What is a content management system and how to choose one – WordPress, Joomla or Laravel

What is a content management system?

A content management system has two parts: the admin area, which you log into with a password, and the public website that visitors see. Text, photos and settings are stored in a database, and the design in a separate template (theme). So when you change a price or add a news item, the website updates immediately while the design stays the same.

Without a CMS, every change would have to be made in the code by a developer. According to W3Techs (27 September 2026), WordPress is used by 40.2% of all websites worldwide, Wix by 4.2% and Joomla by 1.1%, while 31.5% of websites use no known CMS: they are static or run on custom systems.

What should a good CMS be able to do?

A good CMS lets you change text, photos, pages, menus and search-relevant fields without a developer, limits what each user can change, and lets you update the system safely. Before choosing, it's worth checking these capabilities:

• Editing. A visual editor in which text looks much as it will on the website, and the option to save a draft before publishing.
• Pages and menus. A new page can be created and added to the menu without changing the template.
• SEO fields. Page title, description, URL, 301 redirects, sitemap.
• User roles and permissions. For example, a sales manager can publish news but can't change the settings.
• Revisions. The ability to see who changed a page and when, and to restore an earlier version.
• Multiple languages. Language versions are linked to each other, and a visitor can switch language on the same page.
• Updates and backups. A clear update process and the ability to restore the website quickly.
• Data export. Content can be exported and moved to another system.

Who is WordPress for?

WordPress suits most company websites, blogs and online stores: it's free, has the widest choice of themes and plugins, and specialists who know it are the easiest to find. Install the free WooCommerce plugin and the website becomes an online store.

Since 2018 (version 5.0), WordPress has had a block editor in which pages are put together from headings, text, images and other blocks. A multilingual website needs a plugin, because this feature isn't built into the core.

WordPress's greatest strength – plugins – is also its main risk. According to the Patchstack report, 11,334 new vulnerabilities were found in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025: 91% of them in plugins, 9% in themes and only 6 in the core itself. That's why it's important to use only plugins you need that are actively maintained, and to update them regularly. More on how we build on our page about WordPress website development.

Who is Joomla for?

Joomla suits websites that need multiple languages, detailed user permissions and structured content without extra extensions: these features are built into the system itself. It's also free and open source, but there's a smaller choice of specialists and extensions than with WordPress.

• Multiple languages – language versions and the links between them work without extra extensions.
• Access permissions – you can set who sees and edits what, down to an individual category or item.
• Custom fields – you can add your own fields to articles, categories and users, e.g. a price, a date or a gallery.
• Automatic updates – from versions 5.4 and 6.0, the core can be updated automatically.

Joomla 6.0 was released on 14 October 2025. Joomla 5 will receive security fixes until 12 October 2027, so websites on older versions should plan a migration. For online stores, Joomla most often uses the VirtueMart extension. The Saitai.lt website itself also runs on Joomla.

Where do website builders hit their limits?

A website builder such as Wix or Squarespace is a rented platform: the system, hosting and templates are included in a monthly fee, and you can put a website together in a few days. That's convenient as long as you need a simple brochure website and don't want to deal with updates.

The limits become clear later. You can only use the features the platform and its app store offer; you can't move the website to other hosting with its full design, and the only way out is to rebuild the website on another system. On top of that, you keep paying the fee for as long as the website is live, so it's worth calculating the cost over at least 3–5 years.

When is a custom system (Laravel) worth it?

A custom system is worth choosing when your website is not just a shop window but a working tool: orders follow a non-standard path, prices are calculated by your own rules, or you need customer accounts, integrations with accounting software or an internal CRM. Laravel is not a CMS but a PHP development framework used to build such a system around your process.

• Pros: the admin area has only the fields and buttons your staff need; there aren't dozens of third-party plugins; there's no per-user fee.
• Cons: development takes longer and costs more, and every new feature has to be developed. The team that built the system knows it best, so code handover and documentation are worth covering in the contract.

Saitai.lt has its own CMS built on Laravel: we use it to build custom online stores (from €2,900, usually from 6 weeks). We develop other systems after assessing the brief – more on our page about Laravel development.

WordPress, Joomla, a website builder or Laravel: comparison table

In short: WordPress is the all-round choice for most websites and online stores, Joomla suits multilingual websites with more complex permissions, a website builder is for a quick, simple start, and a custom Laravel system is for non-standard processes and integrations.

Saitai.lt builds websites on WordPress and Joomla – a business website costs from €499 and takes 10–25 working days (you'll find all the packages on our page about website development for businesses). We don't build websites on website builders, but we do rebuild websites made with them on other systems.

Do you need a page builder?

A page builder is a CMS plugin that lets you lay out pages from sections and columns by dragging elements with the mouse. WordPress has its own block editor, and popular add-on builders include Elementor and SP Page Builder (for Joomla). A page builder is useful if you often create new pages with different layouts yourself.

It comes at a price, though. A page builder generates more HTML, so the page may load more slowly, and if you switch the builder off, the content often falls apart and has to be rebuilt. With sections rearranged freely, the design gradually becomes inconsistent. If you mostly update content rather than create new layouts, pre-agreed page templates where you only change the text and photos are often more convenient.

What should you ask a developer before choosing a CMS?

Before signing a contract, find out not only which system the website will be built on, but also who will maintain it, who will own the logins and whether you can move to another developer. These questions will help you compare quotes:

1. Why are you recommending this particular CMS for my website?
2. Which paid plugins or themes will you use, and who will pay for their licences later?
3. Who will update the system, how often, and how much will it cost?
4. Will I get administrator access, the files and the database?
5. Will I be able to create new pages myself, or only edit existing ones?
6. How are backups made, and how quickly can the website be restored?
7. What will I need to do if I later want to change developer or system?

It's worth recording the answers in your website brief – our article ‘Ordering a website: what to prepare and how to write a website brief’ explains how to prepare one.

Sources

• W3Techs, content management system usage statistics (27 September 2026): w3techs.com
• Patchstack, ‘State of WordPress Security in 2026’: patchstack.com
• Release of Joomla 6.0 and 5.4: joomla.org
• Joomla version support timeline: developer.joomla.org
• WordPress: wordpress.org

Not sure which system to choose? In the enquiry form, tell us what kind of website you need, who will update it and whether you plan to sell online. Within 1 working day we'll tell you which CMS fits and how much the website will cost.