Overview
What is Concrete CMS?
Concrete CMS (formerly Concrete5) is a free and open source, PHP built content management system for content on the web and also for intranets. It is optimized to support the creation of online magazines and newspapers.
Want a super easy and solid swiss army knife of a website, use Concrete CMS
Feature packed, intuitive to use
Concrete CMS has nicelly choosen it's name, Concrete is really concrete
Concrete CMS is your ultimate choice of CMS!
ConcreteCMS: the Best!
My go to CMS for years
Great CMS system for medium to large websites.
Best CMS
A awesome tool for a better and inclusive web
Amazing CMS, easy to use for both developers and admins
Great value for a quick, easy website
Powerful, easy-to-use website content management
Concrete5 Is The Way to Go for Non-Programmers
As a …
Powerful for developers, easy for site editors
Works as expected, a bit resource intensive
Awards
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Popular Features
- Admin section (40)10.0100%
- Page templates (40)10.0100%
- Mobile optimization / responsive design (39)9.797%
- WYSIWYG editor (42)9.292%
Pricing
What is Concrete CMS?
Concrete CMS (formerly Concrete5) is a free and open source, PHP built content management system for content on the web and also for intranets. It is optimized to support the creation of online magazines and newspapers.
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos
Concrete CMS DevOps Hosting
Features
Security
This component helps a company minimize the security risks by controlling access to the software and its data, and encouraging best practices among users.
- 9.4Role-based user permissions(38) Ratings
Permissions to perform actions or access or modify data are assigned to roles, which are then assigned to users, reducing complexity of administration.
Platform & Infrastructure
Features related to platform-wide settings and structure, such as permissions, languages, integrations, customizations, etc.
- 9.7API(31) Ratings
An API (application programming interface) provides a standard programming interface for connecting third-party systems to the software for data creation, access, updating and/or deletion.
- 9.7Internationalization / multi-language(30) Ratings
The software supports multiple languages, countries, currencies, etc.
Web Content Creation
Features that support the creation of website content.
- 9.2WYSIWYG editor(42) Ratings
What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get editing tool allows users to build pages without writing code.
- 10Code quality / cleanliness(37) Ratings
Code generated by WYSIWYG editor is clean and validates according to W3C standards.
- 10Admin section(40) Ratings
The admin page is easy to navigate and use.
- 10Page templates(40) Ratings
The CMS has standard webpage templates or types of web pages (e.g. homepage, article page, interior page, blog page, etc.); users can also build custom templates.
- 4.4Library of website themes(38) Ratings
A library of website frameworks or themes is available as a starting point for building a website.
- 9.7Mobile optimization / responsive design(39) Ratings
The CMS helps users build webpages that work well on mobile devices – whether m-dot pages or responsively designed pages.
- 7.8Publishing workflow(37) Ratings
The software allows users to set up a custom workflow for updating the website, including approval processes.
- 6.5Form generator(39) Ratings
Users can build website forms for visitors to fill out.
Web Content Management
Features for managing website content
- 8.8Content taxonomy(39) Ratings
Users can create multiple levels and types of content categories including tags.
- 9SEO support(39) Ratings
The CMS helps users create the right website infrastructure (pagination, page headers, titles, meta tags, url structure, etc.) to increase the site’s visibility in search engine results.
- 6.1Bulk management(39) Ratings
Users can change an attribute on a group of documents or sites all at once through features such as global search and replace, making bulk changes easier.
- 5.7Availability / breadth of extensions(39) Ratings
There is a broad library of extensions, plug-ins, modules or add-ons that allow users to easily customize their websites without building custom code.
- 5.7Community / comment management(39) Ratings
Users can put post/page comments through an approval process, auto-approve commenters based on their email addresses, block commenters by IP address, delete comments, etc.
Product Details
- About
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- FAQs
What is Concrete CMS?
Concrete CMS (formerly concrete5) is an Open Source Content Management System for teams. The vendor states users can run a secure website that content contributors will love using with Concrete CMS. Concrete is a platform that grows with the user's needs.
The user experience is built around in-context editing and is designed to be as easy to use as a word processor so that users spend less time training people, and less time having to fix things.
As an open source framework the user can build complex applications as features like permissions, workflow, file management, calendar, forms, SEO and so much more are built right in. A marketplace of add-ons & themes and an active community can help quickly deliver solutions using Concrete CMS.
The vendor boasts fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, individuals and the U.S. Army as users of Concrete CMS to power critical parts of their web presence.
