Suitability for beginners

You might be an expert, but the user of the system might not be.

We tried to picture if a non-technical user could operate each CMS well enough to be able to post content and make some simple configuration changes. Sticking with the defaults, Joomla! needs an expert to make it usable for a newcomer. It lacks an admin button, preferring a URL for access. If you’re logged in with privileges then the modules that make up the page elements, such as the sidebar, do have edit icons on them. Obviously, there’s room to change all of this with themes and admin options, but new users are left with an odd mix of easily accessible changes they can make, and yet they have no simple button to press to create a new post because this is achieved in the admin panel.

Drupal is much more accessible for the non-technical crowd in its default state. It has a quickbar along the top for configuration and has an Add Content link.

Tastes vary, and we get into more detail about post editors above, but we’re going to award more points to Ghost and WordPress when considering the ease of creating posts because www.techradar.com/pro/linux they use plain-looking editors. In our experience, those new to CMS are likely to introduce inconsistencies if they’re given a toolbar full of options. Such users just want something to type or paste into while letting the system handle the formatting.

Once actually inside the admin panels of the five systems on test, the ease of use wasn’t vastly different. Ghost contained fewer options and a permanently open sidebar in its favour, and WordPress looked friendlier with more use of graphics and more facilities for doing tasks such as installing plugins without leaving the admin panel.