Higher ed websites aren’t just information hubs anymore—they’re part of the student experience. In order to be effective, they must be personalized, responsive at scale, and remain accessible—all while serving as discoverability engines for AI-powered search tools.
In an environment of evolving student expectations, the decision about which Content Management System (CMS) to use is critical.
Whether a higher ed team is building out a brand-new website or reevaluating an existing platform, they eventually face the same question: “Should we use a proprietary CMS built for higher ed, or a free, open-source option?”
Drupal and WordPress are the most common open-source platforms in higher ed. Both can be quick to launch, and staff often already have familiarity with them. As free options, they present a low up-front cost.
For institutions balancing tight budgets with growing expectations, free platforms can appear to be a cost-effective starting point. But conversations with higher ed practitioners who have used open-source CMS platforms at scale—and made the switch—show that underneath the attractive price tag, these options can present major operational hurdles in terms of ease-of-use, security, and brand consistency.
Here are some of the hidden costs of a “free” CMS, along with what practitioners had to say about them:
For open-source solutions, the barrier to entry couldn’t be lower: anyone can download WordPress or Drupal, buy a theme and web hosting, and publish content. But these platforms don’t always scale with an institution. Many rely on plugins and modules to fill the gap between what an open-source CMS provides and what an institution needs.
Plugins and modules proliferate quickly, requiring constant updates to avoid security vulnerabilities and broken functionality. Adding new capabilities to a site becomes a resource-intensive slog, requiring custom coding and developer resources. Often, technical knowledge about a CMS becomes concentrated among a few key individuals, and managing content becomes unwieldy for people without a technical background.
“The site we had done in Drupal was unruly at best,” said Craig Tommola, Web Services Manager at Hope College. “It looked sharp, but content management was not terribly friendly for non-technical folks.”
Niall Adler, Marketing Director at Evergreen Valley College, saw the security risks of open-source CMS firsthand: “When I moved over to Evergreen Valley College, they had gone through a Drupal redesign a few years prior,” he said. “They didn’t take the necessary steps in regard to security when they launched the site. It came home to roost in my second year when we had a huge bot attack. On a Friday, it shut down the site, and we weren’t able to log into the platform.”
By relying on plugins and modules, open-source CMS sites present a wider attack surface. They also place more responsibility on institutions to manage updates, patches, and vulnerabilities.
“Drupal is flexible, but it also has multiple plugins that also require frequent security updates,” said Janet Cowey, Director, Marketing and Web at San Jacinto College. “We had to manage all the patches, security updates, and upgrades, which is a heavy lift for a small web shop.”
With a proprietary CMS built for higher ed, security becomes simpler. Institutions can spend less time managing vulnerabilities and more time on content, accessibility, and improving the digital experience. With dedicated web hosting solutions (such as Modern Campus Hosting), institutions benefit from centralized management and security oversight tailored to higher ed.
Open-source CMS implementations often expand beyond their original scope. What begins as one deployment becomes many, as various departments create their own open-source sites for different use cases.
“Prior to moving to a proprietary CMS, we had a small ‘top-level’ site done in Drupal,” said Tommola. “The rest of the site was the wild west, with hundreds of users having direct server access.”
This decentralized approach creates friction and weakens brand consistency. A proprietary, purpose-built CMS includes features like granular roles, user permissions, and pre-defined assets, allowing institutions to manage decentralized publishing without sacrificing governance or visual identity. It also empowers users to develop and deploy content regardless of technical ability.
"Across campus, the biggest impact since switching was the ability for non-technical users to manage content and build pages from a library of branded, design-constrained elements,” Tommola said. “Based on the ease of user adoption and content management, the institution has been able to sustain all of our web presence with a minimal team of 2-3 people for over ten years.”
Choosing between an open-source and proprietary CMS involves many factors and strong opinions. Like many procurement decisions, it comes down to the total cost of ownership and the particular needs of the institution.
But when considering this decision, it’s important to recognize that “free” isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
Modern Campus CMS is a purpose-built higher ed Content Management System that helps institutions reduce complexity, strengthen governance, and build scalable web experiences.
Connect with our team and explore how Modern Campus CMS can overcome operational friction and deliver an exceptional digital experience to learners.
Last updated: June 18, 2026