experience across all parts of the business, increasing their satisfaction and loyalty.

In addition, integration makes it easier for companies to keep up with the latest trends in technology by quickly adapting to changes in technology standards or features.

This helps them stay ahead of the competition by ensuring their site is always up-to-date and secure from malicious attacks. 

Ongoing Management

Ongoing management is one of the most important factors when choosing a CMS for your small business. This means taking into account how easily and efficiently the CMS can be maintained and managed over time, which is essential for ensuring smooth operation and avoiding costly downtime.

The right system should provide simple tools and features that facilitate ongoing management tasks, such as the following:

• Creating new ones
• Editing existing pages
• Keeping content up-to-date

It should also have proper security measures, helping protect your company’s data from malicious attacks.

Moreover, it should have good scalability so that it can grow along with your business and remain flexible enough to accommodate any extra features you may need in the future.

When researching a CMS for ongoing management, make sure to look at its track record of security patches and updates; any system that is not regularly updated poses a significant risk to your business’s safety.

Additionally, ensure that the CMS is equipped with features like user access control and role-based permission settings; this will help keep your data secure by allowing only authorized personnel access to sensitive information.

Furthermore, keep an eye out for integrations such as third-party extensions or add-ons; these can help increase functionality while providing additional layers of protection against cyber threats. 

Finally, be sure to inquire about customer service support before settling on a particular CMS; many companies offer assistance during setup but lack maintenance services afterward. If you plan on making changes yourself, it would be important to make sure you have easy access to tutorials or resources that explain how best to manage various aspects of the platform.

In short, when selecting a CMS for your small business, take into account its ability to be managed over time in order to ensure maximum performance, security, scalability, and ease of use throughout its lifetime.

What is the Best CMS Software for Small Businesses?

The best CMS software for small businesses in 2023 is a highly subjective question, but we found that some of the best and most widely used options include the following:

• WordPress
• Wix
• Squarespace
• Weebly
• Momentvm

WordPress

WordPress is one of the best CMS software options for small businesses due to its user-friendly setup and comprehensive features.

It allows businesses to quickly create a website with a range of high-end features, such as the following:

• Intuitive content management
• Dynamic templates
• Powerful media management

Why We Picked It

WordPress is one of the most popular CMS software options for businesses due to its easy setup and extensive features. Its intuitive content management system allows users to easily create, edit and manage content on their website without any coding knowledge.

Furthermore, its dynamic templates give businesses the ability to customize their site in order to make it stand out from the competition, while its powerful media management tools help keep the site’s content up-to-date.

WordPress also has a large library of extensions and plugins that can be added to enhance the site’s functionality, making it even easier for businesses to stay ahead of the competition.

Finally, WordPress is also well supported by a large community of developers, who can provide assistance and guidance when needed. This makes it easy to handle any issues that may arise while using the software, ensuring that businesses are able to make the most of their website.

Key Features

• Easy setup and intuitive content management system
• Dynamic templates for customizing the site
• Powerful media management tools
• Variety of extensions and plugins to enhance functionality
• Large community of developers providing support and guidance.

Pros

• Easy to set up and use
• Comprehensive features
• Highly customizable
• Well supported by a large community of developers

Cons

• Not as well-suited for larger businesses with more complex needs

Wix

Wix is a cloud-based platform that enables anyone to easily create and manage their own website with no coding or technical experience required. It provides an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, over 500 customizable templates, and a wide variety of tools and features to help you design a professional website that looks great on any device.

With Wix, you can easily customize your website with custom text, images, videos, and widgets. You can also add eCommerce capabilities to your site or create advanced forms and integrate with third-party services like email marketing and payment processing. Additionally, Wix offers hosting to make sure your website stays up and running all the time. 

Wix also offers an extensive library of apps for different purposes, such as analytics, social media integration, contact forms, online appointment booking systems, and more. This makes it easy for businesses to find the perfect solution for their needs without hiring a web developer. 

Why We Picked It

Wix is an excellent choice for small businesses due to its intuitive drag-and-drop builder, extensive library of apps and features, and reliable hosting services.

Its easy-to-use website builder allows businesses to quickly create a professional-looking website with no coding or technical experience required.

Key Features

• Intuitive drag-and-drop website builder
• Over 500 customizable templates
• Variety of tools and features to help you design a professional website
• Add eCommerce capabilities to your site or create advanced forms
• Integrate with third-party services like email marketing and payment processing

Pros

• Easy-to-use website builder
• Extensive library of apps and features
• Reliable hosting services
• Customizable templates

Cons

• Limited control over SEO optimization

Squarespace

Squarespace is a popular content management system (CMS) that is used by small business owners and entrepreneurs around the world.

It’s an all-in-one platform offering a variety of website-building tools, eCommerce features, marketing solutions, analytics capabilities, and more. Squarespace makes it easy to create a beautiful website without any coding knowledge or design experience.

