What should I look out for when comparing CMS platforms?
- Check content export, URL management and multilingual support beforehand, not afterwards.
- Free and open source doesn't mean free to run: count the time as well.
- Some CMSs are built for developers, others for the owner.
Every comparison of CMS platforms starts with a table full of ticks. Handy, but not where most switches fall apart. From the migrations I have guided, these are the six things that matter in practice.
1. What happens to your content when you export it
Most CMSs promise an export function. What they don't mention is how much formatting gets lost along the way. The text usually comes out fine. Embedded images, custom layouts and interactive elements often don't, or only as plain text with a broken reference to an image that no longer exists anywhere.
Check this before you start, not after you have already moved a hundred pages.
2. Who manages your URLs after the switch
Every page on your current site has an address. Google knows those addresses, and so do the people who link to you. Switching without a plan for 301 redirects means all those addresses die, and with them the rankings you spent years building.
This is not something you do on the side. It is one of the first things you work out, not one of the last.
3. How the CMS handles multiple languages
If you want to offer several languages now or in the future, don't just check whether the CMS supports it. Check how. Some systems treat every language as a separate site that you have to maintain on its own. Others let you manage content per language within the same structure. You only notice the difference when you try to add the second language, and by then it is too late to move away easily.
4. What free and open source really mean for you
A free CMS doesn't mean free management. Themes, plugins, hosting and maintenance all cost something, in money or in time. Don't just count the licence fees, but also who is going to do the maintenance and how many hours that takes on an ongoing basis.
5. Whether you can manage it yourself, or always need a developer
Some CMSs are built for developers, others for the owner. That is not a judgement on quality, it is a choice that suits whoever is going to manage the site. If you want to change copy yourself without calling someone, check that before you choose, not after.
6. How your SEO settings come across
Titles, meta descriptions, structured data, internal links: all those settings live somewhere in your current CMS right now. When you switch, they all have to be entered again, unless the new platform can import them. Ask about this explicitly before you switch, because it is the kind of work that can take weeks if it has to be done by hand.
What this means in practice
None of these six points is decisive on its own. Together, though, they decide whether a switch takes a few weeks or a few months, and whether you are happy with it afterwards or end up looking for something else after all.
I have written separate comparisons for WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow and Framer. Use these six points as a checklist on top of those, whichever platform you are considering.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check first when comparing CMS platforms?
Will I lose my Google rankings when I switch CMS?
Is a free CMS also cheap to maintain?
Do I need a developer to manage a CMS?
