I have always argued (and will go on doing so until Drupal CMS or another open-source product proves otherwise) that WordPress is the best open-source CMS to start with, to launch into the content market on a very tight budget, to test an editorial idea and gauge market acceptance.
I set out the reasons clearly in my analysis of WordPress: the new block editor is a joy to use and already mature; WordPress is clearly the king of CMS on the Internet and has plugins for everything; it is free; it has a huge community; there is a company behind it (Automattic) that strives to ensure the open-source product is polished and secure at its core; and so on. Not everything is an advantage, but there are indeed many and varied strengths.
In the world many news organizations start with WordPress and later migrate to an alternative system once they achieve audiences in the millions. Mass audiences usually pose challenges and unravel many CMS that work well with modest traffic but quite literally buckle under heavy demand. This is the real test and the path taken by high-traffic digital newspapers are likely to follow.
Alternatives to WordPress without leaving Automattic
First of all, it is only fair to say that leaving WordPress is not strictly necessary. When WordPress starts to falter and show problems, it is often less about WordPress itself and more about poor handling and customisation by webmasters. This is something I have seen frequently throughout the trajectory of CMS MAG. Many clients ask us for advice for this very reason and the causes of failure are usually not in WordPress.
And, on the other hand, there are other Automattic products, such as Newspack or WordPress VIP, which are an excellent WordPress-based alternative when traffic increases and more professional services are required. Newspack is a system created to revive local journalism that is thriving in the United States and is offered at a very reasonable price, while WordPress VIP is the top-of-the-range option.
Unfortunately, despite the above, project directors are often annoyed with WordPress (in my opinion, quite unfairly) and almost always look for an alternative outside the open-source ecosystem when they decide to step up and back a new CMS.
It is very common at this point to move from open source to proprietary solutions, private CMS that are perfectly adapted to high traffic and well tested across a multitude of clients. In my consulting work, I continue to recommend open source, but newspaper directors almost never choose it at this stage.
The truth is that CMS MAG has used WordPress since its founding and can attest that it is an excellent, robust and secure CMS as long as it is handled properly, basic precautions are taken and it is always customised by professionals who understand WordPress in all its breadth and complexity.
Alternatives to WordPress in Spain for high traffic
There are many alternatives in Spain, many companies with powerful web content management systems (CMS) at a good price, that can carry out a successful content migration (remember that migrations in news organizations are expensive and critical) and provide big-media software at a moderate price.
The aim of this article is not to provide an exhaustive list of every service available in Spain; it will suffice to recommend some that are well known to this magazine and have a solid client portfolio. We begin by naming the Comitium CMS by BAB, a Barcelona-based CMS with many clients (some of real significance) and a truly reasonable monthly price.
Secondly, we can highlight the doyen of CMS in Spain, which operates worldwide: Protecmedia, a company that can also manage the transition from WordPress to tailor-made newsroom software thanks to its flexibility, as it offers solutions for every client—from its most economical cloud version to the most powerful self-managed editions.
Lastly, I want to highlight Xalok Go, the budget version of the CMS that has been so successful in Spain in recent years. It is the base CMS, without customizations, which is why you can secure at a special price the web CMS most in vogue in GfK’s top-10, the industry’s official measurement in Spain.
International alternatives
Other countries also offer very credible attempts to meet the needs of major news organizations. Sometimes these are high-end propositions, such as Glide Publishing Platform or Arc XP, whose prices are beyond many budgets, but there are also options at more modest price points.
Atex, for example, or Labrador CMS, fit this description. Both offer excellent propositions at competitive prices, though it is important to distinguish between the monthly fee on the one hand and, on the other, additional costs that can be substantial, such as migration or redesign.
- Original article written in Spanish, translated with chatGPT and reviewed in English by Jorge Mediavilla.
Leave a Reply