Craft CMS is a modern content management system designed to solve common challenges businesses face with traditional CMS platforms. It offers flexibility, security, and tools to streamline content management for teams and developers. Here’s what makes it stand out:
- Custom Content Modeling: Build content types tailored to your business needs.
- Flexible Layouts: Use Matrix fields to create dynamic page structures.
- Live Previews & Version Control: Preview changes in real-time and track edits with auto-saving and drafts.
- Developer-Friendly: Leverage Twig templating, plugins, and GraphQL for seamless integrations.
- SEO & E-Commerce Tools: Optimise content with built-in SEO features and manage online stores with Craft Commerce.
With Craft CMS, businesses like Generation Homes and the PMG Funds have transformed their websites, improving usability, content organisation, and performance. Whether you’re managing a marketing platform or an e-commerce site, Craft CMS provides the tools to meet your goals.
Craft CMS: my #1 content management system
Content Management That Fits Your Business
Craft CMS offers a content management system tailored to your business needs. Unlike traditional platforms that lock you into rigid templates, Craft CMS gives you full control over how your content is structured and displayed. You can design content types that align perfectly with your specific goals.
Build Custom Content Types
With Craft CMS, you can create custom content components like testimonial sections, form layouts, or photo gallery grids to suit your specific needs.
Matrix Fields: Create Flexible Layouts
Matrix fields allow content teams to create detailed layouts by combining custom content blocks. Each block comes with its own set of fields, offering precise control over content structure. For example, Allens Training used Matrix blocks for course listings, enrollment forms, and FAQ sections, making page creation more efficient.
Organise and Connect Content
Craft CMS powers over 150,000 websites and excels at managing complex content relationships. It organises content in a way that reflects your business logic, ensuring everything stays clear and connected. Key features include:
- Custom structures that match your processes
- Clear content hierarchies
- Tools for managing relationships across multiple sites and languages
This level of organisation ensures your website remains manageable, no matter how intricate it becomes.
Tools That Make Content Teams More Effective
Craft CMS provides content teams with features designed to improve productivity and maintain high standards throughout the content creation process.
Preview Changes Before Publishing
The Live Preview feature in Craft CMS simplifies the review process. It offers a split-screen view: an editor on one side and a live preview on the other. This setup ensures that the content you see during editing closely resembles the final published version. The preview updates in real time as you type, making it easy to spot and fix any formatting or design issues.
In addition to live previews, the platform includes version control to protect content accuracy.
Track Edits and Save Drafts
Craft CMS keeps track of every edit, recording who made changes and when, while also auto-saving drafts to avoid losing work. Key functionalities include:
- Auto-saving: Automatically saves changes to ensure no work is lost.
- Status indicators: Visual badges show the current state of the content.
- Multiple drafts: Teams can work on and manage different versions at the same time.
- Permission settings: Controls who can view, edit, or delete drafts.
These tools make it easier for teams to collaborate and maintain control over their content.
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Developer-Friendly Code and Structure
Craft CMS provides developers with tools that simplify development while allowing room for growth as your business evolves.
Build Templates with Twig
Craft CMS uses Twig as its templating engine, offering a straightforward way to create dynamic website layouts. Twig combines HTML with logical operations, using specific delimiters:
-
{{ ... }}for displaying content -
{% ... %}for running statements -
{# ... #}for adding comments
Twig simplifies working with complex content while keeping your code clean and secure. It automatically escapes HTML to prevent XSS attacks and supports features like template inheritance and includes, ensuring your templates remain organised and reusable. Plus, the dump() function makes debugging easier.
Add Features with Plugins
Craft CMS has a plugin system that lets developers expand its core functionality to meet unique requirements. Plugins can add features like:
- Importing content from social media
- Managing events
- Embedding interactive maps
- Enabling e-commerce capabilities
In addition to plugins, Craft CMS supports seamless integration with front-end tools, making it adaptable for various projects.
Connect to Any Front-End with GraphQL
The GraphQL API in Craft CMS enables integration with modern technologies. It supports headless setups, mobile apps, progressive web apps, and JavaScript frameworks, giving developers the freedom to create flexible and scalable applications.
Connect Your Business Tools
Craft CMS brings together your essential business tools, creating a streamlined approach to your digital strategy.
Built-In SEO Tools
Craft CMS includes powerful SEO tools to help your content reach the right audience. With the SEOMatic plugin, you can manage your SEO efforts directly within the platform. It offers metadata management across three levels:
- Global Settings: Set default metadata for your entire site.
- Element-Level: Tailor SEO for specific pages or entries.
- Template-Level: Define metadata patterns for different content types.
The plugin also handles search metadata, social sharing cards, structured data, and XML sitemaps. Plus, its redirect management system ensures you retain SEO value when restructuring content.
E-Commerce with Craft Commerce
Craft CMS isn't just about content - it also simplifies e-commerce operations.
Craft Commerce, developed by Pixel & Tonic specifically for Craft CMS, transforms your site into a robust e-commerce platform. Key features include:
- Product Management: Seamlessly manage products alongside your other content.
- Custom Checkout Flows: Use cart and payment APIs to create tailored purchase experiences.
- Inventory Tracking: Monitor stock across multiple locations or warehouses.
"Craft Commerce is a powerful ecommerce platform built exclusively for Craft CMS, by the same folks who make it." - Pixel & Tonic
For businesses ready to dive into e-commerce, Craft Commerce Pro is available for $1,199 per project, which includes one year of updates.
Integrate with Your Marketing Tools
Craft CMS also connects effortlessly with your marketing stack.
Through its plugin ecosystem and GraphQL API, Craft CMS integrates with popular marketing and analytics tools. Here are two examples:
- Email Marketing: The Campaign plugin works with Postmark for reliable email delivery, ensuring your campaigns reach their audience.
- Analytics and Monitoring: Integrations like Datadog via webhooks provide detailed insights into your website's performance.
This flexibility lets you connect with various marketing automation tools while keeping content management centralised. Your marketing team can work efficiently while using their favorite platforms and tools.
Next Steps with Craft CMS
Use Craft CMS to elevate your content-driven website. For example, the White House Historical Association's 2023 redesign led to a 58% increase in visitor time and a 53% decrease in bounce rate by reorganising content and implementing custom development. This shows how effective Craft CMS can be when planned and executed well.
To make the most of Craft CMS, consider these steps:
Strategic Planning
Work with professionals to define your content strategy and technical needs. The White House Historical Association shared their experience:
"We had an abundance of content, but it was inaccessible, unsearchable, siloed, and static. The Viget team dove deep in learning about what type of content we had, how it aligned with our mission and goals and made informed recommendations that leveraged the right technology for our rich and growing content collection".
Technical Implementation
Collaborate with experts to customise Craft CMS for your specific requirements. For instance, the WHHA project involved creating a custom plugin to import nearly 2,000 pieces of content while preserving data accuracy.
Ongoing Support
Launching your website is just the first step. Regular maintenance ensures it stays effective and relevant. Key areas to focus on include:
- Monitoring and improving performance
- Keeping security up-to-date
- Optimising SEO and refining content
- Providing technical support as needed
A skilled development partner can help you maximise Craft CMS's features while ensuring your website continues to meet your goals. Consistent attention to your site will keep it competitive and valuable to your audience.
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