Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Webnode

WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) used to create and manage websites, blogs, and web applications. It combines an admin dashboard with a theme system and a powerful plugin architecture to extend functionality.

Key Features

• Block-based editor for creating and arranging pages and posts
• Theme system for site design and layout customization
• Extensive plugin ecosystem to add features such as stores, SEO, forms, and analytics
• Built-in media library for managing images and other uploads
• User roles and permissions for multi-user site management
• Import tools and administrative update workflows

Use Cases

• Personal or professional blogs and publishing sites
• Small business and marketing websites with customizable themes
• Content-driven sites extended via plugins (e.g., newsletters, analytics, ecommerce)

Limitations and Considerations

• Extensibility via third-party plugins/themes can introduce performance and security risks if not curated and maintained
• Major updates may require testing for plugin/theme compatibility in complex deployments nWordPress is a mature, widely adopted platform suited to everything from simple blogs to complex content sites. Its flexibility comes from themes and plugins, making it adaptable to many use cases when managed with good maintenance practices.

Microweber is a drag-and-drop website builder and content management system (CMS) for creating websites, blogs, and online stores. Built on the Laravel framework, it provides a visual editing experience alongside a full admin panel for managing content and products.

Key Features

• Live drag-and-drop page building with real-time text editing
• Admin panel for managing pages, posts, products, and categories
• Built-in e-commerce capabilities for running an online shop
• Template and layout system for quickly composing pages
• Extensible module approach for adding site functionality
• Supports multiple database backends via PDO (including MySQL and SQLite)

Use Cases

• Launch a small business website with visual editing and custom layouts
• Run a lightweight online store with product and category management
• Create and maintain a blog or content-driven site without coding

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires a PHP environment and compatible database setup; features depend on server extensions being available
• Advanced customization typically involves working with themes/modules and the Laravel-based codebase

Microweber fits users who want a traditional CMS combined with a modern visual editor and integrated e-commerce. It is suitable for both non-technical site owners and developers who want a Laravel-based platform they can extend.

Silex is an open-source, visual website builder focused on creating fast static websites while still supporting dynamic data via APIs and CMS integrations. It can be used online or deployed on your own infrastructure, and also allows code-level control when needed.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop visual editor for building static websites
• Built-in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript editors for advanced customization
• Plugin architecture for extending the editor and adding integrations
• Works well in composable/headless workflows (static front-end with external CMS/API)
• SEO-oriented static output and support for publishing/hosting workflows

Use Cases

• Building marketing sites and landing pages without writing code
• Creating static front-ends backed by a headless CMS or custom APIs
• Web studios producing client sites with a visual workflow and optional code control

Silex is a flexible option for teams and individuals who want a Webflow-like visual experience while keeping output based on web standards and portable static files. Its extensibility and headless-friendly approach make it suitable for modern JAMstack-style deployments.

Bludit is a lightweight, database-free content management system for building websites and blogs. It stores content as JSON files, making setup and backups simple while keeping performance responsive on modest hosting.

Key Features

• Flat-file storage using JSON (no database required)
• Web-based admin panel for managing pages and posts
• Theme system for customizing site appearance
• Plugin system to extend functionality
• Markdown and HTML content support, including editor options
• SEO-oriented features suitable for search engines and social sharing

Use Cases

• Personal or company blogs that need quick deployment and low maintenance
• Small websites on shared hosting where databases are undesirable
• Lightweight CMS projects that benefit from file-based backups and portability

Limitations and Considerations

• Flat-file storage can be less suitable for very large sites with heavy write activity
• Feature set depends heavily on available plugins and themes

Bludit is a solid choice when you want a traditional CMS experience without operating a database. Its file-based approach, theming, and extensibility make it practical for straightforward publishing and small-to-medium websites.

WonderCMS is an extremely small flat-file content management system for building and editing websites and blogs. It stores content in a JSON-based file database, avoiding a traditional relational database and keeping setup simple.

Key Features

• Flat-file storage using a JSON database file (no MySQL/PostgreSQL required)
• Minimal footprint (designed to run from a very small set of files) with a simple 1-step install
• In-place (inline) editing for quick page updates
• Theme and plugin installer/updater to extend functionality
• One-click updates and one-click backups/restore workflow
• Clean URLs and basic per-page SEO fields (title, keywords, description)
• Privacy-oriented approach (no built-in tracking, minimal cookies)

Use Cases

• Personal sites, landing pages, or small business websites needing a simple CMS
• Lightweight blogs where a database-backed CMS is unnecessary
• Rapid deployments on basic shared hosting or simple PHP servers

Limitations and Considerations

• Intentionally minimal feature set; complex workflows may require plugins or custom theme code
• Flat-file storage can be less suitable for very large sites or high-concurrency editing

WonderCMS is well-suited for users who want a fast, compact CMS with straightforward publishing and minimal operational overhead. Its flat-file approach, small footprint, and theme/plugin ecosystem make it a practical option for simple sites and blogs.

Contao is an open-source content management system written in PHP that provides a full-featured CMS and web-application framework built on top of the Symfony full-stack framework. It targets professional websites and portals with a focus on accessibility, SEO, performance and predictable long-term support.

