NateCuePopular CMS Options for Static Sites
A quick reference to the most common CMS choices when building with static site frameworks like Astro or Next.js. Each option has a different trade-off between simplicity, control, and cost.
The Options at a Glance
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Sanity CMS - Headless, API-first, uses GROQ query language, real-time collaboration built in. Best choice for teams that need structured content, flexible schemas, and developer-friendly tooling. Has a generous free tier.
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Ghost CMS - Self-hosted publishing platform focused on blogging and newsletters. Requires a VPS or managed hosting. Well-designed editor, great for publication-style sites. Less flexible for complex data structures.
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WordPress CMS - The most widely used CMS in the world, with an enormous plugin and theme ecosystem. Works well as a headless backend via its REST API or WPGraphQL. Familiar to most content teams but carries maintenance and security overhead from plugins.
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Docusaurus - Leans developer-side, built by Meta. Excellent for documentation sites and knowledge bases. Markdown-native. Less suited for marketing content or non-technical editors.
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Decap CMS - Git-based, open-source, and free. Integrates cleanly with static site generators. Content is stored as Markdown files in your repository. No database, no server - simple and reliable for small to medium sites.
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Keystatic CMS - Git-based like Decap but newer and still maturing. Good for teams comfortable with code-adjacent workflows. Worth watching as the ecosystem develops.
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TinaCMS - Git-based with a visual editing interface that lets editors see changes in context. Has a cloud tier for teams. More polished than Decap for non-technical editors who still want the Git-based workflow.
How to Choose
The right CMS depends on three things: who will manage content, how complex the content schema needs to be, and what your hosting and cost constraints are.
- Non-technical content team, needs simple setup: WordPress (headless) or Ghost
- Technical team, complex structured content: Sanity CMS
- Small team, Markdown-based blog, zero cost: Decap CMS or Keystatic
- Visual editing on a Git workflow: TinaCMS
- Documentation site: Docusaurus
For most marketing-focused static sites built with Astro, Sanity or Decap cover the majority of use cases well - Sanity for richer content models, Decap for lean blogs and portfolios.
FAQ
Which CMS works best with Astro?
Both Sanity and Decap CMS have first-class Astro integrations with official guides. TinaCMS also supports Astro. For documentation-heavy projects, Starlight (the Astro documentation theme) has its own content system built in and may not need an external CMS at all.
Is a self-hosted CMS worth the extra complexity?
For most marketing teams, no. Managed cloud options like Sanity or Contentful are simpler to operate and keep current. Self-hosting makes sense when you have strong DevOps capacity, strict data residency requirements, or need deep customization that hosted solutions do not permit. Strapi is the strongest open-source self-hosted option if you go that route.
Can I switch CMS platforms later without losing content?
With any of the Git-based options (Decap, Keystatic, TinaCMS), your content is Markdown files in your own repository - completely portable. With API-based options like Sanity, content is accessible via API and can be exported. The hardest migration is away from WordPress, where content and template structure are often entangled. Starting headless, regardless of which platform, keeps your content more portable long-term.