14 Top PHP CMS Platforms For Businesses Website Development

So, finally, you have decided to migrate your business to an online platform. But, what’s next? 

You need an engaging and effective website that can redefine your brand. This is where CMS web development services come into play. But with so many PHP CMS platforms available in the market, which one will best fit your needs?

From WordPress, Magento, Drupal, and Joomla to WooCommerce, there’s a list of powerful PHP CMS frameworks that can help you build a web store within a few clicks. For this reason, around 71% of websites have opted for a CMS platform, and 1.2 billion websites already use a CMS. 

The usage of CMS web development is expected to increase globally and is projected to make the market size $1.628 million by 2027. 

How can you plan for your CMS web development? You can use PHP, a versatile programming language, for your web development. Using a PHP CMS for your web development project can increase your development speed by 300%, but all that matters is picking the best PHP CMS for your website development project. 

However, when it comes to choosing the most suitable PHP CMS framework, many types of PHP CMS are available in the market- some targeted at buyers with a certain coding knowledge. In contrast, most are aimed at website owners looking to build and maintain sites easily.

So, how will you get started? What must you evaluate while choosing the right PHP website development frameworks?

For you, we have created a list of 14 of the top PHP CMS frameworks that you should prioritize while looking to build a dynamic website. And when it comes to developing a website, we always recommend looking for top PHP web development companies that thrive on delivering scaling solutions. So, read the blog till the end. 

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What is a PHP CMS?

Users can manage their website content through Content Management Systems (CMS) without crafting each line from the beginning. Users can seamlessly upload text content and images with videos using only basic clicks through its digital control panel and website.

PHP has transformed CMS web development services for enterprises by enabling them to create custom solutions to meet specific operational requirements. 

A PHP CMS web development is a content management system that implements PHP as its programming framework. CMS web development services built with PHP programming language deliver cost-effective, lightweight solutions because PHP is open-source, extensively supported, and highly flexible.

Why Should You Choose PHP CMS Over Others?

The power and simplicity balance of PHP CMS distinguishes it from other platforms based on Java or .NET. PHP CMS systems deliver agility alongside flexibility and scalability to every business size, from small to enterprise-level organizations, which allows them to thrive in modern online competition. 

So, what makes this CMS web development platform so special? Let’s find out:

1. Versatility in CMS Development

PHP represents a flexible programming language that lets developers generate custom CMS web development platforms that address particular business requirements. The development process requires providers to either construct their CMS solution from the beginning or employ the available PHP-based CMS web development solutions, including WordPress, Joomla, and ExpressionEngine.

2. Headless CMS Architecture

The latest PHP-driven CMS web development platforms implement headless architecture to create a separation between content and presentation. Such API capability supports content transmissions to platforms covering diverse devices, including websites, mobile apps, and Internet of Things devices. Laravel and Symfony operate as popular PHP CMS frameworks for developing headless CMS solutions to provide static API connectivity together with interactive user interfaces.

Each can be used as a headless CMS to deliver flexible, scalable content management across multiple digital channels.

3. Advanced Security Features

Security is a priority for PHP-powered CMS web development services because of their built-in SSL support, password encryption, firewalls, and two-step authentication features. The security measures create protection for sensitive information to defend against attacks through SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). PHP enables strong encryption techniques to secure user passwords along with important data.

4. Dynamic Content Personalization

With PHP CMS web development platforms, users gain personalized content through the use of their data points like geographical location and browsing behavior. System enhancement with user data analysis produces better engagement from users since individual personalization improves their conversion success.

5. Integration with AI

AI integration in PHP-powered CMS web development services enables features such as smart content recommendations, predictive analytics, and automated tagging. These capabilities optimize content strategies and enhance user engagement by delivering relevant information efficiently.

6. Multilingual Support

PHP CMS frameworks contain integrated tools for multilingual website features that enhance user accessibility to global audiences. The ability to create multilingual websites is essential for businesses that wish to attract customers from different regions since it expands their market potential and operational efficiency.

