WordPress CMS vs October CMS: The Ultimate Showdown

If you’ve been using WordPress to develop your website or blog, then hold on there’s a new CMS in town called October CMS. I’m sure you’re wondering about the differences in WordPress CMS vs. October CMS and which CMS is better. We’ll get into that here and a lot more. 

What Is WordPress CMS vs. October CMS?

Let’s start with the basics, what is CMS? CMS stands for Content Management System. If you have a website or blog that has WordPress installed, you have WordPress CMS. WordPress was one of the very first content management systems.

Until now, WordPress’s main competitors were Joomla and Drupal in the CMS market. October CMS launched with a vision to make web development simple again. It wants to prove that making websites is something for everyone can do. 

In 2003 WordPress began developed on the PHP framework. Rasmus Lerdorf originally made PHP in 1994, and back then, PHP originally stood for Personal Home Page. Times have changed, and so has PHP.

Advantages of WordPress

WordPress powers 1 in 3 of the world’s websites, from personal blogs to the websites of significant entities like Sony, Time Inc., the New York Post, and NBC, to name a few. It is one of the few content management systems that can be downloaded and installed for free. WordPress has many features that make it the most popular CMS being used currently. 

Adaptable and Flexible

Even though WordPress was initially envisioned as support for blogs, it has evolved and continues to adapt to the needs of website and blog developers everywhere. While it the number one choice for blogs, it is also used as the CMS for websites of large corporations. Sites based on WordPress can include full eCommerce stores, showcase a portfolio, or host a social network, group, or podcast. 

Whatever the developer’s needs are, after the core WordPress install, along with a few plugins, you will be moving along. Due to the many themes and easy access to source files, it easily adaptable to any business’s varying requirements.

Easy to Use

Even for beginners, WordPress is easy to install and be running in minutes. All without technical expertise. That being said, it isn’t always the easiest to use. 

• Not always visible where to go on the backend
• Plugins fragment information
• Blog posts are misaligned on the frontend
• Content updates are simple

This area is where October CMS shows it’s strength. Users find it is easier to use.

• Backend is easy to navigate
• Everything is where you expect to see it
• A clear understanding of where to add blog posts
• Content updates are easy

Back End

Both WordPress and October CMS have full-featured back ends, but here is what users say:

WordPress

• Ugly backend with dull colors
• Not responsive

October CMS

• Attractive backend with soft colors
• Responsive

October CMS has a slick and clean backend UI. With their vision of making it for every person, it’s obvious they have spent time on the design as the interaction for backend users is easy to understand. 

Customizing

October is relativity new and has no legacy code making it very easy to customize flexibly with their plugin system. Customizing WordPress, however, is a process filled with problems. You usually end up having to go into the framework code, and there are so many versions, it’s nearly difficult to build an extension that works for all of them.

Updating

Both platforms have auto-updating features. October has a smoother process, and usually, there aren’t issues when updating the framework and only one or two when updating plugins. It has a great option where plugins are bound to a project ID. This feature is used in all environments where a site runs, like local, staging, and production. 

When you add a plugin, since it is bound to the project ID, all versions of the site will auto-update when you log in next. It means you only have to deploy a plugin once and not in multiple places. 

Features

When you look at the features of both WordPress CMS and October CMS, you know that October will soon be the leader in the market that started with WordPress. 

October CMS Features

• Extensible
• Twig tempting engine
• Built on Laravel
• Pages built with reusable components
• Fast
• Clean Admin UI
• Built-In AJAX framework
• CDN support and image cropping
• Minification
• Static HTML
• WYSIWYG editor
• Multi-Lingual
• Small Learning Curve

WordPress CMS Features

• User Management
• Plugin System
• Theme System
• WYSIWYG editor (Gutenberg Editor)
• Larger Learning Curve

Security

Since October is built on the Laravel Framework, the only file that can be accessed directly is index.php in the root directory. Therefore it allows the framework to cut off any suspicious activity before it accesses anything else in the internal directories. Most significant is that plugins go through an approval process to verify their quality and security. October co-founder daftspunk confirmed this on a Security thread.

WordPress

• Any PHP file can be run
• Framework structure is widely understood
• Most sites login page are too easy to access
• No plugin approval process in place
• Many insecure plugins
• A few phishing plugins

October CMS

• Only permit access to index.php
• All plugins complete an approval process

WordPress CMS vs. October CMS

October CMS provides the versatility to build feature-rich websites and applications in a manageable and maintainable way. The market share of WordPress shows that it has a clear advantage in terms of support, plugins, and popularity. However, if security is your priority October CMS is the better option. 

For most people, the most critical factor when choosing a CMS is its use, since WordPress has been around longer and is more well-known, it is often the first choice. 

What’s Next

In summary, the uses of WordPress and October CMS are different, so when you are choosing your CMS, it is essential to understand how your use factors into the decision. OctoberCMS is robust and provides a variety of features. The question remains, is it better for your purpose? 

When it comes to the WordPress CMS vs. October CMS decision, we can help. Contact Authentic Studio today.