Key Features

• Symfony-based architecture with modular bundles and events/hooks for extensibility
• Contao Manager: a graphical Composer frontend for installing, updating and recovering installations
• Built-in SEO capabilities: editable meta tags, schema.org support and automatic XML sitemap generation
• Accessibility focus with compliance guidance for common European accessibility standards
• Performance features including deferred image resizing, support for HTTP/2, ESI and compatibility with HTTP caches (e.g., Varnish)
• Security features: modern password hashing, optional 2FA/passkeys, automatic account lockout and a public security advisory process
• Multi-site and multilingual support plus granular user permissions out of the box
• Managed Edition and Composer/Symfony bundle installation options to support varied deployment workflows

Use Cases

• Building accessible, SEO-optimized corporate websites, microsites and marketing portals
• Multi-language or multi-site deployments where centralized management and fine-grained permissions are required
• Integrating CMS features into existing Symfony applications via Contao’s bundle architecture

Limitations and Considerations

• Official database support is limited to MySQL/MariaDB (Contao uses Doctrine DBAL); other database engines are not officially supported
• Server requirements expect modern PHP versions and extensions; upgrading PHP or dependencies typically requires a Composer update and may require attention to installed third-party extensions

Contao is aimed at teams and agencies that need a stable, extensible CMS with a strong emphasis on accessibility, security and predictable LTS cycles. Its Symfony foundation and Composer-based workflow make it suitable both as a standalone CMS and as an embeddable bundle for Symfony applications.

Zenphoto is a standalone, open-source CMS designed for media-focused websites — primarily photo galleries but also supporting video and audio. It provides a compact admin UI, theme-driven frontends and an integrated Zenpage plugin for blogging and custom pages. (zenphoto.org)

Key Features

• File-system based media management with multi-file upload and dynamic albums (saved searches). (zenphoto.org)
• Native support for images, video and audio formats; integrated Zenpage for news/blogs and custom pages. (zenphoto.org)
• Theme-driven frontend with many official and third-party themes; previewable via an official demo site. (demo.zenphoto.org)
• Search engine with boolean expressions, multimedia metadata handling and album/collection organization. (zenphoto.org)
• Active release cycle with maintenance releases (latest 1.6.x series and recent 1.6.8 release). (github.com)

Use Cases

• Photographers, illustrators and designers hosting portfolio galleries with integrated blog/news pages. (zenphoto.org)
• Small media sites (film makers, musicians) needing a lightweight CMS that handles mixed media formats. (zenphoto.org)
• Developers building custom gallery themes or plugins who want a file-system-first media CMS and extensible plugin hooks. (github.com)

Limitations and Considerations

• Official testing and recommendations are primarily for Apache/PHP environments; non-Apache servers may require extra configuration. Server PHP extensions (GD or Imagick, cURL, mbstring/iconv, etc.) are expected and some are required for full functionality. (zenphoto.org)
• The project maintains compatibility constraints across PHP/MySQL/MariaDB versions; review release notes and requirements before upgrading production installs. (zenphoto.org)

Zenphoto is a compact, purpose-built CMS for creators who need straightforward media gallery management with blogging and theming capabilities. It emphasizes simplicity, file-system media handling and extensibility via themes and plugins, with active community development and an official demo for previewing themes. (zenphoto.org)

PluXml is a lightweight content management system that stores all content in XML files rather than a database, aimed at blogs and small websites. It provides a user-friendly backoffice, multi-user roles, themes and plugins to extend functionality while remaining portable and easy to deploy.

Key Features

• Flat-file storage: content, configuration and metadata are stored in XML files (no database required)
• Multi-user backoffice with permission levels for collaborative editing
• Article, page, category, tag and archive management with RSS feeds
• Built-in comments management and moderation tools
• Media manager for images and documents with basic image resizing (GD required)
• Customizable themes and plugin system to extend features
• URL rewriting support for clean URLs (requires webserver rewrite support)
• Translations available in multiple languages

Use Cases

• Personal or family blogs that need a simple, low-maintenance CMS
• Small business brochure sites or microsites with basic content and media
• Portable or offline sites that must be moved or served from removable storage

Limitations and Considerations

• Not intended for very large sites: flat-file storage can slow with very large numbers of entries or heavy concurrent writes
• Limited advanced query, reporting, and scaling features compared to database-backed CMS platforms
• PHP version and extension constraints: specific PHP versions and PHP GD/XML extensions are required; URL rewriting depends on webserver configuration

PluXml is suitable when simplicity, portability and minimal hosting requirements are priorities. It provides a compact CMS feature set for blogs and small sites while remaining extensible via themes and plugins.

CMS Made Simple is an open source content management system for creating and maintaining websites with a focus on usability for editors and flexibility for developers. It provides a straightforward admin interface while supporting custom designs and extensions through a mature module and templating system.

Key Features

• User-friendly admin panel for content editing and site management
• Smarty templating engine for theme and layout development without embedding PHP in templates
• Extensible architecture with modules, tags, and an API for custom functionality
• Design freedom using standard HTML and CSS for building themes
• Ecosystem of third-party add-ons to expand site capabilities

Use Cases

• Company and organization websites with non-technical content editors
• Custom-designed marketing sites requiring full control over templates
• Feature-rich sites built by adding or developing modules (for example forms, galleries, or member areas)

CMS Made Simple is a solid choice when you want a traditional CMS that stays approachable for editors while still enabling developers to deliver fully custom themes and extend functionality through add-ons and custom modules.