7. Cost Efficiency 

PHP exists as an open-source technology that developers can access free of charge, so CMS web development services can be offered at reduced costs. The platform operates with multiple database systems such as MySQL and PostgreSQL, which simplifies cost reduction and maintains superior performance quality.

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Key Criteria for Choosing the Right PHP CMS for Business

Picking the ideal PHP-powered CMS web development platform from the various options creates an overwhelming situation. Your selection should stem from a combination of business requirements and expansion plans and technical execution competence.

Businesses need to evaluate six core elements before making PHP CMS selection decisions.

Scalability & Performance

Your CMS web development platform selection should consist of a system that scales along with your business growth and handles elevated traffic demands while maintaining fast operations.

Ease of Use

A usable interface should be the number one priority for content editors, but developers need the freedom to add customization while coding.

Security Concerns

Security features included in the CMS web development services, together with automated software updates and a robust community framework, protect your information from harm.

Themes, Plugins & Extensions

The add-on collection (Themes, Plugins, and Extensions) enables users to extend their site functionality without creating everything from scratch.

SEO Capabilities

Ensure the CMS web development services support search-friendly URLs, metadata, sitemaps, and responsive design for better visibility on search engines.

Integration Support

Your CMS web development platform needs to enable consistent integration with CRM applications, email tools, analytics, eCommerce solutions, and many other systems.

The 14 Best PHP CMS Platforms for Businesses

A Content Management System is ideally used to create and run the website. For an increasing number of businesses, these PHP CMS platforms are becoming a go-to solution to create a website, run an online store, and manage further tasks. But how successful would it be? It all depends on what type of PHP CMS you choose for your project.

A PHP CMS selection affects website performance, along with flexibility and scalability potential in the future. Every business needs to have an appropriate CMS web development solution among the available options. 

The following list highlights the best PHP CMS frameworks that offer different functional benefits to assist your decision-making process.

1. WordPress

WordPress is a content management system that accounts for 70 million posts on the internet each month. It is the biggest CMS on the internet and has the largest community of web developers; even though it’s chiefly used as a blogging platform, the custom fields, custom post types, and custom taxonomies features allow it to be used as a CMS.

This PHP CMS also includes many free plugins (Over 60,000) and themes, so hiring a PHP developer will be a worthy decision for your business. As of 2025, it powers over 43% of all CMS web development platforms globally. Based on their requirements, users can customize the themes and templates. Moreover, this PHP CMS framework is considered to be one of the most user-friendly content management tools. 

Here is why WordPress Stands Out

• It is the largest PHP CMS and powers over 44% of all websites globally.
• It is a simple platform to create your website with zero knowledge of coding.
• SEO-friendly CMS web development structure to ensure a simplified ranking process for your site. 
• Easy content management enables you to write and publish content from anywhere at any time.
• The latest version of WordPress has AI capabilities and can help users by automating design recommendations and content proofreading. 
• This CMS web development framework is known for its capabilities in developing multilingual websites with outstanding plugins like WPML and Polylang.
• It offers an integration-ready ecosystem and can seamlessly collaborate with leading marketing platforms, analytics hubs, and eCommerce interfaces, making it an ideal CMS development tool for SMEs.

Ideal for: Online publishing platforms, Blog platforms, websites of small to medium size businesses, lightweight e-Commerce sites, and simple online platforms.

2. Drupal

With its first version released in 2001, Drupal counts among the oldest and most popular CMS web development software. It remains a popular PHP CMS framework due to its enterprise-grade security features and adaptability. At present, it has over 1.8% market share among PHP-powered CMS web development platforms. 

The release of Drupal 11 has made it easier to use and more functional in response to the increasing dependence on WordPress. Companies hire web developers who understand the latest version of this CMS web development service. It offers faster rendering and an optimized catching mechanism for building large-scale and enterprise-grade solutions.

