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14th Annual CMS Critic Awards Article

<hr /><p> </p><p><strong>No doubt about it: 2025 was a BIG year of change for CMS. </strong>Agentic AI raged across the digital experience stack, and context was front and center. Platforms transformed before our eyes, but one thing remained the same: the passion and creativity of practitioners. </p><p>Every day, marketers, editors, and developers rely on the tools they love to get the job done. And, as every year, we take the opportunity to celebrate the continued innovation and hard-fought loyalty of CMS and DX vendors in supporting their customers, partners, and communities. </p><p>With that in mind… You nominated some <i>amazing</i> platforms for our <strong>14th Annual CMS Critic Awards!</strong></p><p>Once again, your participation was off the charts. We had some big names make the grade, but a few challengers stirred things up. We had loads of individual suggestions across all of our categories – from CMS to DXP, e-Commerce to CDP – and now YOU get to pick the winners from the top five contenders! </p><p><strong>Now's your chance: You have until February 27th, 2026 to cast your vote! </strong>So get out there and share the news! Activate your communities and bring the rain. Most of all, have <i>fun</i> celebrating the incredible contributions coming from all corners of our industry. </p><p>Keep reading for the nominee list, or start picking your winners at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/vote"><strong>www.cmscritic.com/vote </strong></a></p><p> </p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://youtu.be/e2tAX1XiSro"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e2tAX1XiSro" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure><p> </p><h3 id="the-nominees">The Nominees</h3><p>Raise the curtains….</p><p> </p><h4 id="best-free-cms"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Free CMS</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Joomla </li><li>Statamic </li><li>TYPO3 </li><li>Umbraco </li><li>Wagtail </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-enterprise-cms"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Enterprise CMS</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Joomla </li><li>Sitecore </li><li>Storyblok </li><li>TYPO3 </li><li>Umbraco </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-headless-cms"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Headless CMS</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Contentstack </li><li>Sitecore </li><li>Statamic </li><li>Storyblok </li><li>Umbraco </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-open-source-cms"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Open Source CMS</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Joomla </li><li>Statamic </li><li>TYPO3 </li><li>Umbraco </li><li>Wagtail </li></ul><h4 id="-"> </h4><h4 id="best-flat-file-cms"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Flat File CMS</strong></span></h4><ul><li>11ty </li><li>Grav </li><li>Hugo </li><li>Kirby </li><li>Statamic </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-enterprise-content-management-(ecm)"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Enterprise Content Management (ECM)</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) </li><li>Alfresco </li><li>Box </li><li>Microsoft SharePoint </li><li>OpenText </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-digital-experience-platform-(dxp)"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Digital Experience Platform (DXP)</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Contentstack </li><li>Kentico </li><li>Optimizely </li><li>Sitecore </li><li>Umbraco  </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-website-builder"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Website Builder</strong></span></h4><ul><li>SP Page Builder </li><li>uSkinned </li><li>Webflow </li><li>Wix </li><li>YOOtheme </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-content-marketing-platform-(cmp)"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Content Marketing Platform (CMP)</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Contentstack </li><li>HubSpot </li><li>Optimizely </li><li>Sitecore </li><li>Umbraco </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-digital-asset-management-(dam)-system"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Digital Asset Management (DAM) System</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Cloudinary </li><li>Contentstack </li><li>Optimizely </li><li>Sitecore </li><li>Umbraco </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-product-information-management-(pim)-system"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Product Information Management (PIM) System</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Akeneo </li><li>DynamicWeb </li><li>Optimizely </li><li>Pimcore </li><li>Struct </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-customer-data-platform-(cdp)"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Customer Data Platform (CDP)</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Contentstack </li><li>Microsoft Dynamics 365</li><li>Optimizely </li><li>Segment </li><li>Sitecore </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-e-commerce-solution"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best e-Commerce Solution</strong></span></h4><ul><li>HikaShop </li><li>Shopify </li><li>Sitecore </li><li>Umbraco </li><li>VirtueMart </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-development/hosting-platform"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best Development/Hosting Platform</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Azure </li><li>e-Base </li><li>Laravel Forge </li><li>Netlify </li><li>Vercel </li></ul><p> </p><h4 id="best-ai-solution"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)"><strong>Best AI Solution</strong></span></h4><ul><li>Contentstack</li><li>Optimizely </li><li>Sitecore</li><li>Storyblok</li><li>Umbraco</li></ul><h3 id="ready-to-vote-your-heart-out?-">Ready to vote your heart out? </h3><p>It's you voice, your choice! Tell us which platforms you really love – and who should take home the prize. Remember, you have until February 27th to get your votes in!</p><p>Do it today at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/vote"><strong>www.cmscritic.com/vote </strong></a></p><p> </p><hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3><p> </p><p><img style="width:34.15%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/logo_jday_hor.png" /></p><h4 id="joomladay-usa-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)">JoomlaDay USA 2026</span></a></h4><p><strong>April 29 - May 2, 2026 – Delray Beach, Florida</strong></p><p>Be part of the Joomla community in one of the most iconic cities in the world! JoomlaDay USA 2026 is coming to Delray Beach, and you can join us for a dynamic event packed with insights, workshops, and networking opportunities. Learn from top Joomla experts and developers offering valuable insights and real-world solutions. Participate in interactive workshops and sessions and enhance your skills in Joomla management, development, design, and more. <span style="color:rgb(15,23,42) !important">And c</span>onnect with fellow Joomla enthusiasts, developers, and professionals from across the world.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/"> Book your seats today.</a></p><p> </p><p><img style="width:30.06%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/cms-summit-26-logo.jpg" alt="" /></p><h4 id="cms-summit-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)">CMS Summit 26</span></a></h4><p><strong>May 12-13, 2026 – Frankfurt, Germany</strong></p><p>The best conferences create space for honest, experience-based conversations. Not sales pitches. Not hype. Just thoughtful exchanges between people who spend their days designing, building, running, and evolving digital experiences. CMS Summit brings together people who share real stories from their work and platforms and who are interested in learning from each other on how to make things better. Over two days in Frankfurt, you can expect practitioner-led talks grounded in experience, conversations about trade-offs, constraints, and decisions, and time to compare notes with peers facing similar challenges. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26/tickets">so book your seats today.</a></p><p> </p><p><img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /></p><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</span></a></h4><p><strong>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DK</strong></p><p>Join us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a></p><p> </p><p><img style="width:36.69%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/open-source-cms-26.jpg" /></p><h4 id="open-source-cms-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26"><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%)">Open Source CMS 26</span></a></h4><p><strong>October 20–21, 2026 – Utrecht, Netherlands</strong></p><p>Join us for the first annual edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to making open source CMS better. This event is already being called the “missing gathering place” for the open source CMS community – an international conference with confirmed participants from Europe and North America. Be part of a friendly mix of digital leaders from notable open source CMS projects, agencies, even a few industry analysts who get together to learn, network, and talk about what really matters when it comes to creating better open source CMS projects right now and for the foreseeable future. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26/tickets">Book your tickets today.</a></p>

Vote your heart out! Pick the winners for the 14th Annual CMS Critic Awards

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Vote your heart out! Pick the winners for the 14th Annual CMS Critic Awards