Django CMS vs Wagtail: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this Markdown document, we will compare Django CMS and Wagtail - two popular content management systems. We will highlight the key differences between the two platforms, focusing on specific aspects that set them apart.

1. Extensibility: Django CMS offers a highly extensible architecture, allowing developers to create custom plugins, templates, and applications. It integrates seamlessly with existing Django projects, enabling developers to leverage the vast Django ecosystem. Wagtail, on the other hand, provides a more limited extension mechanism, with a focus on a structured content approach. It emphasizes content types and their relationships, making it ideal for content-centric websites.

2. Editorial Workflow: Django CMS provides a basic editorial workflow out of the box, with features like draft/publish states and previewing. It integrates well with Django's authentication system, allowing for fine-grained user permissions. Conversely, Wagtail offers a more robust editorial workflow that includes multi-step approval processes, scheduled publishing, and revision history. It provides a cleaner content-editing experience and is better suited for websites requiring complex editorial workflows.

3. User Interface/Experience: Django CMS follows a more traditional and functional approach to its user interface. It focuses on providing comprehensive backend functionality without compromising usability. On the other hand, Wagtail has a more modern, user-friendly UI/UX. It utilizes a drag-and-drop interface and provides customizable content editing blocks, resulting in a more intuitive and streamlined content management experience.

4. Content Organization: Django CMS organizes content hierarchically into pages, allowing for easy structuring of the website. It provides the ability to create reusable content snippets and supports organizing content into content placeholders. In contrast, Wagtail adopts a more flexible approach, allowing users to organize content using a flat structure instead of being limited to a traditional hierarchical model. Wagtail's streamfield allows developers and editors to build flexible and modular content structures.

5. Multilingual Support and Internationalization: Django CMS has comprehensive multilingual support built-in, allowing for the creation and management of multilingual websites. It provides tools for translating content, managing language-specific URLs, and handling language fallbacks. While Wagtail does not provide built-in multilingual support, it can be extended through third-party packages or custom development.

6. Community and Ecosystem: Django CMS has been around for a longer time and has a larger community and ecosystem. It has a vast collection of plugins and extensions, making it easier to find solutions for specific requirements. Wagtail, although relatively newer, has been gaining popularity due to its user-friendly interface and flexibility. However, its ecosystem is not as extensive as Django CMS.

In Summary, Django CMS and Wagtail differ in terms of extensibility, editorial workflow, user interface/experience, content organization, multilingual support, and community/ecosystem. They cater to different needs and preferences, with Django CMS being more extensible and suitable for existing Django projects, while Wagtail excelling in its streamlined content editing experience and flexibility in content organization.