Top 10 CMS systems for business websites

Important news about CMS systems for business websites

2024. Automattic launches an AI writing assistant for WordPress



In a digital galaxy not so far away, Automattic, the cosmic custodian of WordPress, has introduced “Write Brief with AI,” a shiny new contraption that promises to help bloggers write with the clarity of a supercomputer and the brevity of a haiku-loving Vogon. Building on last year’s generative AI assistant, this nifty little tool responds to text-based prompts like a well-trained pet and can even adjust your tone to be more informal or empathetic—because, let’s face it, who doesn’t want an AI that understands feelings? Joining the ever-expanding league of AI writing assistants from the likes of Proton and Google, “Write Brief with AI” has now entered the beta phase, available to WordPress.com users via Jetpack. You’ll find it lurking under the Jetpack icon in the editor, waiting to transform your blogging experience, assuming you’re one of the fortunate inhabitants of WordPress.com.


2022. Storyblok raises $47M to build out its headless CMS



In the unassuming corner of the digital cosmos, where content meets chaos, lies Storyblok, a startup with a headless CMS so clever it seems to have spontaneously evolved to cater to both the technical wizards of code and the non-technical dreamers of marketing fluff. It’s the sort of platform designed to handle everything from managing the ever-hungry beast of website updates to orchestrating side-quests in games and shoehorning ads into apps with seamless finesse. With a cosmic injection of $47 million in funding, Storyblok plans to grow ever more feature-laden, a sort of Swiss Army knife for digital publishers, from educators to gamers to commerce titans. And with 74,000 companies (including such galactic heavyweights as Netflix, Adidas, T-Mobile, Happy Socks, and Deliveroo) using it to build 120,000 projects, one can only assume it’s quietly building its own empire of interdimensional content—a task far more organized than your average Vogon poetry recital.

2020. Contentful raises $80M for its headless CMS



In a move that could only be described as improbably splendid, the headless CMS aficionados over at Contentful have conjured up an $80 million Series E funding round—no small feat for a company dedicated to banishing the tyranny of bloated content management systems. Astonishingly, 28% of the Fortune 500 (a rather formidable crowd) rely on Contentful to keep their content gracefully distributed across the vast and bewildering digital expanse. With a stout-hearted 2,200 paying customers, their roster includes such luminaries as Spotify, ITV, the British Museum, Telus, and Urban Outfitters—proving that even the most discerning institutions can’t resist a bit of clever content management wizardry.


2019. Ghost CMS adds SaaS subscription



Ghost, the open-source CMS that has been around for a few years, is introducing subscription features as part of Ghost 3.0. These features will be available in both the open-source, self-hosted version and the organization’s paid, hosted SaaS product. Ghost 3.0 enables publishers to integrate the CMS directly with Stripe, which handles credit card transactions and Apple Pay out of the box. Interestingly — and something CEO John O’Nolan emphasized to me — Ghost will not impose an additional transaction fee (though Stripe’s standard fees still apply). This represents a significant difference from some of its competitors, which charge 10% or more of a publisher’s revenue as part of their business model.


2018. dotCMS Launches dotCMS 5.0 – Developed with ‘NoCode’ Philosophy



In a universe not so far away, dotCMS—a renowned purveyor of open-source Java wizardry and custodian of Customer Experience Management—has triumphantly unveiled the dazzling dotCMS 5.0. This latest incarnation is bedecked with splendid UI/UX enhancements designed to elevate the authoring experience to unprecedented heights, complete with a freshly polished Edit Mode, state-of-the-art reporting capabilities, and fortified defenses against the nefarious forces of search and security threats. Layouts are now so conveniently tethered to their pages that making changes feels less like a chore and more like a delightful stroll through a digital garden. The all-new Workflow Builder, a veritable playground of possibilities, now permits multiple workflow schemes per content type, while the Content Type Builder lets you drag and drop fields with the ease of a skilled magician pulling rabbits from hats. Adding rows, columns, and reshuffling the order of fields transforms the once Herculean task of crafting new content types—especially forms—into a merry jig. Usability has taken a leap into the cosmos; containers can now frolic freely on the same page, drastically reducing the need for an army of templates and simplifying the management of templates, layouts, and containers alike. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, dotCMS 5.0 introduces a shiny new reporting module that cozies up with Google Analytics, offering businesses a crystal-clear view of their web domains right from the dotCMS Dashboard. Here, the visualization of your digital kingdom can be tailored to highlight the insights that matter most to your enterprise, turning data into a symphony of meaningful revelations.


