Backdrop CMS icon
Backdrop CMS icon

Backdrop CMS

 10 likes

Backdrop CMS is a simple, lightweight, and easy to use Content Management System used to build attractive, professional websites. Use it for everything from a single-administrator's personal blog site, to a complex, multi-role, business e-commerce platform.

Backdrop CMS screenshot 1

License model

  • FreeOpen Source

Country of Origin

  • International

Platforms

  • Online
  • Self-Hosted
5 / 5 Avg rating (4)
10likes
5comments
0news articles

Features

Suggest and vote on features

Properties

  1.  Customizable

Features

  1.  Dynamic Views
  2.  Flexible content types
  3.  Layout Builder
  4.  Configuration Management
  5.  Modular System
  6.  Configuration export / import
  7.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
  8.  Auto Update
  9.  Content Management
  10.  Data export/import
  11.  Multiple languages
  12.  Modules

 Tags

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Backdrop CMS information

  • Developed by

    Backdrop CMS
  • Licensing

    Open Source (GPL-2.0) and Free product.
  • Written in

  • Rating

    Average rating of 5
  • Alternatives

    193 alternatives listed
  • Supported Languages

    • English

AlternativeTo Categories

DevelopmentBusiness & CommerceSocial & CommunicationsOS & Utilities

GitHub repository

  •  1,011 Stars
  •  392 Forks
  •  715 Open Issues
  •   Updated Jun 12, 2025 
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Our users have written 5 comments and reviews about Backdrop CMS, and it has gotten 10 likes

Backdrop CMS was added to AlternativeTo by Graziella on Apr 19, 2018 and this page was last updated Sep 27, 2021.

Comments and Reviews

   
 Post comment/review
Top Positive Comment
indiweb
May 22, 2020
7

I'm one among many who searched for Drupal 8 alternatives and in Backdrop CMS I finally found it.

Drupal 8 / 9 is appropriate for bigger business projects with sufficient budget, but is a bad choice for a normal website.

When discovering Backdrop CMS, one of my first impressions was: "Hey, this is how Drupal 7 should always have been!" It's flexible and extendible as Drupal 7, but has additional well-considered concepts for quick and easy website development. And its user interface is much better.

So it's not astonishing that the Backdrop CMS community is constantly growing.

[Edited by indiweb, May 22]

cedc
May 26, 2020
2

As Drupal 7 reaches it's end-of-life, I expect that Backdrop use will surge. Many of the small to mid-sized websites that are built on Drupal 7 will not find Drupal 8 to be appropriate for their needs, and with the easy transition to Backdrop they will find the critical features they need along with a bunch of usability improvements and new features they're going to love.

Backdrop is a great alternative to Drupal – if you are evaluating options for your Drupal 7 site, definitely include Backdrop in the mix.

klonos
May 26, 2020
6

I see Drupal 8 and newer versions as a totally different piece of software, so for me Backdrop is not just an alternative; it's everything that Drupal 7 could/should have been.

With Drupal focusing on the enterprise market and "elite" developers, I have found Backdrop to be the perfect match for solo web developers or small digital agencies, and owners of sites under a limited budget.

As a developer, you can come to the project with only the good-old basic PHP/CSS/JS knowledge ...no need for composer/symfony and complex workflows - means less time spent to get things done - means you will be able to make competitive offers to your potential customers.

As a site owner, you'll still get the same feature set as Drupal 7 + most features of Drupal 8 + new features unique to Backdrop CMS. You will appreciate the low system requirements, which means that your site can run on affordable hosting plans.

As a content editor, your content editing experience will be similar to Drupal, so there will be almost nothing new to learn; simply jump in and start producing content as you previously did. We are passionate about fixing all the annoying things, so you will find each new version making your life a little bit easier.

As a site administrator/builder, you will see that the user interface has received so many usability improvements and fixes, that you will find it easier/faster to manage your site and perform everyday tasks. We've are doing our best to put things where you'd expect to find them, so there will be less pogo-sticking around admin pages.

And if you, like me, love getting involved with the community, then you'll absolutely love Backdrop: Amazing people, with beautiful minds, and most of all, approachable, helpful and thoughtful. All that, topped with a Project Management Committee comprised by a diverse set of community members, providing a more "democratic" form of leadership, putting the community and the end users first.

cedc
May 20, 2020
4

Backdrop is finding its niche in the sweet spot between Drupal and Wordpress -- the power, flexibility, and scalability of Drupal with UI and UX improvements that make it simpler to use out of the box.

Matthias Walti
May 20, 2020
5

Backdrop CMS is the best alternative for the Drupal platform: a very powerful CMS solution for creating sophisticated SME websites. The flexibility of Drupal combined with great new functions is attracting more and more Drupal sitebuilders. Here's my summary after doing some smaller projects with Backdrop CMS https://mazze.ch/backdropcms (in German)

What is Backdrop CMS?

Backdrop CMS is a simple, lightweight, and easy to use Content Management System used to build attractive, professional websites. Use it for everything from a single-administrator's personal blog site, to a complex, multi-role, business e-commerce platform. Backdrop is the perfect fit for comprehensive non-profit, educational, government or corporate websites.

Backdrop CMS Videos

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