What is the best CMS for a Thai business?
For most Thai company and SME websites, WordPress is the sensible default.
That is not because it is the best software in every way, but because, in our experience, it has the largest pool of developers in Bangkok, a plugin for nearly every common need, good support for bilingual Thai and English websites, and a site you can hand to another developer without starting over.
The exceptions are real. Drupal suits large organisations with complex permissions. A framework such as Next.js or Laravel suits a product or web application, not a brochure site. Adobe Commerce (Magento) suits very large catalogues with an in-house team. A plain HTML site suits a single page that almost never changes. And HubSpot's CMS suits companies already paying for HubSpot's marketing tools.
This page assumes you know the term; if not, start with what is a CMS. Hosted builders have their own pages: see WordPress vs Wix, WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace, and our look at Webflow web design for design-led teams.
CMS decision matrix
Read across the row for the option you are considering. "Developer pool in Bangkok" is our practical judgement of how easy it is to hire help, not a measured figure.
| Option | Best for | Skills needed | Hosting | Upkeep | Developer pool in Bangkok |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | Company sites, blogs, SME stores | PHP, WordPress themes | Any PHP host | Core, theme and plugin updates | Large |
| Joomla | Existing Joomla sites, some portals | PHP, Joomla extensions | Any PHP host | Core and extension updates | Small |
| Drupal | Large, permission-heavy sites | PHP, Drupal specialists | Tuned PHP hosting | Security releases, module work | Small, specialist |
| HubSpot CMS | Teams already on HubSpot | HubSpot templates | Hosted by HubSpot | Handled by HubSpot | Moderate |
| Framer / Google Sites | Quick pages, internal sites | Visual editor | Hosted | Handled by vendor | Not usually needed |
| Next.js / React / Laravel | Web apps, custom products | JavaScript or PHP developers | Node or PHP servers | Code maintained by developers | Good, but for apps |
| Magento (Adobe Commerce) | Large catalogues, complex B2B | Magento specialists | Heavy, tuned servers | Significant | Small, specialist |
| Plain HTML | One page that rarely changes | HTML and CSS | Any host | Minimal, but every edit needs code | Large |
WordPress vs Joomla
Joomla and WordPress have a lot in common. Both are free, open-source PHP systems that run on ordinary hosting, and both can power a solid company site. Joomla is still actively developed and has loyal users, often in organisations that built portals or member areas on it years ago.
Where they differ in practice
- Extensions. WordPress has a far larger library of plugins and themes. For common needs such as forms, bookings, multilingual pages, SEO settings or WooCommerce, you choose among several mature options. On Joomla the choice is narrower, and some extensions are paid.
- Admin for editors. Joomla's admin is powerful but has more menus and settings to learn. WordPress's editor is easier for a marketing assistant who only updates news and prices.
- Built-in features. Joomla has stronger access control and multilingual support in the core, which is a genuine point in its favour for a bilingual site without add-ons.
- Help in Thailand. This is usually decisive. Finding a WordPress developer, a freelancer or an agency in Bangkok is easy. Finding Joomla specialists is harder, and if your one Joomla developer leaves, replacing them takes time.
Our view
If you run a Joomla site that works and is kept updated, there is no urgent reason to move. If you are starting fresh, or your Joomla site is on an old version nobody wants to touch, WordPress is the safer long-term choice for a Thai business.
WordPress vs Drupal
Drupal is built for complexity. It handles detailed content types, fine-grained user roles, multiple editorial workflows and many languages in its core, which is why universities, government bodies and large organisations choose it.
That power comes at a price. Drupal projects need specialist developers, take longer to build, and major version upgrades can be significant work. For a hotel, clinic, law firm or trading company with a few dozen pages and two languages, Drupal is usually more system than the site needs.
Consider Drupal if you have hundreds of editors across departments, strict approval chains, or content that must be shared across several sites. Otherwise WordPress gives you what you need with a much larger local support base.
