What is better CMS or Framework?

The choice between a CMS (content management system) and a framework is one of the first questions that a developer of a new web project faces. Although both options have their advantages, there are a number of fundamental differences between them.

CMS are ready-made universal systems for creating and managing websites. They offer a user-friendly interface, many design templates, and built-in tools for publishing content. With the help of a CMS, you can quickly create a typical website without writing a single line of code. The most popular CMS are WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.

Frameworks are software platforms with a set of libraries and tools for developing web applications. They contain a basic structure and components (routing systems, database management, templating, etc.), but do not dictate a strict logic of work. Frameworks allow you to develop a complex website or web service from scratch for specific tasks. Popular frameworks are Laravel, Ruby on Rails, Django.

In 2024, the choice between CMS and framework is still relevant. On the one hand, many customers want to launch a website quickly, especially when it comes to typical projects with a limited budget. On the other hand, there is a growing demand for complex and non-standard solutions that are difficult to implement on a CMS.

At the same time, both CMS and frameworks are actively developing. New tools appear and approaches to website development are being rethought. For example, the old-timer among CMS WordPress is actively developing its REST APIs and switching to block-based layout with the new Gutenberg editor. And many frameworks, having taken the best from competitors, are trying to become more friendly to newcomers.

To understand the pros and cons of CMSs and frameworks in 2024, let's look at a few key factors. This will help you make an informed decision for your project.

Detailed comparison of CMS and frameworks

Purpose and scope of application

CMS are best suited for standard projects with a clear structure and functionality:

• Business card sites and personal pages
• Blogs, news portals, online magazines
• Product catalogs and portfolios
• Websites of organizations and events
• Simple online stores

Frameworks are more suitable for implementing web applications and complex systems:

• Highly loaded portals and services
• Platforms for online training and testing
• Applications for working with large amounts of data
• Systems with atypical functions and algorithms
• APIs and parts of web applications for mobile applications

Ease of use

The main advantage of a CMS is the simplicity and speed of development, especially for an unprepared user. Most modern CMSs have:

• An intuitive interface for managing content and settings
• Visual editors for creating pages
• Built-in tools for SEO, analytics, and work with media files
• Large catalogs of ready-made plugins and design templates

All this allows you to quickly create a basic website without programming skills. For example, using the visual WordPress builder, you can customize a responsive landing page in 1-2 hours.

On the other hand, development on frameworks requires good programming skills and an understanding of web application architecture. You need to do it yourself:

• Set up the project structure, URL routing
• Implement an interface for working with the database
• Develop the logic of operation of all system components
• Customize additional functionality (search, analytics)
• Ensure the security and stability of work

To work effectively with frameworks, it is important to have an experienced development team. Thus, according to Coding Sans research, 3 to 9 specialists are involved in projects on the framework, and in 30% of cases - 10 or more. At the same time, the launch can take from 1 to 6 months.

Flexibility and extensibility

While CMSs are tailored to typical sites and offer a limited set of settings, frameworks provide almost unlimited customization options. The developer can:

• Implement any design and interaction interface
• Change and supplement the functionality of individual components
• Integrate third-party services and APIs
• Optimize performance for high loads
• Use any modern tools and libraries

CMS functions are usually extended by plugins and modules. But they are not always compatible with each other and may conflict. In addition, for non-standard tasks, you have to modify the functionality manually.

Performance and speed of work

Frameworks often provide better performance by:

• Optimizing the server side of the application
• Flexible work with caching and data compression
• Asynchronous processing of requests and lazy loading
• No unnecessary functions and dependencies

As a result, framework websites can withstand high loads - up to several thousand requests per second per server.

On the other hand, websites on "heavy" CMSs often load slowly due to the large number of functions and suboptimal plugin code.

Security.

The popularity of CMS plays a cruel joke on them. Due to the prevalence of such systems, hackers are constantly looking for new vulnerabilities in them. Vulnerabilities also arise from third-party plugins and themes, whose code is not always thoroughly tested. This leads to a constant threat of virus infection, hacking, and data leaks. In 2021, almost 2000 zero-day vulnerabilities were discovered in WordPress extensions.

The situation with frameworks is better. Since most of the code is written by developers themselves, they can control its security. And security holes in libraries and plugins are found and closed faster thanks to an active community of developers.

Of course, frameworks have their own vulnerabilities. But it's harder to find and exploit them because each such site is unique in some way. As a result, it is much more difficult to hack 1000 Laravel sites than 1000 typical WordPress sites.

When to use a CMS

CMS is the best choice when you need to launch a typical project quickly and inexpensively. Content management and basic functions are already implemented in them, so you can save on development.

