A detailed comparison of a zero-dependency flat-file CMS built for speed against the world's most popular CMS powering 43% of the web.
A zero-dependency CMS built from scratch for modern business websites. No WordPress, no frameworks — just clean PHP + vanilla JS.
A single-page application with a dark sidebar for navigation between Pages, Media, Users, Roles, Menu, Settings and more. No page reloads — everything loads instantly. Each page in the system can have its own template, language, and SEO settings. The built-in RBAC system lets you create custom roles with granular permissions for every section of the panel.
Your actual site page loads inside an iframe. Every editable element (text, images, icons, links, forms) gets a colored highlight when you hover. Click to open the appropriate editor — WYSIWYG for text, MediaLibrary for images, IconPicker for icons. Sections can be reordered, copied, hidden, or deleted via drag-and-drop. All changes are live-previewed before saving.
Two fundamentally different approaches to building websites: zero-dependency minimalism vs. rich ecosystem complexity.
Where NeoWeb ICM Mini truly shines — raw performance without caching plugins, CDNs, or optimization layers.
The most critical daily tool for site administrators — how does each editor stack up?
What's included out of the box vs. what requires additional plugins (and often paid ones).
| Feature | ICM Mini | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Content & SEO | ||
| Visual page editor | ✓ Built-in | ✓ Gutenberg |
| SEO meta + Open Graph | ✓ Built-in | Plugin (Yoast) |
| JSON-LD Schemas | ✓ Built-in | Plugin |
| Sitemap.xml | ✓ Built-in | ✓ Core (5.5+) |
| Multilingual (native) | ✓ Built-in | WPML $$$ |
| Blog (posts, categories, drafts) | ✓ Module | ✓ Core |
| Forms & Communication | ||
| Form builder | ✓ Built-in (8 field types) | Plugin (CF7 / WPForms) |
| Webhooks | ✓ Built-in | Plugin |
| Telegram integration | ✓ Built-in | Plugin |
| Email notifications | ✓ Built-in | ✓ Core |
| Admin & Security | ||
| Cookie consent (GDPR) | ✓ Built-in | Plugin |
| Backups & versioning | ✓ Built-in | Plugin (UpdraftPlus) |
| Static HTML export | ✓ Built-in | Plugin (Simply Static) |
| Page caching | ✓ Built-in | Plugin (WP Super Cache) |
| Brute-force protection | ✓ Built-in | Plugin |
| Multi-user roles | ✓ RBAC + custom roles | ✓ 5 roles |
| Extensibility | ||
| Custom editor types (plugins) | ✓ Plugin API | ✓ Block API (React) |
| Module / addon system | ✓ Modules + Plugins | ✓ Plugins |
| Template / theme system | ✓ HTML packages | ✓ PHP themes |
| REST API (public) | × Internal only | ✓ Full API |
| Ready ecosystem size | Small (growing) | ✓ 60,000+ plugins |
How fast can a developer build new features? Comparison of actual development effort for common tasks.
Real-world effort for a mid-level developer. ICM Mini assumes building from scratch; WordPress assumes finding and configuring existing plugins OR custom development.
| Task | ICM Mini | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Editor Plugins / Blocks | ||
| Custom editor type (e.g. pricing cards, marquee) |
4–8 h 3 files: PHP + bridge JS + editor JS |
16–40 h React block + PHP render + build setup |
| New template / theme (homepage + inner pages) |
4–8 h Plain HTML + data-editor-* attributes |
24–80 h PHP templates, functions.php, block patterns |
| New admin page / section (e.g. analytics dashboard) |
2–4 h 1 JS module + 1 API endpoint |
4–12 h add_menu_page + settings API + nonce |
| Major Features (build from scratch) | ||
| Blog system (posts, categories, drafts) |
0 h — module included CLI install, categories, i18n, templates |
0 h — built-in Core feature since v1.0 |
| E-commerce (basic) (products, cart, checkout) |
80–160 h Module: payments, cart, order management |
4–8 h (WooCommerce) Install + configure + theme tweaks |
| User roles & permissions (multi-user access) |
0 h — built-in RBAC: custom roles, granular permissions, brute-force protection |
0 h — built-in 5 roles out of the box |
| REST API (public) (headless / mobile app) |
8–16 h New controller layer + auth tokens |
0 h — built-in Full REST API included |
| Day-to-Day Dev Tasks | ||
| Add new API endpoint (CRUD for a new entity) |
1–2 h 1 PHP file, require bootstrap |
2–4 h register_rest_route + permissions + schema |
| Convert HTML to template (from Figma / design) |
2–4 h Add data-editor-* attrs to HTML, done |
8–24 h Convert to PHP, template hierarchy, loops |
| Add a form with notifications (email + Telegram + webhook) |
0.5 h data-editor-form + configure in admin |
2–4 h CF7 + Flamingo + Telegram Bot plugin |
| Deploy to production (upload & go live) |
5 min FTP upload or git pull, no build |
30–60 min DB export/import, search-replace URLs, plugins |
| Add multilingual page (new language version) |
2 min Create page in admin, select lang |
1–2 h + WPML license Install WPML, configure, translate |
Templates, plugins, admin pages, API endpoints — all built with plain PHP + vanilla JS. No bundlers, no React, no build step. A developer who knows HTML/CSS/JS/PHP can be productive in under 1 hour. The entire codebase fits in your head.
When a plugin already exists for your need — WordPress wins massively: install → configure → done. But custom dev requires learning hooks, React (Gutenberg), build tools, and navigating 500K lines of core. The ramp-up is weeks, not hours.
Ratings across 12 key dimensions on a scale of 1–10.
Different tools for different jobs. Here's the honest breakdown.