Cascade CMS (formerly Cascade Server) by Hannon Hill is a content management system, with built-in tools to help users eliminate stale content, increase digital outreach, and promote end-user adoption and accountability. Cascade CMS is designed for decentralized web teams in most major industries, including higher education, government, healthcare, and technology.
Included is Clive, an engagement and real-time personalization tool for collecting information and using it to craft personalized…
N/A
Makeswift
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Makeswift is a composable visual editor for headless websites and storefronts. From BigCommerce, the page builder aims to put marketers in the driver's seat without compromising on site performance or developer experience.
$79
per month
Pricing
Cascade CMS
Makeswift
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Starter
$79
per month
Team
$299
per month
Enterprise
Contact Sales
plans start at 10 users, 100 monthly publishes, and 10 locales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cascade CMS
Makeswift
Free Trial
Yes
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
Optional
No setup fee
Additional Details
—
—
More Pricing Information
Features
Cascade CMS
Makeswift
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
8.0
19 Ratings
2% below category average
Makeswift
8.0
1 Ratings
2% below category average
Role-based user permissions
8.019 Ratings
8.01 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
7.1
13 Ratings
9% below category average
Makeswift
8.5
1 Ratings
9% above category average
API
7.012 Ratings
9.01 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language
7.37 Ratings
8.01 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
7.1
19 Ratings
9% below category average
Makeswift
7.5
1 Ratings
4% below category average
WYSIWYG editor
6.119 Ratings
10.01 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness
6.018 Ratings
9.01 Ratings
Admin section
8.019 Ratings
7.01 Ratings
Page templates
9.017 Ratings
6.01 Ratings
Library of website themes
5.52 Ratings
5.01 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design
7.015 Ratings
9.01 Ratings
Publishing workflow
9.019 Ratings
8.01 Ratings
Form generator
6.47 Ratings
6.01 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Cascade Server is well suited with it's WYSIWYG editor being better than most editors that I have used in other systems. In context, editing makes adding content easy compared to the last CMS I used where you had to wing it and view the page outside of the CMS to see if it was correct. The ability mix HTML, CSS, and the Script of your choice anywhere and with ease.
The scenarios were Cascade Server is less appropriate would be in the use of compilers or programs like Visual studio. You need to go out of Cascade Server and go to other environments to perform tasks and then copy the result to Cascade Server. You can write directly in Cascade Server, but it's easier to do in and editor that is specific to a function.
Makeswift is an excellent choice when you need to create high quality landing pages. Since it removes the code process, you can move from a design concept to a live site easily. It is particularly helpful for designers who want total creative freedom, as the interface feels more like Figma than a normal website builder. Plus, it’s a lifesaver for collaborative teams because the real time editing allows different people to create and design at the same time without any friction. On the other hand, it might not be the right tool if you are trying to build a complex web application like a custom dashboard or an e-commerce store with thousands of filters. It’s also important to note that while it is no code for design work, the initial setup like getting custom components or the localhost environment running usually requires a developer’s assistance.
Cascade CMS is not an out-of-the-box pre-built system that you can install, turn on and expect to be serving sites and pages on day one. It's not a blogging system like WordPress, or a drag-and-drop system like SquareSpace (both of which I've used for their own purposes). You need to have someone tasked with management and system administration – and if you implement the on-premise self-hosted version, you ought to have several people. We have the university's IT shop handling infrastructure (server hardware, containers, clustering, operating systems, load-balancing, DNS, database servers, NAS/SAN drives), our Web & Design team managing Cascade CMS (system settings, sites, templates, permissions) and managers coordinating each respective academic unit (A&S, business, education, law, marine science).
Changing systems would require too much effort. Our institution is using Cascade Server, WordPress and Drupal but we only serve 2200 students so we have 1 too many content management systems. Reflecting on current technical resources we would like to drop down to 2. This effort hasn't moved forward because of the extensive work required to migrate content and train users in a new system.
Cascade CMS is completely usable on mobile devices, we can train our content editors in a single 2-hour session, and we support 1,000 users with a very small team.
There is a level of complexity for the system administrators, site managers and web programmers who implement templates and content types. But the complexity is neither arbitrary nor inconsistent – and once learned provides a powerful environment within which we can develop robust sites that are beautiful and powerful, yet easy for our content editors to manage.
Once you are inside the builder, the daily experience is incredibly smooth. It really does feel like a strong design tool rather than a clunky website builder. The drag and drop feature is fluid and the collaboration mode makes working with my team feel natural rather than a headache. It’s intuitive enough that I can jump in and make significant changes without feeling like I need a manual next to me.
They have always regarded any question or problem we encountered as very important. We have never felt that they ignore or downplay any issue and not once has anything been left unresolved. They also hold an annual conference where users are invited to attend and share their experiences and wisdom with the entire Cascade community. And with the care and support the provide, we all feel a part of that community.
The key to any CMS implementation is PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. Proper planning with Cascade can increase your satisfaction exponentially once the site migration/creation is complete. When all is said and done, your implementation can make your site run like a Yugo or Maserati. Be smart and deliberate in your decisions. Drive the Maserati. It is already paid for.
We selected Cascade server seven years ago, and the CMS environment at the time was clearly different than it is today. We decided to go with a vendor solution rather than a free solution because the long term cost in hosting a free solution is not, in fact, free; we've found Cascade to have been an excellent choice for us.
Essentially the learning curve. I chose Makeswift because it feels much more like a design tool (like Figma) than a development environment. It gives the designers the control to create what they want. It allows to move faster, collaborate in real time without locking each other out of pages, and still gives the developers the freedom to drop in custom components when we need something specific.
Initially, ROI was positive - because we completely redesigned the website when we implemented Cascade.
Over time, the inability to keep up with the latest interactive tools has reduced visitors time on site.
Also over time, the difficulty of use has led to less buy-in by backend users, leading to outdated pages, little timely information, and lower visitors.