Here is Why Drupal Stands Out

• What sets Drupal apart from other PHP CMS frameworks is its ability to serve as CMS (Content Management System) and CMF (Content Management Framework), ensuring maximum flexibility for the developers.
• This PHP CMS web development tool offers modular architecture, enabling businesses to customize their websites.
• It has a large and active developer community for continuous improvement.
• This PHP CMS framework also offers multilingual support while ensuring high mobile responsiveness and accessibility features.

Ideal for: Government websites with the highest security features, complex enterprise portals, and platforms with real-time data processing.

3. Joomla

With over 2 million websites and around 1.7% of the market share worldwide, Joomla tries to offer the best to both amateurs and professionals. It has a captivating administration interface, complete with an intuitive drop-down menu and other features. Joomla offers robust multilingual support (70+ languages) to businesses operating in different regions.

It also supports access control protocols like LDAP, OpenID, and Gmail.com. Like Drupal, you do not need to know coding to use Joomla, but you can make your plugins if you know coding. Many plugins are available with Joomla as well; however, many of them are paid.

Here is Why Joomla Stands Out

• Joomla is an open-source PHP CMS for website development.
• It ensures a user-friendly interface.
• It offers a wide range of customization extensions.
• Robust community support and regular updates ensure reliability.
• Ideal for publishing structured content.
• This CMS web development platform has strong core functionalities to facilitate advanced customization. 

Ideal for: Large-scale community-driven sites and medium enterprises looking to build non-profit digital platforms and social networking sites.

4. Magento (Adobe Commerce)

With over 2,50,000 online stores at present, Magento was first developed in 2008 with ecommerce in mind. Being an open-source platform offering a wide choice of plugins for ecommerce online store development, it has become a top choice for eCommerce online store development for many leading brands such as Ford, Nike, and Foxconnect.

Later on, Magento was classified into two versions: Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce. This PHP-powered CMS web development platform is one of the key factors behind an exceptional eCommerce boom. Before you rush to select the best ecommerce development services, you must understand its scalability and robust feature set. 

Here is Why Magento Stands Out

• The Magento PHP CMS framework offers advanced product management for online merchants.
• It offers advanced SEO capabilities and headless commerce options for your eCommerce business.
• The latest version of Magento offers AI-driven personalization to keep eCommerce websites competitive and futuristic. 
• Ensuring easy customization with around 5000 extension options.
• Scalable architecture capable of handling large catalogs and high traffic.
• Strong community support and frequent updates ensure reliability and security.
• This CMS web development service is ideal for businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprise-level operations.
• Magento handles approximately $155 billion worth of transactions every year.

Ideal for: Enterprise-grade eCommerce websites and online retail platforms that deal with high volume transactions.

5. OctoberCMS

OctoberCMS is a dynamic PHP CMS web development platform specifically designed for sophisticated and specialized business operations. Built on Laravel PHP architecture, OctoberCMS offers powerful tools like ORM (Object Relational Mapping) to enhance developers’ experience. 

As one of the best PHP CMS, it primarily focuses on simplicity and flexibility. Therefore, it is trusted by businesses across the world. Moreover, using the extensive range of plugins and themes, businesses can create visually stunning, retina-ready apps and websites.

Here is Why OctoberCMS Stands Out

• Lightweight and user-friendly CMS.
• Built on Laravel framework for robust performance.
• Highly customizable with a simple and intuitive interface.
• Extensive plugin marketplace for additional functionality.
• A game-changer for developers and designers seeking flexibility and ease of use.
• It offers advanced content publishing options with the Tailor module to modify the web content structure.

Ideal for: Building custom applications, intuitive digital interfaces, and feature-rich, tech-driven IT websites. 

6. TYPO3

TYPO3 is a versatile CMS web development tool compatible with various operating systems, making it suitable for e-commerce and large-scale platforms. With extensive community support and localization features supporting 50 languages, it caters to diverse user needs globally.

