How do you choose the right CMS?

At Wieni, we have expertise with different CMS platforms. In this blog post, we'll dive deeper into the criteria we use to find the match for each project.

• 1. Self-hosted vs SaaS
• 2. (Development) costs
• 3. Standard functionalities included in the CMS
• 4. Maturity of the platform
• 5. Number of users included in the price
• 6. Ease of content input and accessibility

1. Self-hosted vs SaaS

A self-hosted CMS is managed on our own servers, offering full control and customization but also requiring responsibility for maintenance and security. A SaaS CMS is hosted externally, providing ease of use, out-of-the-box functionalities, and automatic updates. Some pros and cons to consider:

Self-hosted & open source

+ No monthly/annual licensing cost
+ Unlimited number of users
+ 100% customizable
+ Tailored SLA & uptime guarantees

- Higher setup cost
- Higher maintenance cost

SaaS

+ Lower development cost
+ No maintenance costs
+ Out-of-the-box features

- Monthly/annual license cost
- Extra cost per additional user

Read more about our thoughts about SaaS vs self-hosted in this blog post.

2. (Development) costs

With a self-hosted CMS, you avoid monthly subscription fees, but hosting, updates, and maintenance become the developer’s responsibility, which can lead to additional development costs.

With a SaaS CMS, you can save on these initial costs and kick-start your project with a set of out-of-the-box functionalities, but you remain dependent on monthly fees and associated usage.

It is important to consider which pricing model best aligns with the organization, desired functionalities, and usage.

Some concrete examples:

• If you require full control over uptime and SLA for business-critical or legal reasons, it might be better to consider a self-hosted solution.
• For an unpredictable feature roadmap, a SaaS solution can be more advantageous due to its flexibility and lower development costs.
• When migrating from a self-hosted platform (e.g., Drupal/CraftCMS), it may be more beneficial to choose the same platform again, as migration costs will be significantly lower.
• If your focus is strongly on content creation and publication, and you want a modern, visually appealing editor that can be set up efficiently, a SaaS solution is a good choice to get started quickly.

3. Number of users included in the price

A self-hosted CMS like Drupal or Craft CMS has no limit on the number of users. For SaaS platforms, a fixed number of users is included in the price, with an additional fee charged for extra users. Most SaaS platforms also offer enterprise plans tailored to the organization, with customized pricing.

4. Out-of-the-box features

5. Maturity of the platform

Drupal

Drupal has been around for a long time. The first version launched in 2001 and has been widely adopted across the world. With an established open-source community and more than 40,000 modules, it has been a go-to option for lots of companies, including Wieni. It has one of the largest and most established open-source communities with extensive documentation and active forums.

Cases: Mediawijs, Bruzz, GoPlay, UZ Leuven, Wat is Kunst, DNS Belgium, Gondola, … and many more.

DatoCMS

DatoCMS was launched in 2015 and has been adopted by more than 25,000 businesses, like Dropbox, Verizon, Vercel, and so on. It has a smaller community compared to Drupal but offers an excellent developer experience combined with strong API’s and an extensive ecosystem with third-party tools, plugins, integrations and hosting providers.

Cases: PIA Group, Floorify, Zenfactuur, PIA Go, Solv.world

Craft CMS

Craft CMS was introduced in 2013 and, while smaller than Drupal, stands out for its user-friendly interface and extensive customization options with minimal configuration required. It has an active and engaged community, along with a growing Craft Plugin Store that offers a wide range of extensions to enhance functionality.

Cases: Athumi

Storyblok

Storyblok was launched in 2017 and has since focused on providing a streamlined experience for content creators and developers alike. Its plugin store offers approximately 20 curated plugins, emphasizing quality over quantity. One of its key strengths is the editor experience, which prioritizes content creators by offering a visual editor and a highly user-friendly interface. Although relatively new in the headless CMS space, Storyblok is rapidly maturing.

Cases: Boektopia, MO* Magazine

Ease-of-use content input & accessibility

All the CMSes mentioned in this post are designed with modern accessibility standards in mind, making sure that everyone — both developers and editors — have a smooth and inclusive experience.

Drupal is powerful and flexible, perfect for building custom solutions. It’s a great choice if you need a more complex, technical setup, but it doesn’t skimp on accessibility or scalability.

On the other hand, SaaS platforms like DatoCMS are all about making things easy for editors. They keep the technical setup-part to a minimum so you can focus on entering and managing content with ease. Platforms like Storyblok and Craft CMS even come with built-in visual editors, letting you see exactly what your content will look like as you create it.

Conclusion

At Wieni, we primarily use DatoCMS and Drupal based on the needs of each project.

DatoCMS is ideal for clients who need a user-friendly solution with minimal technical hassle. Its intuitive editor, built-in features, and flexibility make it perfect for teams focused on content creation and ease of use.

Drupal, on the other hand, is a powerful self-hosted solution for more complex projects requiring full control, customization, and scalability. While it demands more technical expertise, its flexibility and extensive ecosystem make it the go-to for large, intricate sites.

Ultimately, the choice depends on the project’s scale and technical requirements. We help our clients pick the best CMS based on their unique goals.