Concrete CMS Features
Web Content Creation Features
- Supported: WYSIWYG editor
- Supported: Code quality / cleanliness
- Supported: Content versioning
- Supported: Admin section
- Supported: Page templates
- Supported: Library of website themes
- Supported: Mobile optimization / responsive design
- Supported: Publishing workflow
- Supported: Form generator
- Supported: Content scheduling
Web Content Management Features
- Supported: Internal content search
- Supported: Content taxonomy
- Supported: SEO support
- Supported: Browser compatibility
- Supported: Bulk management
- Supported: Page caching
- Supported: Availability / breadth of extensions
- Supported: E-commerce / shopping cart extension
- Supported: Community / comment management
- Supported: Import / export
Platform & Infrastructure Features
- Supported: API
- Supported: Internationalization / multi-language
Security Features
- Supported: Role-based user permissions
- Supported: Multi-factor authentication
- Supported: User-level audit trail
- Supported: Version history
- Supported: Simple roll-back capabilities
CMS programming language or framework Features
- Supported: PHP
Concrete CMS Screenshots
Concrete CMS Videos
Concrete CMS Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
---|---|
Operating Systems | Windows, Linux, Mac |
Mobile Application | No |
Supported Countries | anywhere |
Supported Languages | arabic, bangla, bosnian, chinese, czech, danish, dutch, english, estonian, finnish, french, german, greek, hebrew, hungarian, icelandic, indonesian, italian, japanese, korean, lithuanian, malay, persian, polish, portuguese, romanian, russian, slovak, spanish, swedish, thai, turkish, vietnamese, welsh |
Frequently Asked Questions
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(85)Community Insights
- Pros
- Cons
Smooth User Interface: Many users have praised the smooth user interface of the product, stating that it is intuitive and easy to navigate. Several reviewers have mentioned that they appreciate the clean design and well-organized layout, which enhances their overall experience.
Reliable Performance: Numerous customers have commended the reliable performance of the product. Several reviewers have stated that it consistently meets their expectations and performs tasks efficiently without any glitches or slowdowns. Users have expressed satisfaction with its stability and responsiveness.
Versatile Features: A significant number of users have highlighted the versatility of features offered by the product. Some reviewers have mentioned that it provides a wide range of functionalities, allowing them to accomplish various tasks effectively. The availability of customizable options has also been appreciated by several customers, as it caters to individual preferences and requirements.
Confusing User Interface: Many users have expressed frustration with the confusing and difficult-to-navigate user interface of Concrete5. They find it challenging to complete tasks efficiently due to the lack of intuitive design and organization.
Slow Rendering of Admin Pages: Some users have reported experiencing slow rendering of admin pages, particularly when using older computers. This sluggish performance hampers their productivity and can be frustrating during day-to-day usage.
Limited Customization Options: Users have voiced their concerns about the limited customization options in Concrete5. They feel that these options are buried within the software, making it harder for them to personalize their websites according to their specific preferences and requirements.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-3 of 3)Concrete5 - a CMS with a good past, and a better future
It was all I wanted mine to be, and then some!
More recently, 5.7.came out, which has a new interface, and couldn't be easier for the end user.
The intuitive interface allows easy creation and management of pages, with help for SEO, and a wealth of plugins.
With different user roles, its easy to allow different departments to manage their own site areas.
We are a web host, and have an easy install solution for this program, but if you don't use that, the install is remarkably easy to do, with a friendly interface.
Like any online solution, it is not the best answer for every need. But it is the best answer for most needs. With an ever growing supply of themes and plugins, you should definitely look at this for your CMS solutions. Except for sites that we build needing a lot of custom coding, all of our web sites are now run on Concrete5.
- In-line Editing: 7 + has in-line editing, so you see your changes appear in the place they will be on the live site, in the font they will be and the size that they will be.
- File Management: Excellent file manager, allowing images to be grouped, tags added, lists of what pages use that image, so you can put the images in sets for being used together (in sliders, for instance).
- Very Human! Every contact you make with the site, the mail that comes to you is from the owner of the group. (Yes, Concrete5 is Open Source.) Very friendly, very nicely done.
- If you upgrade from pre 5.7 to 5.7, adding pages is rather tricky. Once you are familiar with it, it makes perfect sense!
- If you are using an older computer, the admin pages are very slow to render.
- In some cases, using the column tool will stop a responsive theme from being responsive. This is not the theme's issue, as we have used it many times in the same theme. Some pages stop being responsive, others do not. ("Stop being responsive" is technically incorrect, they behave improperly as they resize. This is with text-only content, and does not have images distorting them.)
- The only way to add h tags is to click on the html editor of a block, and add the the tag to the heading.