This CMS web development tool specifically manages enterprise-level content management. It provides users with a unique opportunity to scale large projects with SEO-friendly features. However, you need to consider outsourcing web app development services to configure TYPO3, which requires specialized skill sets and experience.  

Here is Why TYPO3 Stands Out

• This CMS web development platform offers responsive web designs to ensure optimum user experience.
• It provides users with a wide range of workflow and collaboration tools and allows them to practice pre-defined approval processes. 
• This PHP CMS has robust eCommerce capabilities and offers advanced content management options to meet growing customer needs.
• TYPO3 integrates leading data analytics tools like Google Analytics 360 and Motomo to allow businesses to make informed decisions.
• Multilingual support and accessibility features are also included in this CMS web development framework. 

Ideal for: Large enterprises with complex websites, educational websites, and university portals that require multilingual support, and enterprises with more than one website to manage.

7. Craft CMS

Craft CMS is ideal for developing content-driven websites. It is a newer PHP-based CMS web development tool that focuses on simplifying the development process. While it has a smaller user base, its developer-friendly approach makes it stand out and already empowers 43K+ websites.

Its clean backend interface simplifies content management for editors, facilitating frequent content publication. This CMS web development tool offers headless CMS capabilities to help developers keep front end and backend operations streamlined. 

Here is Why Craft CMS Stands Out

• A unique PHP CMS with refined UI components and element cards.
• It ensures WCAG AA compliance to improve the accessibility within the control panel.
• Offers powerful features like custom fields, versioning, and asset management.
• Built-in security features and regular updates ensure website safety.
• It offers robust CMS web development services to help businesses manage multiple websites seamlessly. 
• Craft CMS has a built-in analytics dashboard to monitor content performance and identify the latest trends.

Ideal for: Enterprises that require unique and tailored website design, Blog platforms that need dynamic content delivery mechanisms, and businesses that manage multiple websites.

8. Sylius

Sylius represents a contemporary open-source eCommerce CMS web development platform that uses PHP and executes on top of Symfony framework technology. The eCommerce engine primarily operates as a transaction platform but offers CMS functionality because of its headless-friendly modular design. The platform serves as an outstanding solution for digital commerce developers who want to create flexible, large-scale digital commerce solutions.

This CMS web development platform also has headless architecture to decouple storefront and admin panel operations. It offers a robust plugin system that allows developers to add and modify features with ease. Its seamless integration with third-party tools has made it an ideal choice for online retailers. 

Here is Why Sylius Stands Out

• Built on Symfony for enterprise-grade flexibility
• API-first and headless ready
• Extensive plugin ecosystem and customization layers
• Supports multi-channel, multi-currency, and multilingual setups

Ideal for: Custom eCommerce platforms and tech-powered retail businesses with virtual storefronts. 

9. Contao CMS

Contao, formerly TYPOlight, is a PHP-based open-source CMS tailored for medium to large-scale websites. With its separate multilingual backend and pre-designed modules, Contao simplifies website development and design.

The top concern of Contao is the security protection of its platforms. Security features in the system prevent common vulnerabilities that target web platforms. The security safety of Contao-based websites depends on systematic updates and an active team of security professionals.

Here is Why Contao CMS Stands Out

• User-friendly open-source CMS.
• Offers intuitive content management and website creation.
• Provides a range of customizable templates and themes.
• Ensuring optimum website protection with built-in security features.
• Active community support for ongoing development and enhancements.

Ideal for: Businesses that require high-level security and have websites with complex content structure and navigation.

10. Concrete5 (Concrete CMS)

Concrete5 functions as an effective open-source PHP CMS web development tool that provides both user-friendly visual editing and modern interface design. Concrete5 started as an empowerment system for people who lack coding knowledge to develop websites without technical writing requirements. 

This simple PHP CMS provides comprehensive developer tools that make it adaptable for webpage construction among designers and developers. It offers businesses with an intuitive CMS capability to edit and publish pages in real time and add-on marketplace options to alter product catalogs quickly. 

