There are hundreds of CMS (Content Management System) scripts that can be installed to run your web site, so which is the most popular?

We recently conducted a test using Google’s Keyword tool to see which CMS reigned supreme. We tested a wide range of popular CMS scripts, however found that only three had any significant number of searches:

WordPress – 33,000 /monthly searches
Joomla – 14,000 /monthly searches
Drupal – 12,100/monthly searches

Evidently WordPress is the most search for CMS in New Zealand distantly followed by Joomla and Drupal. With a wide range of plug ins, addons and themes it is not surprising that these three lead the way compared to other CMS scripts which are in practice very good but no where near as well supported (Jojo CMS, Etomite, Concrete etc..).

Should this affect your decision when choosing a CMS?

It should, as more popular CMS scripts are likely to have a wider range of themes, templates and plugins. With a thriving community of developers are less likely to sit for years without new features and enhancements.

There is a downside in that more people will be looking for security vulnerabilities, however so long as your script is kept up-to-date the risk is relatively low. Web hosting providers such as OpenHost utilize PHP security restrictions to minimise the risk from these vulnerabilities as well as having a script auto-updater that handles keeping your site secure.