If a site is not heavily coded, then Concrete5 is an excellent choice. The only time we still use WordPress is if a client is very familiar with that platform, or it has plugins that the client needs that are not available on Concrete5. (This has only happened once!)
- WYSIWYG editor
- 100%10.0
- Code quality / cleanliness
- 70%7.0
- Admin section
- 100%10.0
- Page templates
- 90%9.0
- Library of website themes
- 40%4.0
- Mobile optimization / responsive design
- 100%10.0
- Publishing workflow
- 90%9.0
- Form generator
- 100%10.0
- Content taxonomy
- 100%10.0
- SEO support
- 100%10.0
- Bulk management
- 100%10.0
- Availability / breadth of extensions
- 70%7.0
- Community / comment management
- 100%10.0
- Internationalization / multi-language
- 70%7.0
- Role-based user permissions
- 100%10.0
- Concrete5 has made it much easier for us to stay on top of keeping our websites current.
- It also allows easy distribution of work load across departments.
- The "Stack" feature allows us to design something that can be incorporated on many pages. Then by updating the stack all those pages are instantly updated - saving lots of time, and preventing us from overlooking any element that needs an update.
- Amazing support. I have needed support once, and it was there - human and fast.
The Concrete5 user interface is much more friendly than the WordPress user interface. Ease of use, ease of install - both compelling reasons to make this your go to choice for a CMS solution. The server load is light too.
There is also an excellent ecommerce plugin for Concrete5 that neatly completes the package, making this a competitor for OpenCart as well!
With different users updating different sections of the site we are able to keep the site fresh. And with the users not writing html code, the look and feel of the site remains constant. Any user can view the image library, and add to it as needed.
Users can also access key page areas that impact the whole site, allowing greater ease for larger updates.
Concrete5 will let you add any code you want - you are free to do that! But, the fact is for 99% of use, there is no need to do that, and just generating the content is all that is needed. The only caveat here, as mentioned previously in the review, there is no option to add headline tags - so if you want <h1>, <h2>, or any other <h> you have to hand code that. I am confident there will soon be a fix for this.
- Ease of updating multiple pages. When changing a block that is used in multiple pages, the work load can escalate rapidly. With Concrete5, you just change the stack in one location, and all the pages using that are instantly updated. This is a huge time saver
- Team members can change a page without the changes going live. Then management can review, and publish or correct, then publish as needed. This removes any need for urgent fixes.
- Statistics help us to see directly which pages are doing well and which need a little help, allowing us to keep our site polished.
- We use it as an intranet - we never bothered with an intranet before, but this makes it easy - and it is ever so useful.
- That was not something we intended to do - I installed a Concrete5 locally for testing, then as others tested it too, we started leaving notes, then sharing files through it, and without planning on it, we had our first intranet!
- We use concrete 5 to manage internal documents, CRM, even password management! (for a very carefully selected group of passwords, on a system that is not accessible from outside of our office) It is a most effective tool.
- We are looking to do more with the ecommerce side of it, and rather than just developing plugins for our clients, we are planning on launching plugins for the general public to use.
Each solution always left you wanting. It was too complex to develop for, too complex for the end user to manage, too many security issues, too large a foot print, needed too many resources.
Issues that have never slowed Concrete5. It isnt perfect, nothing is perfect! It may be perfect for one site, but far from it on another! It is, overall, by far, the best CMS I have used or developed for.
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Implemented in-house
built theme, tested it
added pages, tested and reviewed
moved to live domain.
- There really were none. Its simple, and well done. Sometimes simple gets really complicated, but not with concrete 5
I was able to help with the resolution,In fairness, the issue was more with a configuration issue on my server. Even so, the help I got was monumental! Fast, accurate, not accusing, not condescending. As I recall, the issue was well described in a pre--existing document on the site. My search was not up to par!
I stall have the shirt, and I still have optimized tables :)
- editing a page. You log in, you navigate to the page (looking at the site as you would normally see it, with a new menu at the very top) then click "edit". now you can click on any content, and change it in-situ - not on an admin pop up, but right there on the page. Same font, same size, same color. So easy!
- Stacks. you can make some content (say your social media links) and put it on one, some or all pages. Then, if you want to add another social link to it, you add it in one place, and it instantly updates all the occurrences of it
- Form building. It has never been easier to build a simple, or complex form. beautifully written form builder makes it so easy!
- SEO - a bis issue with many CMS's is the page titles are often DOMAIN.com :: page name
- Ugly, not great for SEO. Now, I often have to go back and do SEO later, as I am focused on other things - with concrete5, I can go to one page, and fix meta title, content and (now depreciated) keywords for every page, from one screen
- As I mentioned before, when upgrading from pre 5.7. to post 5.7 adding pages is very awkward. Once you learn that, there is no stopping you! And once you learn that, you see how much easier it is in the new version.