Here is Why Concrete5 Stands Out

• In-context editing with real-time preview
• SEO tools built-in by default
• Version control for pages and content
• Permission-based user management
• Extendable with a rich add-on marketplace

Ideal for: Medium-size enterprises with a dynamic marketing team and companies that are handled by non-developers. 

11. PyroCMS

PyroCMS is a powerful PHP CMS based on Laravel, offering complete flexibility for website customization through ready-made themes and plugins. Its modular architecture and marketplace for add-ons make it ideal for websites and applications of any size, requiring minimal coding effort.

Developed using Laravel functionality, this CMS web development platform provides a PHP development environment familiar to programmers working with Laravel frameworks. The Streams Platform gives users the ability to build customized data structures that facilitate easy content modeling for unique solution needs.

Here is Why PyroCMS Stands Out

• It offers a sleek and intuitive interface for easy website management.
• Built on the Laravel PHP framework, PyroCMS provides modern development features and performance.
• Robust modular architecture allows for extensive customization and scalability.
• Active community support ensures ongoing updates and enhancements.
• PyroCMS is suitable for developers and businesses seeking a modern and flexible CMS solution.

Ideal for: Small to medium businesses and creative agencies that need to create visually rich online portfolios.

12. MODX

The PHP-based MODX CMS provides users with flexibility in both content management capabilities and complete control for customizations. Developers and agencies choose MODX because it provides free artistic freedom above conventional CMS systems, which force templates on their users.

Here is Why MODX Stands Out

• Built-in template engine for total front-end control
• Granular user permissions and access policies
• Modular architecture for scaling and extending
• Strong focus on security and performance
• RESTful API support for headless CMS use

Ideal for: Tech-savvy businesses, digital agencies, and developers looking to create custom websites or apps with full control over the content.

13. HubSpot CMS

HubSpot CMS is perfect for those seeking a low-maintenance solution, offering user-friendly tools for easy website publishing without technical expertise. With integrated sales and marketing features, this PHP CMS framework enhances reach and engagement and streamlines business operations.

Here is Why HubSpot CMS Stands Out

• Integrates with HubSpot’s marketing tools.
• Built-in SEO tools for better search rankings.
• Customizable templates for stunning websites.
• Personalized content delivery.
• Analytics to track website performance.

Ideal for: Media and digital marketing agencies that depend on cutting-edge SEO tools to promote and publish content.

14. NEOS CMS

Like TYPO3, Neos is also an open-source PHP CMS web development platform tailored for developers. It offers complete flexibility to businesses to craft dynamic designs as per their unique needs. Boasting a state-of-the-art backend infrastructure, Neos facilitates seamless extensibility planning. Linked to the advanced PHP framework Flow, it’s more than a conventional CMS, designed primarily for content extensibility and integration.

Here is Why NEOS CMS Stands Out

• Next-generation open-source content management system.
• Emphasizes intuitive user experience and streamlined workflows.
• Flexible and modular architecture for custom solutions.
• Real-time collaborative editing capabilities.
• Built-in versioning and content staging features.

Ideal for: Leading media and publishing platforms and e-learning platforms that require the best PHP CMS tool to manage content in various formats and languages.

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How Hidden Brains Can Help You Build a PHP Website

In the past 22 years, Hidden Brains has demonstrated itself as a reliable source for developing PHP CMS websites together with scalable solutions. Hidden Brains brings expertise to develop enduring and highly professional websites and steadfast web applications for businesses of all scales. 

Our team’s expert PHP developers offer full expertise in all major PHP CMS web development services, including WordPress, Drupal, Magento, TYPO3, OctoberCMS, and other platforms. The team delivers complete CMS development solutions customized to your particular business requirements, including the process of CMS selection and integration with your enterprise systems.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Explore our FAQs section to learn more about PHP CMS platforms and get all your questions answered.