Bonum Certa Men Certa

Free/Libre Software Has Conquered the Area of Content Management Systems

Dries Buytaert
Credit: Steven Fruitsmaak, Wikinews



Summary: How big a role Free/Open Source software (FOSS) is playing at the top of the Internet stack (server side, not just client side, i.e. Web browsers)

BLOGGING platforms and content management systems are totally the area of Free/Open Source software (FOSS). It is not often mentioned that a huge proportion of Web sites started to be powered by (mostly) GPL-licensed code, and not just PHP-based software (the "P" in LAMP can be many things). This mostly happened over the past decade. With Free/libre and popular frameworks like Node.js, it is no surprise that there is an explosion and expansion of the number of Free software options [1]. It's not just WordPress and Drupal, there is also the excellent Joomla [2], which now has a new release [3]. There are also some more business-oriented CMS options like Squiz and Nuxeo [4], ticketing systems, CRMs, ECMs. VLEs and so forth. They're all about managing content online. It's an area dominated by Free software.



Drurpal now powers a lot of Web sites, which even write about it [5] because they're so pleased. Drupal 8 is just around the corner [6,7] (it will run the next-generation Techrights and Tux Machines) and Germany studies its security/quality because it plans migrations in the public sector [8]. The European authorities, which use Drupal and like to use it as an example of European entrepreneurship (Buytaert is Belgian), are starting to take such matters seriously [9]. According to to Wikipdia, Drupal now has over 30,000 developers/developer accounts. WordPress is not far behind, perhaps even ahead. Microsoft, for example, has already surrendered to WordPress. A seldom spoken-about success story of FOSS is the area of CMSs. The Web is increasingly dominated by FOSS at all levels, even the client side (Android, Chrome, Firefox and more).

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. What is the best blogging platform built atop Node.js?


  2. Joomla 3 Review
    In this article we’re going to take a closer look at the latest version of Joomla, an open-source content management system.


  3. Joomla! 3.2 Stable Is Here


  4. Nuxeo releases major platform update
    This week Nuxeo, the open source content management system for business, announced a major release that brings together several, earlier smaller releases.


  5. Achieving Continuous Integration with Drupal


  6. What’s New In Drupal 8
    Drupal 8 Stable is not yet released, but its features are frozen and it’s in the process of stabilization. All this allows us to dive deeper into Drupal 8 new features and changes. So, here is what’s new in Drupal 8 for front and back-end, for users and developers.


  7. Drupal 8 And Symfony 2 Framework


  8. Germany's security experts rate open source website systems
    Public administrations can turn to open source content management systems, concludes Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI). In June it published a study looking at the safety of five of the most popular open source systems, Drupal, Plone, WordPress, Joomla and TYPO3. In functionality and the resulting complexity, these CMSs are 'a good choice for a service provider'.


  9. Making Europe the natural home of safe cloud computing
    As I set out in Bonn this week, revelations about the scale of online spying are shocking, and privacy is a fundamental right. But I am ultimately I'm a pragmatist; maybe it's my Dutch blood. We should take those revelations seriously. But equally let's not be naïve: spying will not be stopped by creating new laws. We need the right technology to protect ourselves effectively.


Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Problems in Europe Even Before the Cheeto Tariffs
The case of Romania, Europe's notorious Microsoft fan
Oman in 2025: GNU/Linux Growing to 5%
what can Microsoft do about it except sabotage the PCs?
Microsoft Shares Collapse Again (Down $101), Fifth Round of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in Less Than 100 Days in 2025
disaster
Windows Has Fallen to All-Time Lows in Switzerland Since GNU Celebrated 40th Anniversary (GNU’s 40th Birthday in Biel, Switzerland)
GNU/Linux has been doing well in Switzerland
 
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Stock Market, Galène, and DMT Entities
Links for the day
During the Weekend We Said Fedora DEI Requires Proprietary Software, Now the Chat About It Is No Longer Accessible Over the Open Web
is this just a coincidence and an habitual change in Element?
Links 07/04/2025: US Measles Fatalities and China Launches HDMI and DisplayPort Alternative
Links for the day
Links 07/04/2025: More Cuts to Science Funding, Snail-speed Internet in Germany
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Leasehold and Safe Gifts
Links for the day
In Some Countries, Laptops and Desktops Become a Dying Breed (Even Before Tariffs), Windows Has Nowhere to Go
expect more GNU/Linux on new and existing laptops
When the Credibility or 'Quality' of Clients Ceases to Matter, It's About Helping Rich Companies Like Microsoft Censor Critics (No Matter the Risks)
Bad ideas typically result in undesirable outcomes
UAE: GNU/Linux and Android at Record Levels, Windows at New Lows and Falling Below Apple
Even iOS is measured as bigger than Windows this month
Links 07/04/2025: Reddit Occupied (Social Control Media Controlled by Oligarchy), Demise of Globalisation Ongoing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 06, 2025
Links 07/04/2025: Leaving Gemini/smolweb and Mastodon Migrations
Links for the day
In Iraq, Windows 3.1 (Percent)
There's also zero
One Person's Take on Jef Spaleta, the New Fedora Project Leader
"With a little searching, I wonder what else may be found regarding Microsoft."
Links 06/04/2025: Flood, Cool Gemini Capsule, and Long Form
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Science, Politics, and Pricier Goods
Links for the day
LLM Slop Has Virtually Killed unixmen.com and Many Other Sites
There's no longer any incentive to write real articles in there
Sharp Declines for Microsoft Windows in Bangladesh (Pop. ~175,000,000), Big Gains for GNU/Linux
Microsoft Windows has been having a really hard time in poor countries
Links 06/04/2025: Fake Reviews, Privatisation Heists, and "AI" as Smokescreen for Impoverishing Humans
Links for the day
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: What Was Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
We hope to finish this whole lot within a week, then move on to election, lobbying etc.
Links 05/04/2025: Tariffs Backfiring, YouTuber Arrested, X/Twitter Set to be Fined
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Offline is For Everyone, Copyright Colonialism, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: TikTok Unsold (Still), Royal Society is Dead
Links for the day
Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
It's a growing problem
The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
We're going to cover the EPO some more later in the month
NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025