Creating a website is no longer the preserve of experienced developers. Today, thanks to CMS (Content Management Systems), anyone can build a professional online presence, whether for a personal blog, an online store or a corporate showcase site.
But with so many solutions available, the question arises: which CMS should you choose for your Web project in 2025?
In this comprehensive guide, we'll explain what a CMS is, review the essential criteria for making the right choice, and steer you towards the best options for your type of site.
1. What is a CMS?
A CMS (Content Management System) is software that lets you create, manage and modify a website without coding. In other words, a CMS puts site creation within everyone's reach: want to publish a blog post? Add it in a few clicks. Want to change an image or text? Do it without touching the code. Want to customize the design? Change the look and feel via an intuitive graphical interface.
Which CMS should you choose to create your website in 2025?
Looking for the best solution to launch a website in 2025? Our guide helps you compare the most popular CMS like WordPress, Shopify, Wix and others. Discover their advantages, limitations and tips for choosing the one that suits your needs.
The most popular CMS in 2025
WordPress : the most widely used in the world, ideal for blogs and showcase sites.
WordPress will account for over 40 % of all websites by 2025. Free and open source, it offers over 60,000 plugins and thousands of themes. Its strengths are its flexibility, extensive customization and excellent SEO potential with RankMath or Yoast. It also supports online stores via WooCommerce. On the other hand, it requires suitable hosting, regular maintenance and a bit of training to master. It's perfect for small businesses, bloggers and companies looking for a scalable solution.
Shopify: e-commerce specialist, fast and easy.
Shopify is a SaaS (cloud) CMS that makes it easy to create online stores. It includes hosting, security and updates, making it accessible to beginners. Its advantages include simplicity, 24/7 support, a variety of themes and a rich App Store. It's optimized for mobile and secure payments. Its limitations are a sometimes high monthly cost, transaction fees if you don't use Shopify Payments and more limited customization than WordPress. Shopify is ideal for merchants and SMEs looking for a turnkey e-commerce solution.
Wix : easy to access, perfect for beginners.
Wix is a cloud platform with a drag-and-drop editor. Its simplicity and integrated hosting appeal to novices. Since 2024, Wix has also incorporated AI to generate text, images and page structures. Its advantages are rapid set-up, accessibility and attractive design. Disadvantages: limited customization, difficult migration and sometimes costly subscriptions. Wix is primarily intended for freelancers and small businesses looking for a fast, simple showcase site.
Webflow : powerful and modern, design and SEO oriented.
Webflow is aimed at designers and companies looking for a professional, modern look. It combines a CMS with an advanced visual editor, enabling you to create highly personalized sites without coding. Webflow is high-performance, SEO-friendly by default and offers fast hosting. It has also supported multilingualism since 2024. Its limitations: a steeper learning curve, higher costs than WordPress and an even smaller community. It's perfect for startups and agencies that want to combine design and performance.
Drupal : robust, suitable for complex projects.
Drupal is open source and renowned for its security. It is used by governments, universities and major corporations. Strengths: power, flexibility, enhanced security and advanced user management. Weaknesses: complexity, smaller community and high technical requirements. Drupal is recommended for large organizations requiring complex, highly secure sites.
Prestashop : open source e-commerce, ideal for SMEs.
Prestashop specializes in e-commerce. Free (excluding hosting and paid modules), it lets you create flexible online stores. Advantages: its active French-speaking community, its ability to manage medium to large catalogs and its flexibility. Limitations: less popular than Shopify and WooCommerce, difficulty finding experts and sometimes high development costs. Prestashop is a good solution for SMEs looking for a solid e-commerce solution with advanced control.
Joomla : between WordPress and Drupal, more technical but complete.
Joomla is versatile and can be used for showcase, community or e-commerce sites. Strengths: advanced user management, flexibility and robustness. Its drawbacks: a smaller community, a limited range of extensions and a steeper learning curve than WordPress. Joomla is well suited to associations and companies that want a flexible CMS but have limited technical resources.
New CMS trends
Since 2024, new solutions have been developing rapidly. Ghost appeals for fast, SEO-optimized blogs. Strapi and Sanity (headless CMS) are gaining in popularity for tailor-made, scalable projects. Framer Sites is positioning itself as a design- and prototyping-oriented alternative. The trend is towards no-code and headless CMS, combining ease of use and high performance.
