A Content Management System (CMS) is a software platform that allows users to create, manage, and modify digital content on a website without needing advanced technical skills like coding. It is extremely important for blogger, business owners or companies—it’s a foundational tool for managing their online presence efficiently and professionally.

Why do people use a CMS

Ease of Use – Allows non-developers (like marketers, editors, business owners) to manage content without writing code.

Faster Deployment – Build and launch websites quickly using templates and drag-and-drop editors.

Collaboration – Multiple users can manage, edit, and publish content simultaneously.

Scalability – CMS platforms can support everything from small blogs to enterprise-level websites.

Content Organization – Helps manage large volumes of structured (like articles) and unstructured (like images, videos) content.

SEO Optimization – Most CMS platforms have built-in SEO tools (meta tags, friendly URLs, sitemaps) or plugins to improve search engine visibility.

Let’s find out what are the most popular content management system using .NET framework:

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Umbraco
umbraco.com
Umbraco is a highly flexible, open-source CMS with a strong focus on developer experience. Built with .NET, it supports MVC, Razor, and a customizable back-office UI. It’s widely used for both small and enterprise-level websites.

Highlights: Open-source, flexible, strong developer tools
Type: Free (with paid plans)
Cost: Free (Cloud plans from ~$40/month)
Support: ★★★★☆ (Email, forum, optional phone for paid)
Community: Large, active
Used by: Heinz, Mercedes-Benz, Warner Bros

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Sitefinity
sitefinity.com
Sitefinity by Progress is a robust CMS designed for enterprise users. It offers marketing automation, headless API support, and high scalability. Great for content-heavy and multilingual sites.

Highlights: Drag-and-drop UI, personalization, multilingual
Type: Commercial
Cost: Starts around $3,000/year
Support: ★★★★★ (Phone, email, tickets)
Community: Moderate
Used by: NASA, Microsoft, Coca-Cola

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Kentico
kentico.com
Kentico is an integrated CMS, e-commerce, and marketing platform. Built on ASP.NET MVC, it’s aimed at enterprise solutions with a full-featured backend, great customization, and scalability.

Highlights: All-in-one CMS + digital marketing, e-commerce
Type: Commercial
Cost: Starts around $7,999/year
Support: ★★★★★ (Phone, tickets, partners)
Community: Strong developer community
Used by: Starbucks, Mazda, Allergan

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DotNetNuke
dnnsoftware.com
DNN is one of the oldest and most stable .NET CMS platforms. The free version (DNN Platform) is open-source and extendable; the Evoq version adds premium features and support.

Highlights: Open-source, modular, mature
Type: Free (Platform) / Commercial
Cost: Commercial starts at ~$2,000/year
Support: ★★★★☆ (Phone, email for Commercial)
Community: Large, long-standing
Used by: Bank of America, BP, Samsung

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Orchard Core (formerly Orchard CMS)
orchardcore.net
Orchard Core is the newer, high-performance rework of the original Orchard CMS, now based on ASP.NET Core. Ideal for developers wanting a lightweight, headless-capable CMS. It’s modular, secure, and open-source.

Highlights: Modular, modern ASP.NET Core-based, headless-ready
Type: Free
Cost: Free
Support: ★★★☆☆ (GitHub issues, community)
Community: Growing, mainly developers
Used by: Microsoft, Lombiq, small businesses