Skip to content
An astronaut holds a planet in his hands, surrounded by the vastness of space.

Web content management: Pimcore CMS vs. WordPress CMS

Content management encompasses the planning, creation, organization and maintenance of digital content. This process is crucial to ensure that information is not only collected, but also presented in a logical, accessible and engaging way. Content management forms the backbone of modern marketing, as high-quality content can strengthen customer loyalty, increase brand awareness and ultimately boost sales. With the ever-increasing amount of information available, effective content management is becoming increasingly important to stay relevant and competitive in the digital world.

What Distinguishes Pimcore as a Content Management System (CMS)?

Pimcore is characterized as a CMS by its flexibility and versatility. It combines content management (CMS), product information management (PIM), digital asset management (DAM) and e-commerce in a single platform, providing a comprehensive all-in-one solution. Pimcore supports both headless and traditional CMS approaches and is fully customizable thanks to its open source base.

It enables companies to manage content and product data centrally, publish it in a multichannel-capable manner and offers a scalable infrastructure for complex, data-intensive applications. Pimcore is particularly suitable for companies that have high requirements in terms of scalability, interoperability and personalization.

Why Do Companies Choose WordPress Over Pimcore When Pimcore Is So Much More Powerful?

Companies often choose WordPress (the market share among websites using a CMS is over 60% worldwide in 2023) over Pimcore for several reasons. One of the main reasons is WordPress' ease of use, which makes it a preferred choice for smaller businesses and individuals who have little technical knowledge. WordPress offers a wide range of plugins and themes, making it easy to implement a customized design and additional features without much effort. In contrast, Pimcore's complexity and functionality makes it more suitable for larger companies that have extensive data management and scalability requirements.

Furthermore, the WordPress community is immensely large and active, meaning that users have access to a wealth of resources, tutorials and support forums . Finally, cost structure also plays a role; while Pimcore is also free as an open source solution, implementation and management costs can be significantly higher than Pimcore, especially if bespoke solutions are required.
Advantages and disadvantages of

Pimcore and WordPress as a Content Management System

Feature
Pimcore
Wordpress
Setup & operation
Advantages
Flexible and customizable, but more complex and designed for larger projects
Simple set-up and user-friendly operation, ideal for beginners.
Disadvantages
Requires technical know-how and development experience.
Less suitable for very complex or data-intensive projects.
Range of functions
Advantages
All-in-one platform with CMS, PIM, DAM and e-commerce.
Extensive CMS functions are often only available via plugins, which can cause compatibility problems.
Disadvantages
Functional scope may be oversized for simple projects.
Extended functions often only available via plugins, which can cause compatibility problems.
Themes & Plugins
Advantages
Enormous selection of themes and over 50,000 plugins to extend the range of functions.
Disadvantages
Few ready-made themes and extensions.
Scalability
Advantages
Highly scalable, ideal for complex and data-intensive projects.
Disadvantages
Scalability is limited and can reach its limits with very large projects.
Communtity und Support
Advantages
Huge community, many tutorials and documentation available.
Disadvantages
Smaller, specialized community, fewer general tutorials.
Development effort
Advantages
No programming is necessary for most projects; plugins and themes offer ready-made solutions.
Disadvantages
Often requires individual developments and in-depth programming knowledge.
Costs
Advantages
Open source, no license costs, ideal for medium to large companies.
Also open source and inexpensive, particularly suitable for small websites.
Disadvantages
Higher implementation costs due to development effort.
Costs can increase due to many paid plugins/themes.
Area of application
Advantages
Ideal for companies with complex content, product information and multichannel publishing requirements.
Perfect for smaller websites, blogs and simple content projects.
Disadvantages
Can be oversized and complicated for simple websites.
Not ideal for very large or data-intensive projects.
Headless CMS support
Advantages
API-first approach, fully usable as a headless CMS.
Disadvantages
Can be used as a headless CMS, but not native and often more complex to set up.
Security
Advantages
Enterprise-grade security features and robust infrastructure.
Disadvantages
Target of hackers due to its popularity; security gaps often caused by plugins.
Personalization
Advantages
Extensive personalization options, data-driven and flexible.
Disadvantages
Personalization often only possible via additional plugins.
Digital Asset Management (DAM)
Advantages
Integrated DAM, ideal for managing large volumes of digital assets.
Disadvantages
No integrated DAM, requires external solutions or plugins.
Product Information Management (PIM)
Advantages
Integrated PIM, particularly suitable for complex product catalogs.
Disadvantages
No integrated PIM, external solutions necessary.

