I know this might be a strange question but how do you see the future of ConcreteCMS? Here in Germany, Austria and Switzerland people “say to switch away to Wordpress” or another shissle. I personally recommend to every client to use ConcreteCMS because it’s super easy to use and brings a lot of features which good and modern websites need.
Of course there are not as many addons as for other CMS but, do you need them all? Rather less but good ones.
An agency from Germany said they fear that ConcreteCMS will disappear in the next 2–5 years…
I know it’s hard to get an answer but would like to get some thought, because I really love it. And so do my clients who use it.
I can’t speak for concrete CMS as a company, but for me personally I think concrete CMS is here to stay. WordPress offers something for some people. It’s very low-key. A lot of plugins are needed to run any type of website, whereas concrete seems to have constantly added key add-ons into the core of its system and therefore as as things have progressed there are less and less need for add-ons.
I’ve been building sites for 14 years on concrete and I’d say at the moment it’s the best it’s ever been.
Yes, maybe there are parts of the custom development areas that are not for people with very little experience, but in terms of a development system and in terms of being able to spin up quick sites, it’s excellent.
I would ask those agencies in Germany that you’re talking to. What systems do they use? Do they use WordPress? And if they do then it’s obvious why they’re recommending to go with WordPress and not Concrete CMS.
Only real concern would be what happens in 20 years when Franz or Andrew want to retire, but by then I doubt we will even have websites and who knows what technologies will be around.
As @TMDesigns notes, there will always be agencies with vested interests in rebuilding sites in wordpress. Often SEO ‘specialists’ with the bogus claim they need wordpress to achieve SEO results (and can hence take more of your money)
Portland Labs are using Concrete CMS for some big US Gov projects, so we can be sure Concrete CMS is here to stay. There are plenty of other major sites using Concrete CMS.
The update schedule for the core is now monthly, so we don’t need to wait for minor pull requests (though I don’t recommend updating your site core every month).
The documentation system has recently been reworked to provide version specific branches.
A rebuild of the addon and theme marketplace is currently being tested.
because I really love it. And so do my clients who use it.
Stay with that sentiment. That is why Concrete CMS has a future.
dear @TMDesigns@JohntheFish
thank you both for the very honest and professional opinion.
as said, i am a complete fan of the system although i experienced sometimes some breakdowns because i was incompetent
i try my best to make concreteCMS more famous in germany, austria and switzerland!
I have looked at ConcreteCMS again and again and have now switched here from Contao.
I know statements from agencies and especially the Wordpress warehouse.
I think the way Concrete is currently building up and integrating more and more add-ons into the core, we should have a very good and stable system for the next few years.
I really liked Contao, but the visual editing in the new version 9 motivated me to use Conrete to create my own websites, which have been waiting for a relaunch for a long time.
I’m just curious (since I’m not a developer (I’m more of a template designer)) whether I can conjure up a theme based on Atomik.
My opinion is biased as I work for PortlandLabs, but my thoughts from a personal capacity:
Concrete is not WP and never will be. If anything, WP seems to be trying to become Concrete It is a smaller player, but it does seem to be punching above its weight. There are broad initiatives in the works to ensure that Concrete stays relevant and competitive, many of which @JohntheFish already mentioned (and has good knowledge of since he’s a very active community member and helps run the PRB).
These are not the actions of a poorly-supported, dying project in my opinion, but rather a framework and ecosystem which is healthy and seeking ways to keep growing and improving.
My advice: take a look at the roadmap and if there’s something that you feel is missing that will keep Concrete going for the next 10+ years, create a feature request and start the conversation about it.
dear all, many thanks for your feedbacks. highly appreciated!
i am fully convinced that concreteCMS is really an outstanding CMS and has a great future because it’s so easy to handle and brings a looot with it!
i really hope there will be more developers and “partners” in germany, austria and switzerland. that would help
I paid a “so called” professional web company a couple of years ago to do a WP site to replace my old (very old) website. I can really only (and simply) describe the result as a complete mess. Full of add-ons / plugins.
I gave up and started a new site with concrete - it was like a breath of fresh air
You were lucky they didn’t build the site on a Wix platform!
No developer skills or knowledge required to ‘Assemble’ a Wix site.
Just copy and paste javascript modules which creates an extremely bloated site.
It is a smaller player, but it does seem to be punching above its weight. There are broad initiatives in the works to ensure that Concrete stays relevant and competitive, many of which