Craft CMS vs. ManageWP

Suitable for mid-size to large websites (20 pages+). If you have a massive project with dozens or hundreds of content contributors, complex editorial process/workflow, are tied to a non-Linux platform (Microsoft Server), you may want an enterprise CMS like Episerver. If you need a small, cheap, theme-based, basic website with 5-15 pages, you'll probably go to WordPress.

Incentivized

If you are a WordPress development shop, or host a number of WordPress websites, this is for you. Even if you only have one website but are looking for an easy way to make updates, schedule backups and keep track of the maintenance of your site, this would be a great tool. The cost is reasonable and it saves time, while adding peace of mind with "Safe" updates.

Incentivized

• Design-agnostic templating system. No themes. This means you can use whatever HTML, CSS, JS you want, and integrate it with Craft.
• Versatile field types, with 3rd party plugins providing a bunch more. Everything from plain text to address, color picker, date/time, file assets, one-to-many relationships, and more.
• Control panel with clean, responsive UI makes content updates easy for clients.

Incentivized

• Managed Wordpress Updates - ManageWP allows you to update all out-of-date themes, plugins and core files on all your websites with the click of a button.
• Automated Backups - ManageWP allows users to setup an automated schedule of backups (including free monthly backups).
• Maintenance & Development Mode - ManageWP allows users to place a specific site into Maintenance or Development Mode, allowing them to block users from accessing the site with a click of a button.

Incentivized

• Could use a more robust implementation of rich text editor.
• Some functionality that requires plugins, for example, advanced field management, should be part of the core install.
• It should be a bit easier to brand the control panel w/logo and color scheme.

Incentivized

• The reports could be prettier, more templates in order to avoid having to customize for each client so heavily.
• It would be nice to see if recommended plugin updates are actually production and not beta versions.

Incentivized

It's very straightforward for basic use, but less you dig in more for advanced use. Seems like it would be approachable to the average person.

Incentivized

Craft was originally developed in response to ExpressionEngine's shortcomings. While ExpressionEngine has caught up in some regards, it still looks and feels a bit unpolished by comparison. Additionally, ExpressionEngine's vendor has never gotten UI right - not on their website, nor in their CMS. Craft remains easier to use, more polished and provides a wider feature set in its base install (without needing plugins). As for WordPress - while I recognize its massive popularity, I find its reliance on themes, third-party plugins, along with security shortcomings, make it a poor fit for the larger custom projects we build. On the other hand, if you want to throw up a passable website in a day, you can't beat WordPress.

Incentivized

Prior to ManageWP, we utilized InfiniteWP, a free (with paid extensions), self-hosted alternative. We found the interface to be unwieldy, and the paid extension pricing to be a bit confusing. The headache of maintaining the software and server infrastructure to run the platform, overshadowed the cost savings for us.

Incentivized

• We don't have hard numbers on Craft's impact on our ROI, but we recognize that its feature set, ease of use, and integrated ECommerce allows offering a superior product to clients.

Incentivized

• High positive ROI as it has saved us doing manual updates on multiple website
• It has helped us scale our careplan offerings to service more clients
• Helps with automation and admin time

Incentivized