The Blackbit PageBuilder for Pimcore: Intuitive and Efficient

The Blackbit PageBuilder is an innovative Pimcore bundle that largely eliminates the disadvantages of Pimcore as a CMS compared to WordPress. Once the bundle is installed, it enables companies to design custom pages and content easily and efficiently without the need for in-depth programming knowledge.

The PageBuilder offers an intuitive interface that is based on the concepts of other page builders. As with WordPress, content in Pimcore is edited in partials, which correspond to WordPress modules, and arranged on a document page.

Using the structure tree, it is possible to navigate between the modules. The workspace shows the arranged modules and is used to maintain the content. Settings for the modules are made on the right-hand side of the screen. This makes it possible to work quickly and intuitively without having to repeatedly open and close dialog boxes. PageBuilder is supplied with a standard theme so that content can be created and arranged visually without further programming.

Shorten Project Runtimes and Save Costs With the Blackbit Pagebuilder for Pimcore

The reason for the high initial costs of creating content-driven Pimcore websites is often caused by a lack of understanding between agency and client. Clients tend to commission the creation of a design for the website without the content having been defined or even created. This is usually because companies lack the resources to write professional content or underestimate the effort involved. As a result, a design is commissioned from the agency so that the project can progress quickly. The agency then creates a design based on a client briefing and references to reference and competitor sites.

When the customer finally wants to publish the new or revised content on the website using the already approved design, there is a nasty surprise: design and content do not match. Important elements are missing from the design and the content does not fit into the intended design pattern. A revision of the design is essential

The Blackbit PageBuilder addresses this problem by providing a generic theme and modules with which the customer can create their content directly in the Pimcore CMS without any further initial effort. In the CMS preview, they can already see whether their content is well structured and placed on the various pages.

As the customer deals with their content, the design and web content management requirements become clear and the agency can support its customers more efficiently on the basis of existing content. Once the content has been written, the design is tailored to the content and implemented in a customized theme. This eliminates unnecessary correction and customization loops because the content is created first and the requirements for the web design have become clear when the content is created.

Blackbit PageBuilder for Pimcore Versus WordPress

The PageBuilder's user interface is based on familiar concepts to make the transition as smooth as possible for users. Following established page builders in other CMS platforms, the Blackbit PageBuilder uses drag-and-drop features that allow users to easily organize and customize content. Users can intuitively create complex page layouts by simply dragging modules to the desired location on the page. In addition, the PageBuilder offers context-sensitive menus that allow quick adjustments and module edits. A structure tree with all elements of the page allows quick navigation between them, so that clarity is maintained even on complex pages.

The Blackbit PageBuilder for Pimcore compensates for the disadvantages of the Pimcore CMS compared to WordPress. The PageBuilder integrates user-friendly features typically found in popular CMS like WordPress, bringing an intuitive user experience to the world of Pimcore. Customers and users can quickly and easily create appealing layouts without having to delve into complex coding. This makes it easier for both designers and content creators to work closely together and ensure that the website meets the exact specifications required. By integrating Blackbit PageBuilder into the content creation process from the outset, the costly back and forth between editorial and design can be minimized. The PageBuilder for Pimcore includes the standard elements that are frequently used on websites and enables the agency to add customized modules. This results in lean and easy-to-maintain code that is good for visibility in search engines and for the budget.

Conclusion

The Blackbit PageBuilder for Pimcore compensates for the disadvantages of the Pimcore CMS compared to WordPress by adding an easy-to-use interface for editors to the powerful functions of Pimcore.