The first website in the world was born in 1991. So far, there are more than 1.6 billion websites in the world, and new websites are constantly added every moment. In the early years, it was difficult for us to have our own website, but now we can have our own website very quickly. This also benefits from the rapid development of the current Internet and many sharing software. We can use free and open source CMS programs when we build websites.
For free and open source (or some paid commercial) CMS programs, some are suitable for personal blogs, some are suitable for article content, and some are suitable for community forums. A few days ago, we also discussed which CMS programs can be used by foreign trade English websites. We may think of some B2C programs, including domestic and foreign CMS programs. In fact, any foreign trade English website can only achieve the functions we need, and it will not emphasize which CMS is only suitable for foreign trade websites or not.
In terms of technology and user experience suitable for foreign countries, domestic CMS programs are relatively weak, and the follow-up maintenance and update rate of domestic programs is not high. We can see many time-honored foreign trade website CMS programs, most of which are maintained and updated overseas, while domestic ones, after all, are based on user and language problems, as well as actual system user experience problems, and we may have a low utilization rate. Let's have a look together.
First, look at the CMS program of foreign trade websites from big data
Here we can see from the big data which CMS programs have more users. This data is based on the authoritative w3techs website platform.
Data from: https://w3techs.com/technologies/history_overview/content_management
From the big data analysis, we can see that WordPress is the most widely used, followed by Joomla, Drupal, Shopify and other independent CMS or third-party self-service website building programs. Many of us netizens would be surprised to find that Shopify is still used by so many people as a self-service website? Indeed, many users of foreign trade websites will choose Shopify to build websites and can bind domain names to build websites. It is also a mall system that supports secondary development. We can even find out through in-depth research that there are industries and services that specifically provide Shopify theme production. We will talk about this later.
We can also see that Magento and OpenCart, which you are familiar with, are ranked a little lower than Joomla, and even Zencart, which we used to be very popular, is ranked a little lower. This is the trend. When we choose a foreign trade website CMS, we also need to follow the global user trend, not what you think or our domestic users think, because foreign trade websites need to target global users.
Second, select several English foreign trade websites for CMS analysis
For our businesses or individuals who want to realize the export of products and servers, we must choose a suitable one Foreign trade English website CMS Of course, if you don't look up to any of them, you can write your own program. After all, the project is your own, and you can do as you like. Here, the old tribal website is going to select several CMS programs that it thinks have their own characteristics.
1、WordPress
For our domestic webmaster users, WordPress programs are more commonly used for personal blog websites and corporate websites. Many of our company's customer websites, even English enterprise display websites, are built with WordPress CMS. Considering that there are many themes, plug-ins, and solution documents that are easy to use and familiar with, WordPress will be chosen more often. If we pay attention to some foreign websites, we can actually see that many B2C commodity websites also use WordPress programs. We only need to install relevant plug-ins to realize online shopping and payment functions.
However, there are also some disadvantages of WordPress programs. For example, installing too many plug-ins or excessively bloated themes will reduce the speed. We need higher configuration host resources to support the operation of WordPress programs with larger resources. For webmasters who are not particularly familiar with WP programs, it may be difficult to control the project later.
2、Drupal、Joomla
Drupal and Joomla CMS programs belong to the content management system. For example, we use a lot of enterprise websites or one-way service websites. Of course, they are also provided by foreign businesses. We can also see that they support Chinese language. However, if we do foreign trade websites in English or other languages, we must not use Chinese.
This content based CMS program has also developed for many years, and its functions are also quite complete. We can realize content based and server based foreign trade website projects, and if we need to realize B2C functions, we can also achieve it through the Commerce module.
3、 Shopify、Wix、Weebly
Many of our netizens and webmasters are surprised that the self-service platform is still used. Is it incomprehensible? This kind of website model was also provided by domestic businesses many years ago, but they have all been closed. Why do such websites develop well abroad? Shopify, which came from behind, claimed that 90% of foreign trade e-commerce companies used it.
This kind of website platform, which looks like a self-service website, can enable users to customize stores, templates and plug-ins, and can bind domain names to achieve the function of independent sites, and use the advantages of the platform to recommend merchants to import traffic to improve members' exposure. Even we can see that there is a special team that provides secondary development services. Since such an industry has come out, it shows that the number of users is not small.
4、 Magento、OpenCart、Zen Cart
In the early years, I used ZenArt when I was working as a foreign trade website. Even though ZenArt was too difficult to use and unaccustomed (probably not suitable for Chinese people), it still had a large number of users. I remember that at that time, a set of template themes needed hundreds. Due to the changes in the foreign trade industry (at that time, most of them were engaged in imitation brand foreign trade), and indeed, we realized the lack of possible programs, and saw many people begin to transform B2C programs such as Magento and OpenCart.
Compared with the Drupal, Joomla and WordPress programs mentioned above, if B2C functions need to be implemented, merchant modules need to be installed. Magento and other programs directly carry merchant modules, which is relatively simple to build.
Fifth, phpBB, vBulletin
When it comes to forum programs, we must think of domestic DISCUZ, PHPWIND, which were once popular forum community programs. A few days ago, we should see that the DZ program officially gave up maintenance. For foreign trade website projects, if you need to use forum community type websites, you can still see a certain number of users of phpBB and vBulletin in big data.
Third, considerations for the selection of foreign trade English website CMS
Among the CMS programs available for many English foreign trade website projects, which one should we choose? Although we need to refer to the choices made by mainstream users, this is also a reference for our choices. For example, we choose a partial program ourselves, and we can't find the documents or familiar technicians when we encounter problems or need secondary development later.
When choosing foreign trade English websites or website programs in other languages, you need to be familiar with our existing technology, such as WordPress. If your technology is familiar with the Magento theme or secondary development, the efficiency will be reduced if you choose other technologies.
At the same time, we need to consider the user experience. Our foreign trade English website is for global users. You can't use a domestic CMS program and Chinese language on the website. Even if you look awkward and see the habits suitable for foreign users, you can only do so. Sometimes it is not based on what you like, but on what users need.
In conclusion, when engaging in foreign trade English website or project extrapolation, we should not focus too much on independent websites. From the big data above, we can see shops and pages relying on third-party platforms. Some people use it to show that there are users, and we also need diversified choices.
