What users are saying about
55 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.4 out of 100
Based on 55 reviews and ratings
2 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 6.1 out of 100
Based on 2 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
- LightCMS (discontinued) ranks higher in 2 feature sets: Web Content Creation, Web Content Management
- Cascade Server and LightCMS (discontinued) are tied in 1 feature set: Security
Security

8.0
Cascade Server
80%
8.0
LightCMS (discontinued)
80%
Cascade Server ranks higher in 1/1 features
Cascade Server ranks higher in 1/1 features
Role-based user permissions

8.0
80%
19 Ratings
8.0
80%
1 Rating
Platform & Infrastructure

7.1
Cascade Server
71%
LightCMS (discontinued)
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
Cascade Server ranks higher in 2/2 features
Cascade Server ranks higher in 2/2 features
API

7.0
70%
12 Ratings
N/A
0 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language

7.3
73%
7 Ratings
N/A
0 Ratings
Web Content Creation

7.1
Cascade Server
71%
9.1
LightCMS (discontinued)
91%
LightCMS (discontinued) ranks higher in 7/8 features
LightCMS (discontinued) ranks higher in 7/8 features
WYSIWYG editor

6.1
61%
19 Ratings
10.0
100%
1 Rating
Code quality / cleanliness

6.0
60%
18 Ratings
9.0
90%
1 Rating
Admin section

8.0
80%
19 Ratings
9.0
90%
1 Rating
Page templates

9.0
90%
17 Ratings
10.0
100%
1 Rating
Library of website themes

5.5
55%
2 Ratings
10.0
100%
1 Rating
Mobile optimization / responsive design

7.0
70%
15 Ratings
10.0
100%
1 Rating
Publishing workflow

9.0
90%
19 Ratings
8.0
80%
1 Rating
Form generator

6.4
64%
7 Ratings
7.0
70%
1 Rating
Web Content Management

6.9
Cascade Server
69%
7.3
LightCMS (discontinued)
73%
Cascade Server ranks higher in 4/5 features
Cascade Server ranks higher in 4/5 features
Content taxonomy

8.0
80%
13 Ratings
4.0
40%
1 Rating
SEO support

7.0
70%
14 Ratings
7.0
70%
1 Rating
Bulk management

9.0
90%
14 Ratings
8.0
80%
1 Rating
Availability / breadth of extensions

6.0
60%
11 Ratings
N/A
0 Ratings
Community / comment management

4.8
48%
5 Ratings
10.0
100%
1 Rating
Attribute Ratings
- LightCMS (discontinued) is rated higher in 1 area: Likelihood to Recommend
Likelihood to Recommend

9.9
Cascade Server
99%
44 Ratings
10.0
LightCMS (discontinued)
100%
1 Rating
Likelihood to Renew

9.1
Cascade Server
91%
26 Ratings
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
Usability

9.1
Cascade Server
91%
4 Ratings
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
Availability

6.7
Cascade Server
67%
8 Ratings
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
Performance

8.0
Cascade Server
80%
2 Ratings
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating

9.1
Cascade Server
91%
10 Ratings
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
In-Person Training

7.0
Cascade Server
70%
1 Rating
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
Online Training

5.0
Cascade Server
50%
1 Rating
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
Implementation Rating

9.1
Cascade Server
91%
8 Ratings
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
Product Scalability

5.0
Cascade Server
50%
1 Rating
LightCMS (discontinued)
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Cascade Server
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.