- Sadly, upgrading from pre 5.7 to post 5.7 is not automated. All plugins need to be rewritten, all content needs to be copied by hand. Its frustrating, but given the scope of the upgrade, well worth it.
I do not find it as pleasant experience to edit pages on a mobile device. Not because of the interface, more because of the small screen! If you are used to working on complex issues on a small device, then you should finds this a breeze
The reason its a 9 not a ten? the back end can be a little slow at times, and this is unfair, because for the backend to be so amazing, it has to do a huge amount of work!
Concrete5: The basic building block of any CMS
- Fast setup on both local and remote web hosting servers, either via "one button" installs or manually
- Does not require Windows hosting or software, so it's less restrictive and allows for a larger selection of hosting environments
- A very active and supportive community both developers and users
- Uses common, open source software like PHP and MySQL
- Custom theme development much easier compared to other platforms like Joomla!, Drupal and WordPress, or can easily integrate into existing design
- Many addons are free or reasonably priced, or you can write your own custom ones
- Migration from host to host relatively painless
- Page rollback and backup functions are great features for clients
- You have to really find a web host that runs well or maybe even a dedicated/virtual server to see the best response.
- Though you can often see live demos and documentation for addons and themes, it would be great to be able to try the product to see if it's a fit for your project.
- Though its UI is one of the easiest to use for clients, there is always room for improvement. Two things come to mind, the first being the Layout block needs improvement, updating or replacing. It doesn't always behave as expected and sometimes to make changes requires you to rebuild the whole thing (especially if you use layouts within layouts). The other item is that you don't always see the correct display while you are logged in. I fought the code for days trying to figure out a formatting issue, until my client said they were seeing it differently from me, and I realized it was because they weren't logged in. I had fixed the code and never knew it! I have to say here that this might not have been an issue with C5 directly, but maybe with the theme I was using. In either case, you have to make sure that you check it both ways.
- Project turnaround is more efficient, therefore we can take on more jobs and increase net income
- Changes can be implemented quickly; prototyping for clients is a breeze
- Designs can be modified while maintaining the content, so client cost for new designs is less expensive
- Drupal,Joomla!,WordPress
Concrete5 is the most Rock Solid CMS
- Dead simple editing. Basic training can be performed over the phone in under 30 minutes if needed.
- OOP architecture makes development and troubleshooting a logical and easy to handle.
- Ability to override the system with customizations, and ensure those customizations do not break when the system is updated. Brilliant setup to allow this.
- Speed. As with any system, it's easy for a developer or designer to bloat the system. Attention must be paid to speed costs associated with any new functionalities.
- WYSIWYG editor
- 100%10.0
- Code quality / cleanliness
- 100%10.0
- Admin section
- 100%10.0
- Page templates
- 100%10.0
- Library of website themes
- 100%10.0
- Mobile optimization / responsive design
- 100%10.0
- Publishing workflow
- 100%10.0
- Form generator
- 100%10.0
- Content taxonomy
- 100%10.0
- SEO support
- 100%10.0
- Bulk management
- 100%10.0
- Availability / breadth of extensions
- 100%10.0
- Community / comment management
- 100%10.0
- API
- 90%9.0
- Internationalization / multi-language
- 100%10.0
- Role-based user permissions
- 100%10.0
- Higher ROI
- Better conversions
- Increased employee efficiency
- WordPress,Drupal,Joomla,Grav,October,Pico
- Online Directory
- SEO and Marketing
- Calendars and Events
- News Posts
- Program information
- Sub-Sites
- Mobile Apps
- Online Directory
- Discussion Forums
- Anything we can dream up for the web, Concrete5 can do for us.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Vendor Reputation
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
- Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
- Analyst Reports
- Third-party Reviews
- Implemented in-house
- Migrate current site content from Drupal to Concrete5
- Update content and workflows where it made sense during the migration
- Train new editors
- Add more content
- Various little details that needed to be addressed
- Ability to pick and choose feature posts and events for the homepage
- Ability to work with Google Calendars.
- In-Context editing interface. See a typo? Click edit on the page and edit it right there where you see it. You're not placed into a editing "backend" that looks nothing like the page the typo was found on. See it, edit it, publish it—all on the same page.
- Installing additional (and nice!) themes and functionality add-ons directly from the vetted/curated Concrete5 marketplace
- Adding new content, pages, or posts.
- None