2. Essential criteria for choosing a CMS
2.1. Website type
First and foremost, define the purpose of your site. A blog is best served by WordPress or Ghost. A showcase site can be designed on WordPress, Wix or Webflow. For an online store, Shopify, WooCommerce, Prestashop or Magento are recommended. For a custom platform, opt for a headless CMS like Strapi or Sanity.
2.2. Ease of use
If the site is to be managed by novices, Wix or Shopify are ideal. For intermediate users, WordPress with Elementor or Divi is suitable. Designers will turn to Webflow and developers to headless CMS. By 2025, the majority of CMSes will incorporate AI tools to accelerate content creation and management.
2.3. Customization
A website should reflect your identity. WordPress and Webflow offer a high level of customization. Wix and Shopify offer practical but more limited themes. Headless CMS allow custom design at 100 %, but require technical resources.
2.4. Scalability
A good CMS needs to grow with your business. WordPress is highly flexible, Shopify can handle rapid growth but depends on its third-party applications, Magento is designed for high volumes and Prestashop offers a robust alternative for SMEs.
2.5. SEO-friendly
A modern CMS must integrate tag management, clean URLs, mobile-first optimization, Core Web Vitals and structured data. WordPress and Webflow are the most advanced in this area, especially with plugins or integrated tools.
2.6. Rates and budget
WordPress is free but requires premium hosting and plugins. Shopify requires a monthly subscription and may involve transaction fees. Wix and Webflow are also subscription-based. Magento is the most expensive to develop and maintain. Always compare actual costs over three years before committing.
2.7 Integrations
A site needs to connect with your tools: CRM, email marketing, online payments, analytics. Shopify and WordPress are the richest in native integrations.
2.8. Performance
Loading speed influences SEO and user experience. Webflow is renowned for its speed. Shopify offers good performance thanks to its infrastructure. WordPress is highly dependent on optimizations and hosting.
2.9. Multilingual
To target multiple markets, the CMS needs to manage languages. WordPress offers powerful plugins. Webflow now supports native multilingualism. Shopify is compatible with specialized applications.
2.10. Security
A site must be secure, especially with regulations like RGPD and Bill 25 in Quebec. CMS must integrate SSL, automatic backups and regular updates. WordPress requires active maintenance, Shopify and Webflow integrate security by default, Drupal is recognized for its robustness.
2.11. Availability of experts
A popular CMS makes it easy to find developers and agencies. WordPress and Shopify are the most popular. Webflow is gaining in popularity. Prestashop is more limited, but has a French-speaking community. Drupal and Magento require rare and costly experts. In-house CMS developed by certain agencies should be avoided if you don't want to depend on a single supplier.
3. Which CMS for your project?
3.1 Showcase sites
WordPress is the most flexible solution, ideal if you also want to integrate a blog. Wix is perfect for a quick and easy launch. Webflow is suitable for startups and businesses that want a modern, SEO-friendly design. Joomla may be suitable for more complex projects, but requires more learning.
3.2 E-commerce
WooCommerce is perfect for SMEs already on WordPress. Shopify is the most popular, simple and powerful all-in-one solution. Magento remains the benchmark for large companies with complex needs. Prestashop is a solid open-source alternative for SMEs wanting to retain control.
Conclusion: invest in the right CMS
Choosing a CMS is a strategic decision. It impacts your site's efficiency, SEO visibility, scalability and overall cost over several years. A good CMS should be easy to use, customizable, SEO-friendly, secure and efficient, and supported by an active community.
A website is not a one-off expense, but a long-term investment. At H1Site, we help companies select and implement the most appropriate CMS. Whether you're looking for a modern showcase site, a high-performance online store or a customized platform, our team is here to guide you.
FAQ - Frequently asked questions about CMS
Which CMS is easiest to use?
Wix and Shopify are the most intuitive. Their visual interface allows you to create a site quickly, without any technical knowledge.
Which CMS is the most cost-effective?
WordPress.org is free to install, but requires hosting and sometimes paid extensions. Over the long term, it's often the most cost-effective.
Which CMS to choose for a multilingual website?
WordPress with WPML or Polylang is a safe bet. Webflow has been natively multilingual since 2024, and Shopify offers specialized applications.
Which CMS is best for SEO?
WordPress (with RankMath or Yoast) and Webflow are the best performers for SEO, thanks to their flexibility and integrated tools.
Which CMS for a large company?
Drupal and Magento are best suited to organizations with complex needs, large volumes of content or products, and strong security requirements.
