Best digital publishing platform for publishers

Curious about what CMS you should consider? We have listed CMSs you should look into. We encourage you to have a solid 3-dimensional publishing strategy and a goal for your digital journey in the industry.

Digital publishing, often referred to as online or e-publishing, is a publication on the internet which can include e-magazines, e-books, white papers, reports, or any form of content. Some digital publications run on subscriptions for monthly publications while some are free to consume.

The digital publishing platform includes a set of tools that make it easier to publish content in a digital form, which is ensuring that it can be accessed on electronic devices, like a desktop, tablet, or smart devices. Digital publishing applications need to be responsive. This is just one of the many features that popular publishing platforms offer.

Moving to a digital publishing space is not an easy task. It requires planning and a clear understanding of what the space has to offer. The existing state of easy-access information that all of us enjoy took years to come into play. We’ve evolved from sharing files via floppy disks to complex social media networks. It has emerged as a powerful force that has all but ended conventional publishing.

Statista reports that, as of January 2021, 4.66 billion people were active on the internet. That figure represents nearly 60% of the world’s total population. With this vast audience, covering almost every demographic, it’s easy to see the future where digital media is at the forefront of all global communication.

Technology has transformed the world of publishing to such a large extent From plain emails to tweets, we’ve come a long way. Many readers are moving away from traditional publishing methods and starting to rely more often on digital publishing due to the classic method’s limitations from the former, such as:

• Less opportunity for creativity

• A longer publishing process

• Lower royalty rates

• Infrequent paydays

• Complicated contracts

• Loss of rights while signing a book deal

Finding a CMS can be challenging but with the current options in the market, you have a wide array of features to enlist. No matter what industry to cater to - education, fashion, travel, photography or news, the right CMS will not only help you establish your digital presence but also enhance it.

1. Joomag

Joomag can transform a simple PDF file into an interesting digital publication for you. This tool would be helpful for the more novice publishers who are in the look out for an intuitive solution. The easy to learn text editor and choice of a variety of templates that can be adapted to the needs of your publication will make work easier.

This helps you add audio, videos and slides to your web content. If you’re new to digital media, then this could be easy for you to get used to. Users on the web scroll and browse through content instead of reading it word by word. If you’re a small scale publisher, Joomag also runs its own online store with digital publications where you can put up your content and ask a price for it.

2. Drupal

Drupal CMS is an open-source content management system that can be used to build websites. It has several interesting templates that allow you to build a platform for working with text. The content moderation module from Drupal allows you to track the stages of the content piece (draft, review, published).

3. Bold CMS

Bold CMS is a headless content management tool designed for enterprise digital publishers. All the functionalities and constant updates are made by keeping publishers in mind. It is editorial friendly, there’s no need to code. You can track workflow, set access limits for individual contributors, work with all sorts of content formats to be a dynamic publishing.
This is ideal for publishers who have set content strategies and are looking for a solution that will help them scale and provide the security they need. The platform will also benefit small publishers who are looking to scale as it provides premium experience to all publishers. Magazine and app publishing is also possible on this platform.

4. WordPress

WordPress is a common CMS platform which is usually used to build commercial and non-commercial websites. It is a good option for small scale content creators and publishers. It's an open-source CMS, so definitely a cheaper solution than a publishing platform that requires subscription. However, this also means that it provides the standard features which may not benefit in the long run.

5. Flipsnack

This is a publishing platform that targets interactive publications. You start by loading a PDF file with the text that needs to be edited. As the publisher you'll now have access to a large variety of templates. It allows you to edit several elements of your content at once and save those that you consider to be properly prepared. It helps you protect the elements from being accidentally modified. It's helpful for designing web content as it helps you work with layers without having a tool for designing magazines because it lets you work with layers that you can switch between graphics and elements without disturbing any element.

6. MetroPublisher

CMS Metro Publisher was created with publishers of online magazines in mind. There are templates, to help create consecutive numbers of magazine, which is considerably simple. You can highlight sponsored content through special formatting. Users can also customize ad styles with a few extra bills.

Interested to know how you can enhance your publishing experience? Schedule a demo with us today to get a personalized insight into how you can be the next big digital publisher.