2016. Kentico CMS released cloud version



In the sprawling cosmos of digital content management, where platforms float about like hyperintelligent shades of blue, Kentico decided to shake things up with the audacious launch of Kentico Cloud, an "API-first," multi-tenant SaaS offering that practically winks at you as it goes by. This shiny trifecta includes Kentico Draft, a serene place for scribblers to scribble; Kentico Deliver, which whisks your content across the ether via API; and Kentico Engage, a cunning tool designed to coax your marketing and experiences into behaving optimally. Each piece can be licensed solo or as part of the whole package, with pricing that scales from "free for the faintest whiff of a startup" (no credit card needed!) to "you might want to check with your finance department."


2016. E-commerce platform BloomReach acquired Hippo CMS



In a galaxy not terribly far away, BloomReach, the delightfully clever AI-driven e-commerce personalization platform, decided it simply couldn’t resist acquiring the rather brilliant Hippo, an open-source marvel of enterprise content management. BloomReach, known for conjuring up a singularly unified personalization platform that makes consumers feel warm and fuzzy while businesses cheer with glee, found a kindred spirit in Hippo. Once a humble web content management tool, Hippo had evolved into a digital experience virtuoso, analyzing visitors—both shy and boldly anonymous—with impressive flair. Now, armed with BloomReach’s machine-learning wizardry and Hippo’s Java-based CMS wizard hat, the duo aims to craft digital experiences so tailored they’d make even Marvin the Paranoid Android crack a smile.


2016. Hippo released on-demand Web CMS



The open-source web content management provider Hippo unveiled Hippo onDemand, which is designed to transform digital business environments into adaptable and responsive digital experiences while utilizing all the advantages of the cloud. Users of the platform will have access to the complete Hippo enterprise suite with features like cross-channel and personalization in a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering, according to Sonja Kotrotsos, Hippo’s Director of Product Marketing. What concerns enterprises with cloud CMS platforms? Hippo representatives noted that companies deploying cloud-based platforms often face time-consuming custom builds or complex workarounds for rigid platforms. Hippo onDemand is a ready-to-use cloud solution that provides build freedom and flexibility through an open REST API-driven microservices architecture. It supports integration with third-party data and business solutions and scales to accommodate cross-channel expansion, according to company officials.


2016. WordPress.com turned on HTTPS encryption for all sites



In the infinitely improbable universe of digital publishing, WordPress.com has, with a casual flick of its intergalactic wand, bestowed HTTPS upon all its sites. Yes, without lifting a finger (or, indeed, knowing where your fingers are), every site now boasts a shiny SSL certificate, proudly parading a green lock in the address bar like a Vogon with a poetry award. As an added bonus—because the universe does like to show off occasionally—Google, that cosmic arbiter of search rankings, is inclined to elevate your HTTPS-enabled site above the sad, unencrypted rabble. So, not only are you secure, but you’re also better looking to the all-seeing eye of the search engine. Cheers!


2016. Distributed content management system Contentstack launched of a set of mobile SDKs



In a universe not entirely unlike our own, where Built.io Contentstack roams the digital planes, daring to take on WordPress, Drupal, and any other looming titans of the CMS empire, a bold new update has arrived to disrupt the galactic content order. With its shiny new mobile SDKs for both Android and iOS, along with a spruced-up interface for the delight of developers and content editors alike, Built.io Contentstack emerges once again as the hero we didn’t know we needed. The concept, you see, is wonderfully headless—no bulky CMS dictating how content should look or behave; instead, this CMS lives in pure content creation nirvana. From here, developers are free to whisk this liberated data to any platform imaginable, untethered by the usual constraints of presentation. And thus, in this very headless fashion, Built.io Contentstack strides confidently into the enterprise CMS cosmos.