You can customize the look of your site by choosing from dozens of professionally designed templates and customizing them to fit your brand. All Squarespace websites are mobile-responsive and optimized for SEO, so you can be sure your website will look great no matter what device or platform visitors use to view it. 

Why We Picked It

We chose Squarespace as one of the best CMS software for small businesses because of its intuitive and user-friendly interface. It is a powerful, yet affordable solution that offers an abundance of features and tools to help entrepreneurs create a custom website with minimal effort.

With their drag-and-drop editor, users can easily customize their site’s look and feel—from page backgrounds to fonts, colors, and more—while being able to preview all changes in real-time.

Additionally, Squarespace offers 24/7 support, ensuring customers are never left stranded if they ever run into any technical issues or need assistance understanding functions. 

Key Features

• Intuitive drag-and-drop website builder
• Over 100 customizable and mobile-responsive templates
• Variety of tools and features to help you design a professional website
• Add eCommerce capabilities to your site or create advanced forms
• Powerful analytics and marketing tools for tracking performance

Pros

• Intuitive drag-and-drop website builder
• Over 100 customizable and mobile-responsive templates
• Variety of tools and features to help you design a professional website
• Add eCommerce capabilities to your site or create advanced forms
• Powerful analytics and marketing tools for tracking performance

Cons

• Limited number of templates compared to other CMS options

Hubspot

Hubspot is an all-in-one platform for small businesses that can help with website development, content creation and management, customer relationship management, and a range of other services.

It is an end-to-end system for managing businesses efficiently and growing them through effective marketing strategies.

The Hubspot CMS is highly intuitive and easy to use, making it one of the best solutions available for small businesses. It’s powerful and feature-rich, allowing users to quickly build professional websites without any coding knowledge. 

Why We Picked It

We chose Hubspot as one of the best CMS software for small businesses because it is a comprehensive, user-friendly platform that allows businesses to create and manage content efficiently. Hubspot offers an intuitive user interface that allows users to create, manage, and publish content with minimal effort.

The platform also provides powerful analytics tools to help users track their performance and identify areas where improvements can be made.

Additionally, Hubspot features integrations with popular third-party platforms, including Salesforce, Zapier, Slack, and more, allowing businesses to extend their website functionality without relying on additional technical resources.

This makes it incredibly convenient for small business owners with limited time or technical expertise.

Key Features

• Intuitive user interface
• Powerful analytics suite to track performance
• Integrations with popular third-party platforms

Pros

• Comprehensive, all-in-one solution that covers many aspects of running a small business
• Easy to use and intuitive user interface
• Wide range of integrations with popular third-party platforms

Cons

• Can be difficult for some users to navigate due to its comprehensive nature
• Pricing can be expensive for some small businesses

Weebly

Weebly is a popular and powerful CMS software designed to help small businesses create an engaging and professional-looking website. It offers an array of user-friendly tools and features that allow users to quickly and easily create stunning websites without the necessary coding or design experience.

Weebly is integrated with various third-party applications, allowing businesses to extend the functionality of their sites.

From blogging capabilities to e-commerce support, Weebly provides a comprehensive set of features for small business owners looking for an easy way to manage their online presence. 

Why We Picked It

We picked Weebly as one of the best CMS software tools because of its extensive features and ease of use.

Key Features

• Over 50 customizable templates
• Intuitive website builder that requires no coding knowledge
• Integration with popular third-party applications

Pros

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface
• Wide range of third-party integrations for added functionality
• Robust eCommerce capabilities for businesses looking to sell products online

Cons

• Editing capabilities are limited
• Limited design options compared to some other CMS solutions
• Pricing can be expensive for some small businesses

Momentvm

Momentvm is a powerful CMS solution specifically designed for businesses using the CMS for Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

It allows users to quickly and easily create and manage websites, content, products, customers, and more.

The Momentvm CMS provides an intuitive user interface that makes it easy for non-technical users to get up and running with minimal effort.

Why We Picked It

We chose Momentvm as one of the best CMS software tools for businesses using Salesforce Commerce Cloud because it is highly intuitive and feature-rich.

It’s designed to fit seamlessly into the existing Salesforce infrastructure and provides users with an easy way to manage their online presence.

Key Features

• Wide variety of themes and templates can be used as starting points
• eCommerce integration for online stores
• Social media widgets for easy integration with various platforms
• SEO optimization tools to help boost visibility in search engine results

Pros

• Intuitive user interface
• Integrated with Salesforce Commerce Cloud for easy website management
• Full range of features and capabilities for managing content, products, customers, and more

Cons

• It may be difficult for some users to make changes to existing themes

Small Business CMS Wrap Up

Small businesses face several challenges when managing their website and online presence. But with the right CMS software, these tasks can be made much more manageable.

Overall, we found that WordPress and Momentvm represent two of the best CMS options for small businesses looking for an all-in-one solution that covers many aspects of running a business online.

Have any questions about CMS solutions? Let us know in the comments below!

Small Business CMS FAQ