Multilingual CMS: The best systems for multilingual websites

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Multilingual websites place specific demands on a content management system (CMS): the content should be able to be created, managed and presented efficiently in different languages. However, not all systems available on the market are suitable for such an application. We present the best content management systems that support multilingualism as standard.

 

Umbraco: User-friendly back office for multilingual websites

Umbraco offers built-in functionality for creating and managing multilingual content. The CMS is known for its ease of use and intuitive user interface. This makes it easy for editors and content managers to create and update content in different languages. Umbraco is flexible and allows developers to create customized solutions. Templates, data types and content structures can be customized to meet the requirements of multilingual websites. The active (and growing) Umbraco community provides documentation and extensions. Support is available in extensive forums or from the professionally operated Umbraco support of the Umbraco HQ. Nevertheless, the community is small compared to the “big ones” like WordPress. There are therefore significantly fewer ready-made extensions or themes.

 

Sitecore DXP: Enterprise content management for international companies

Sitecore offers robust features for creating and managing multilingual content. It also has an advanced personalization engine that adapts content in different regions and languages based on user behavior. This helps to create and deliver content that is targeted to the needs of the target groups. As a digital experience platform (DXP)), Sitecore not only offers content management features, but also marketing and analytics features. Sitecore is designed to be highly scalable and can efficiently manage large and complex websites. This makes it particularly attractive for companies with extensive global presences. Since Sitecore is an enterprise solution, license and implementation costs are comparatively high. Due to its extensive functionality, Sitecore has a steep learning curve: for both developers and administrators.

Storyblok: Flexible and scalable through a content block approach

There are several main options for managing multilingual and cross-country content in Storyblok. Translation at the field level is a good choice if the structure of your content is the same in another language as it is in the default language. Localization at the folder level is preferable if the content for different languages is managed by different teams or if your project is structured differently for each market. area level translation, on the other hand, is useful if you have multiple areas and need to manage your languages for the different areas, e.g., a development and a live area for your project. As a headless CMS, Storyblok offers the option of using any technology or platform for displaying content – thus ensuring flexibility and freedom in terms of design and development. It takes a component-based approach with custom content blocks, which makes it easy to create and manage complex website structures. A real-time visual editor (WYSIWYG) provides a live preview of the content on the website.

Typo3: a versatile and expandable enterprise CMS

Typo3 is a widely used CMS, particularly in the German-speaking world, with a large community and numerous experts. The system is valued for its high level of functionality, flexibility, and expandability. Its extensive rights management at enterprise level is also one of Typo3's strengths. However, implementation, configuration and administration require a great deal of expertise, and the learning curve is therefore high. Due to its wide range of functions, Typo3 also places higher demands on hosting than comparable systems. Typo3 has built-in support for multilingualism: content can be localized and adapted for different languages. This includes not only conventional texts but also media and other resources.

 

Drupal: Streamlined open-source CMS

Drupal has a very compact software core that is supplemented by a wide range of extension modules and predefined Drupal distributions. The CMS supports multi-domain management out of the box. One weakness is the complex configuration due to a lack of backwards compatibility. The slim basic version is generally positive but may require many “re-installations”. In addition, the installation of additional modules is only possible via FTP. Drupal, however, allows for easy translation of content, user interfaces, menus, and themes. There are also extensions for further improving language and translation management.

Contao: secure system with low maintenance

Contao offers a powerful and expandable system architecture. The user-friendly installation, administration and updating of extensions also make the system very accessible. Contao is an open-source system, and its security record is incredibly positive. The support for workflows in the basic system is rudimentary - multi-level workflows are not supported, but they can be added through extensions. A small but active community provides support and further development. Another advantage is the relatively easy implementation of updates. Contao supports multilingualism natively – a separate page structure is created for each language, which simplifies the organization and management of multilingual content.

Neos: Scalability and flexibility for international projects

Neos has a WYSIWYG editor that displays the content as it will later be seen, so there is no need to press a preview button. No PHP knowledge is required in Neos to build even complex pages. The helpful community of over 2,000 users answers questions about the system in the Neos Slack workspace. The combination of CMS and PHP framework makes it much easier to extend Neos. It also supports the two-stack CMS architecture for large projects with maximum scalability, resilience and security. Since the setup effort is high, Neos is usually not suitable for smaller projects. The training period for newcomers is also relatively high and the range of functions places high demands on hosting. However, Neos makes it possible to edit content for different languages directly in the front end. This makes the translation process very user-friendly. It also supports language-specific URLs, which is an advantage for search engine optimization of multilingual websites.

Craft CMS: Flexible system for developers

Craft is clearly aimed at professional developers. The “tidy” code makes further development easier, but the entry barrier for laypeople is extremely high. The system natively supports multilingual websites: language versions are created to translate the content into multiple languages. The content for each language can be customized individually. The CMS offers good support for content creation and for implementing content strategies. Compared to other systems on this list, it also has relatively high license costs if you want to use the full range of functions.

 

 

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