Verified User
Professional in Other
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employeesLightCMS (discontinued)
LightCMS is perfect for 90% of websites out there. It has all the basic modules like calendars, photo galleries, news/blog, or forms building built in. Small businesses to mid-sized businesses are perfect for LightCMS.We use other solutions when the requierments for the website include a lot of third party integrations or custom modules. As a hosted CMS it has the same limitations as others with server-side development.
Creative Director
Links Technology SolutionsInternet, 51-200 employees
Pros
Cascade Server
- Cascade CMS makes no assumptions about your content. Templates control how the content gets displayed.
- Workflows are intuitive and allow for one or more people to review content before it is published.
- The published site is static (no database connection) which allows for faster page loads and reduced risk of attack.
Web & New Media Specialist
Cleveland State Community CollegeHigher Education, 201-500 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
- LightCMS provides all the major functionality 90% of sites need. It keeps out of its own way by making these solutions intuitive and simple and not trying to solve every problem for everyone which would over-complicate the tool-set.
- This is the easiest to use CMS we have ever seen. I tell my client's that if they can make a Facebook post, they can manage their website, and it's true. Their UI is so easy and keeps getting easier to use. Untrained users get it in minutes and are able to manage their sites without our help.
- LightCMS's code is simple and light-weight. Sites are fast and the CMS doesnt get in the way of performance.
- You can do almost anything you want (except server-side programming) with LightCMS. So, we can create any design we want and it works great with Light CMS's tokens and editable regions concept (which is also simple to implement.)
- Constantly upgraded and fixed, the product is 1000x better after 10 years of working with it, but is still simple and not bloated.
Creative Director
Links Technology SolutionsInternet, 51-200 employees
Cons
Cascade Server
- 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).
Senior Web Architect
William & MaryHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
- While keeping it simple is LightCMS's thing, some of the elements/modules could use deeper options or control for advanced users.
- Some content, such as calendars, cannot have data exported/imported easily.
- Support was amazing 10 years ago. We openly talked about how awesome they were... it isn't as good as it once was, but is still way above almost every support of other CMS systems we have used.
Creative Director
Links Technology SolutionsInternet, 51-200 employees
Pricing Details
Cascade Server
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
Entry-level set up fee?
Optional
Starting Price
—LightCMS (discontinued)
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Likelihood to Renew
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 9.1
Based on 26 answers
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.
Associate Director of Web Communications
Union CollegeHigher Education, 501-1000 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 9.1
Based on 4 answers
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.
Senior Web Architect
William & MaryHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 6.7
Based on 8 answers
Amazing customer service and VERY customizable.
Webmaster
Jacksonville State UniversityHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 8.0
Based on 2 answers
Does a great job.
Web Administrator
True Value CompanyInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 9.1
Based on 10 answers
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.
Manager, Campus Web Technology
SUNY Upstate Medical UniversityHospital & Health Care, 5001-10,000 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 7.0
Based on 1 answer
Training was helpful.
Web Administrator
True Value CompanyInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 5.0
Based on 1 answer
Still needed that physical help
Web Administrator
True Value CompanyInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 9.1
Based on 8 answers
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.
Marketing Manager
HCC Medical Insurance ServicesInsurance, 51-200 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cascade Server
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.

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 1001-5000 employeesLightCMS (discontinued)
We have looked at hundrends of CMS's and LightCMS is a perfect entry-level system for most of our small to mid sized clients. LightCMS's feature set is less complex than almost every other system and the actual interface is miles ahead of most other CMS systems. It's simply thought out better. It lacks sensibility and an API as well as other advanced features many more expensive or more DIY systems have, but the simplicity makes up for it.
Creative Director
Links Technology SolutionsInternet, 51-200 employees
Scalability
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 5.0
Based on 1 answer
I used it only a few times.
Web Administrator
True Value CompanyInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
LightCMS (discontinued)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cascade Server
- 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.

Verified User
Professional in Marketing
Higher Education Company, 51-200 employeesLightCMS (discontinued)
- While I always think the price could be cheaper, LightCMS is incredibly inexpensive if you consider the costs of hosting, support, and upgrading is all included.
- As part of their partner program, we are able to control client accounts from our master account, making moving between clients easier and supporting them faster which ultimately makes our labor costs better.
Creative Director
Links Technology SolutionsInternet, 51-200 employees