WordPress vs HubSpot, Framer and Google Sites
These are hosted tools: you pay or sign in, and the vendor runs the servers.
HubSpot CMS
HubSpot's Content Hub ties the website to HubSpot's CRM, email and marketing tools. If your sales team already lives in HubSpot, having pages, forms and contacts in one system is useful. If you do not use HubSpot, you would be paying for a marketing suite to host a website. Compare the current subscription tiers against a WordPress build before deciding.
Framer
Framer is a design tool that publishes fast, animated marketing pages. It suits startups launching a product page. For a company site with many pages, two languages and ongoing edits by non-designers, it is less suited. Plans are on Framer's pricing page.
Google Sites
Google Sites is free with a Google account and good for internal pages, a team wiki or a simple event page. It offers little design control, few SEO settings and no real store, so it is not a platform for a customer-facing business site.
WordPress vs Next.js, React and Laravel
This comparison often comes up when an in-house developer or IT colleague says, "We could just build it ourselves." Next.js and React are JavaScript tools for building interfaces; Laravel is a PHP framework for building applications. None of them is a CMS out of the box.
That is the key difference. With WordPress, editors get a finished admin area on day one. With a framework, someone has to build or connect every editing screen, form handler and SEO setting, and the same developer, or someone who can read their code, has to maintain it afterwards.
When a framework is right
- You are building a product, a customer portal or a web application with logins and business logic.
- You have developers on staff who will own the code for years.
- You need an app-like experience that a content site cannot give.
There is also a middle path called headless WordPress: WordPress stores the content and a Next.js front end displays it. It can be fast, but you now maintain two systems, which rarely makes sense for an SME brochure site.
WordPress vs Magento and plain HTML
Magento (Adobe Commerce)
Adobe Commerce, built on Magento, is designed for large online stores: tens of thousands of products, several warehouses, complex B2B price lists and multiple storefronts. It needs strong servers and specialist developers, and running it is a serious ongoing cost.
Most Thai shops are nowhere near that scale. A store with a few hundred or a few thousand products, selling through PromptPay, cards and cash on delivery and shipping with KEX Express (formerly Kerry Express), Flash Express, J&T or Thailand Post, is usually better served by WooCommerce on WordPress or by Shopify.
Plain HTML
A hand-coded HTML site has no admin, no database and almost nothing to update or attack. For a one-page holding site or a simple event page that changes once a year, that is a real advantage. The downside appears the first time you want to change a price, add a staff photo or publish a Thai news post: every edit needs someone who can write code. For a business that updates its site even monthly, a CMS pays for itself in saved time.
Choosing, and who will look after it
The system matters less than the people who will support it. Before you choose, ask three questions:
- Who will edit the site each week, and in which language? Pick the admin that person can use without calling a developer.
- Who will update and back it up? Every self-hosted system needs this. If the answer is "nobody", choose a hosted tool or budget for maintenance.
- If your developer disappears, can you hire another one in Bangkok within a week or two? For WordPress, yes. For Drupal, Magento or a custom framework build, it is harder.
Our notes on WordPress in Thailand cover the local side: hosting, Thai fonts and plugins that suit bilingual sites. If you are planning from scratch, our guide on how to make a website sets out the steps in order.
We offer website design on WordPress with a custom design on Starter, a custom theme with no page builder in English and Thai on Business, and maintenance after launch priced per site. Indicative one-time prices start from THB 10,000 for Starter and THB 30,000 for Business; see WordPress site pricing for what shapes a quote, then send us your page list by WhatsApp or email.
Further reading
Sources
- Joomla (official site)
- Drupal (official site)
- HubSpot: Content Hub (CMS)
- Framer: Pricing
- Google Sites
- Next.js (official site)
- Laravel (official site)
- Adobe Commerce (Magento)
- WordPress.org: Download WordPress
Builds and ranks the websites: the systems behind the 17 client sites whose Search Console numbers we publish. This guide was written by the Website Development Bangkok team. More about us