Hey everyone! I'm looking for some suggestions on a straightforward, low-maintenance frontend and CMS stack to help modernize a couple of websites that have been around for over a decade. Here's a little background: I've got two older sites—one runs on Craft CMS 2 and the other on ExpressionEngine 2. Both are holding up pretty well but starting to face issues with PHP version support and hosting stability. Any minor updates have become tedious due to the messy frontend.
The goals for this project are to upgrade to a modern yet conservative stack—something like LAMP could work—while minimizing future maintenance. I'd like to keep the existing designs and avoid SaaS options or overly complex solutions. Also, I'm not too keen on switching to WordPress as I think it might need more upkeep.
I'm considering options like upgrading Craft to version 5 or migrating ExpressionEngine content to Craft or upgrading to EE 7. In terms of frontend tools, I'm familiar with React, but that feels like overkill for these sites. jQuery seems outdated, and I'd love to integrate some light interactivity without going full-on React/Vue. I'm looking for reliable CMS options that are modern but not overly engineered, and frontend setups that don't require constant maintenance. Any advice on libraries for small UI bits like carousels or maps would also be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
6 Answers
It really depends on what you're comfortable with! If having a CMS isn’t a must for you, moving to a static site generator like Astro could be ideal. But if you're looking for something traditional, a lot of clients have been satisfied with Joomla, despite its age. I'd suggest updating Site 1 to the latest CraftCMS and potentially transitioning Site 2 into CraftCMS as well.
Don’t overlook Statamic! It's another solid option for a modern CMS that allows for easy updates without the complexities of more mainstream solutions.
You might want to check out Vvveb CMS. It’s modern and lightweight, and it uses plain HTML templates, which makes converting your existing designs pretty straightforward. You’d only need to add some simple attributes for the dynamic content, so it’s quite low-maintenance overall.
I've been really into Payload CMS lately. It's worth a try, though fair warning—it does use React, but it’s been great for modern projects!
Have you looked at Eleventy or Astro? They work great for static builds and can be directly connected to a CMS. Eleventy is especially minimal, with very few breaking changes, plus it's compatible with various template libraries. Deploying via Netlify or GitHub Pages is a breeze; you can even build everything locally if you want to keep it simple. It offers a lot of control without needing to pay, which is pretty nice for long-term maintenance.
If you're thinking about flat-file CMS options, there’s one that’s quite popular right now. It’s easy to work with, using a syntax similar to Twig and storing data in JSON. The documentation is being updated soon, but if you want to know more, I can share the link with you. It’s straightforward with HTML, CSS, and PHP, plus a simple plugin system.
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