Choosing an appropriate content management system, or CMS, is usually an important decision that needs to be made when launching a new website or blog. A popular choice these days seems to be the blogging platform known as WordPress, and for good reasons. WordPress is a wonderful CMS that can suit many bloggers and end users quite well. However, in the shadow of WordPress's success, lurk some very wonderful CMS that do not get all the attention they deserve. Today, we will have a look at 18 unappreciated CMS's in the WordPress shadow.

(Don't forget to also check out our updated article with the 20 best CMS for 2012. And yes, this list includes WordPress...)

1. TYPOLight

TYPOLight has been around the scene for awhile and has become known as quite a dependable CMS. One of TYPOLights main features is the Javascript and AJAX integrated technlogies, making it super easy for developers of all skill levels to work with.

2. RedaxScript

Redax Script is one of the lesser known content management systems that is packed with plenty of features. The main focus of RedaxScript seems to be simplicity and transparency, making life easy on the end user. RedaxScript is completely free and you can check out the online demo at anytime.

3. Jaws

Jaws was released back in November 2008 and since it's release date Jaws has seen steady growth, support, and an increasing amount of end users. Jaws accredits this to being easy to work with and allowing developers access to modules for tweaking their website to how they see fit.

4. Modx

Modx is a CMS that has seen a lot of growth and rise in popularity lately. To quote their description of Modx: MODx helps you take control of your online content. An Open Source PHP application framework, it frees you to build sites exactly how you want and make them 100% yours. Zero restrictions and fast to build.

5. Textpattern

Textpattern has been around for quite a long time, and for good reason. It is a very reliable and easy to work with CMS. If you are looking for a very reliable and easy to work with CMS, textpattern might be for you.

6. glFusion

glFusion is a simple CMS created with specific features and ideals in mind. Such features include automatic RSS integration, a wide array of user permissions, and queue submitted user content.

7. Frog CMS

Another up and coming CMS, FrogCMS has received a lot of praise lately. Besides being extremely easy to use, it has a very appealing admin backed and is a breeze for developers to work with. And of course, it is completely free!

8. Radiant CMS

RadiantCMS is a CMS built with Ruby that aims to be simple and powerful. The developers claim that Radiant is a no-fluff, open source content management system designed for small teams. While the install can be a little tricky, Radiant is packed full of features and options.

9. CMS Made Simple

Need a simple CMS without a huge installation hassle or configuring a bunch of files? CMS Made Simple aims to do just that. Aimed at those who want a CMS that is easy to setup and just works. Oh, and it's free too!

10. Typo 3

Typo3 is a free Open Source content management system for enterprise purposes on the web and in intranets. It offers full flexibility and extendability while featuring an accomplished set of ready-made interfaces, functions and modules.

11. Campware

Campware is a package of different 'CMS like' applications. Campsite (one of the children of Campware) is a user focused CMS and software application. Allowing you to do such things as publish radio broadcasts and multi lingual news postings. If you are looking to get your content out to a giant audience, Campware and it's products might be worth a look.

12. CushyCMS

CushyCMS might be one of WPs biggest competitors. It s extremely easy to use, and even better, it has all kinds of client integration setup. Need to allow a client to edit some pages or make some changes without messing things up? No problem with CushyCMS!

13. Magnolia

Magnolia aims to be a simple CMS solution for non tech savvy and tech savvy users alike. Created in 2003, Magnolia has been tried and tested over time and seems to work will for a wide array of projects.

14. eZ Publish

eZ Publish is an Open Source Content Management System chosen by thousands of enterprises and organizations world wide. It helps you build corporate websites, intranets, webshops and media portals.

15. Expression Engine

Perhaps the biggest industry standard and the only CMS on our list that costs money to use, is the heavyweight known as ExpressionEngine. Used by developers and large companies all over the world, if you want an extremely powerful CMS just packed full of features, ExpressionEngine may be worth the price.

That's all we have for now. Did we miss any? Are there any WP alternatives that you prefer to use? Let us know in the comments section!

16. e107

e107 is another open source CMS completely free of charge, and is written in the popular language, PHP. It uses a databse system to drive the backend, the popular open source MySQL databse. e017 seems to be especially aimed at developers, providing many instances for you to change the look and feel of the CMS for the end user.

17. ImpressCMS

ImpressCMS is setup to be a very, very simple to install and use content management system. Complete with a sleek design, and boasting security features, ImpressCMS is often the choice for small to medium sized websites.

18. SilverStripe

Out of all the CMSs we have mentioned so far, SilverStripe might be the most friendly and easiest to get started with. One glance at the homepage leads you to all the information and tools you need to get going in 5 minutes or so. Complete with a templating engine and plenty of free website templates that can be installed from the admin area. SilverStripe is certainly worth a look.

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