Choose a CMS if:

You have a typical project with a limited budget and deadlines

Let's say you need to launch a law firm website with a typical set of functions:

• Home page with a description of services and an application form
• Catalog of legal services or cases
• Blog with news and articles
• "About" and "Contacts" pages

In this case, you can use a ready-made CMS with minimal modifications. Setting up and launching such a website will take 1-2 weeks and cost $200-500. And the development of a similar site on a framework from scratch can take 1-2 months and cost from $2000.

The site will be updated frequently by inexperienced users

If the content on the site will be managed by people without technical skills, a CMS is an ideal option. They will be able to add and edit pages on their own using a visual editor.

For example, on a news portal or blog, journalists will be able to publish articles without the help of developers. Using a CMS like WordPress, they can easily master publishing and formatting materials, working with SEO settings, and moderating comments.

You need a simple online store

Specialized CMSs are the best choice for launching a small store:

• Magento - for medium and large stores with thousands of products
• WooCommerce - a plugin for an online store based on WordPress
• OpenCart - a simple store with basic functionality

All of these CMSs contain the basic components of online commerce:

• Product catalog with filters and sorting
• Shopping cart and checkout
• Personal account and purchase history
• Payment and delivery mechanisms

All that remains is to fill the site with your products, set up payment and delivery methods. For a store with 100-500 products, launching on a CMS will cost 2-3 times cheaper than developing on a framework.

The site is planned to be developed and finalized

The functionality of CMS websites can be easily expanded using plugins and modules that can be found in marketplaces:

• WordPress - more than 59 thousand free plugins
• Drupal - more than 47 thousand modules
• 1C-Bitrix - more than 1000 solutions in the marketplace

In addition, there are many specialists for popular CMS who can help with the implementation of new functionality. More than 7 thousand freelancers with a 4.5+ rating can be found on Upwork for the query "wordpress developer".

You need to quickly launch a landing page or business card website

CMS-based website builders are perfect for single-page websites:

• Tilda - more than 550 ready-made blocks and templates
• LP Generator - landing page builder with responsive design
• LPMotor - a simple visual page editor

With its help, you can build a selling landing page in a few hours without programming and web design skills. For example, Tilda has an average landing page conversion rate of 12.8%, which is 3 times higher than the market average.

When to use frameworks

Frameworks are the best choice for complex and non-standard projects that require high performance and development flexibility.

Choose a framework if:

You are developing a complex high-load project

If your website processes thousands of requests per second, CMS may not be able to cope with the load. In such cases, it is better to use frameworks that allow you to optimize performance in a specific way.

For example, Alibaba Group chose the Spring framework in Java for its global e-commerce ecosystem. It ensures stable operation at peak loads of more than 325,000 orders per second.

GitHub, the largest service for hosting IT projects and their development, was originally written in Ruby on Rails. This framework made it possible to quickly develop and implement new features while ensuring high fault tolerance.

The website will have complex business logic and non-standard functionality

If you are developing a website with a large number of dynamic elements, complex data processing algorithms, and integrations with third-party services, frameworks are better suited.

For example, let's say you are developing an investment service where users can:

• Choose investment strategies for their risk profile
• Receive portfolio profitability forecasts
• Conclude transactions for the purchase and sale of securities
• Set up auto-following of top traders

To implement such logic, it is better to use the Django framework in Python. This language has many libraries for mathematical calculations, machine learning, and data visualization.

For example, the Qplum system for analyzing and managing investment portfolios is written in Django. It analyzes thousands of investment strategies using mathematical models and helps to select the optimal portfolio for the investor's goals.

The project should be flexible to scale to a growing audience

Frameworks make it easier to scale the site's architecture to meet growing loads through modularity and code reuse.

For example, Airbnb, a popular short-term rental marketplace, has grown from zero to 150 million users in just 10 years. This was largely made possible by using Node.js and React for front- and back-end development.

Thanks to the asynchronous single-threaded model of Node.js, the Airbnb app can handle thousands of simultaneous requests, distributing them across different microservices. And React's component-based approach allows for centralized updates to the site's interface without the risk of individual modules breaking down.

We plan to develop the project and add new features

Frameworks provide fast and secure development due to:

• Built-in tools for testing and debugging code
• Software architecture that facilitates teamwork
• Detailed documentation and a large community of developers

This makes it possible to gradually develop the site's functionality and introduce new technologies.

For example, with the help of the Vue.js framework and the Nuxt application, Alibaba developers were able to:

• Update all pages of the Taobao website to a responsive layout
• Switch the architecture from monolithic to microservices
• Implement server rendering and static generation
• Integrate new payment APIs

At the same time, thanks to the built-in testing tools, we managed to maintain stability during releases. And the page loading speed increased to 90 points according to Core Web Vitals.

Developing a web version of a mobile application

Frameworks are often used to develop the backend and API of mobile applications and their web versions. Thus, the most popular framework for this is Laravel in PHP:

• Has built-in authentication and authorization mechanisms
• Supports integration with third-party services via API
• Allows you to quickly implement REST and GraphQL APIs
• Contains tools for unit and integration testing

For example, the dating service Badoo uses the Symfony framework in PHP for the backend of its iOS and Android applications. It allows to simultaneously provide data for mobile clients and the web version of the site. At the same time, the Badoo API processes about 12 thousand requests every second.

Overview of popular CMS

According to BuiltWith, in 2024, more than 65% of all websites are powered by CMS. Here is a brief overview of the top 5 platforms by share of use.

WordPress

• Market share - 43% of all websites
• Written in PHP as a database using MySQL
• Has more than 59,000 free plugins and 8,000 design themes
• It is used for blogs, news portals, landing pages, and small shops
• Examples of sites: TechCrunch, The Walt Disney Company, BBC America

Wix

• More than 200 million registered users
• Has a simple visual page builder and 800+ ready-made templates
• Provides hosting and domain services out of the box
• Used for business card sites, portfolios, landing pages, handmade shops
• Examples of sites: Ace of Spades Gardening, Oraiko Japanese Cuisine, Paperweight Love

Shopify

• Serves more than 4 million online stores worldwide
• Has built-in tools for SEO, marketing, and sales analytics
• Provides ready-made design templates and integration with more than 100 payment systems
• Used to launch online stores of any scale
• Examples of stores: Pepsi, Heinz, Hyatt Hotels, LEGO

Drupal

• More than 1.7 million installations worldwide
• Has a modular architecture and more than 48,000 modules for expanding functions
• Has advanced content and access rights management tools
• Used for large content projects, corporate websites, and applications
• Examples of sites: Tesla, Pfizer, The Economist, University of Oxford

Magento (Adobe Commerce)

• Developed by Adobe, has an open-source version
• Contains tools for SEO, cross-selling, and customer behavior analytics
• Has a built-in drag-and-drop page editor and widgets for products
• Used to create marketplaces and enterprise-level stores
• Examples of stores: Ford, Nestle, Jaguar, Rosetta Stone

Overview of popular frameworks

According to the StackOverflow 2023 survey, more than 70% of developers use at least one web framework in their work. Let's consider the top 5 tools by programming language.

Laravel (PHP)

• One of the most popular PHP frameworks, more than 70 thousand stars on GitHub
• Implements MVC architecture, has a built-in ORM and Blade templating engine
• Comes with tools for unit testing and code debugging
• Used for web applications and SaaS services with server-side rendering
• Project examples: Pfizer, BBB, Razorpay, PedidosYa

Ruby on Rails (Ruby)

• More than 400,000 sites use RoR, according to BuiltWith
• Has built-in security, validation, and authorization mechanisms
• Contains code generators for quick scaffolding of applications
• Used for e-commerce, marketplaces, CRM and ERP systems
• Examples of projects: Airbnb, Shopify, Crunchbase, Dribbble

Django (Python)

• Downloaded over 22 million times, 67 thousand stars on GitHub
• Implements the MVT (Model-View-Template) design pattern
• Has a built-in ORM and support for database migrations out of the box
• It is used for web applications that require complex calculations and data analysis
• Project examples: Instagram, Mozilla, NASA, Pinterest

Express.js (Node.js)

• Minimalistic and flexible framework, more than 57 thousand stars on GitHub
• Can be used as part of the MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node)
• Supports asynchronous request processing and server rendering
• Used for highly loaded web applications and backend APIs
• Project examples: Uber, Accenture, IBM, Myntra

Angular (TypeScript)

• Developed by Google, has more than 1.8 million installations per week
• Provides more than 40 built-in UI libraries and 2000+ external modules
• Supports reactive programming and dynamic pages out of the box
• It is used for SPA, PWA, hybrid applications with common code for web and mobile
• Project examples: Microsoft Office, Forbes, Samsung, Deutsche Bank

How to choose between a CMS and a framework for your project

To make a decision, approach the choice systematically:

• Define the goals and requirements for the project. Answer the following questions:

1. What functionality is needed on the website?
2. What loads is the project designed for?
3. Will there be non-standard modules and integrations?
4. Who will support and develop the website?

• Estimate the time frame and budget. CMSs are usually cheaper and faster to launch. But if the project is long-term and involves many improvements, investing in a framework may be justified.
• Analyze current and future loads. If the site has to withstand high traffic and thousands of simultaneous requests, choose a framework. It will allow you to scale your project and save on servers.
• Consider security requirements. If the site will store personal data, payment information, and medical records, the framework will provide more fine-grained security settings.
• Think about SEO. CMSs like WordPress have extensive internal optimization capabilities thanks to plugins. However, it is easier to optimize loading speed and mobile layout on a framework.

Also, here is a summary table for comparing CMS and frameworks by key parameters: