You can rest assured that there are at least over a thousand different content management systems available, and 90% of them are probably written in PHP! You wouldn’t think that many people are focusing on Node.js as a language for developing functional web software, but looks like there is ‘plenty’ of support for such cases.

Node.js has enabled us to do many things that perhaps were not possible before, not only is it changing the way we utilize JavaScript; there are so many cool frameworks available, both for large sites and also minimal ones. You can learn Node.js at any time by reading any of the free books that I posted a little while ago.

In its own way, Node.js changed the way we perceive real-time development, but that is not to say that there aren’t many community oriented issues around this language. You still hear PHP developers crying at Node.js, and vice versa. The continuous involvment of high-end developers and companies with Node.js, has led to many cool things being built, a simple search engine is now a thing of the past.

You’re about to learn about three popular content management systems that have been built with Node.js, and while they’re not restricted to be used by anyone; prepare yourself for all the installation and configuration if you’d like to try out any of these CMS’s. Should you know of more, please add them in the comments, as I’d love to populate this list even further.

1. KeystoneJS

Keystone is the easiest way to build database-driven websites, applications and APIs in Node.js. Keystone will automatically allow you to configure Express.js, and give you access to MongoDB – through Mongoose – in just a few seconds! You’ll enjoy the Keystone’s Admin UI, which will end up saving you tons of time, and make data management a thing of the past.

Readable code (asynchronous), secure processing of forms, encrypt your data through effective session management, and even email management features that will transform the way you build websites. Read more about Keystone on its website, check out the demo and the reviews that other developers have sent it. It’s built on top of Bootstrap, and jQuery – so it’s definitely simple in the way it looks, but the styling options are endless.

2. Calipso

Calipso is a simple content management system, built along similar themes to Drupal and WordPress, that is designed to be fast, flexible and simple. I have to say that Calipso is very minimal, so it would probably best appeal to sites that don’t plan on having a lot of media content being published on them. You can, of course, do whatever you like, but take a look at the examples on the Calipso site before you make any moves.

Calipso uses a modular approach to delivering the functions you would expect from a CMS. All core features, excluding bootstrapping, theming and forms are provided by modules (and these may well be factored out into modules at some point in the future). Read on for information on how to see the current modules, and more importantly, create your own!

3. Apostrophe

Apostrophe is an open source CMS designed for maximum flexibility with a minimal learning curve. Yes, that’s exactly what we want, we want minimal learning curve so that we may focus on building things, rather than focus on having to learn a new programming language. Apostrophe will appeal to business owners, startups, even those who’re looking to build a community website.

I can’t say that the community forums for Apostrophe is very active, but nonetheless this content management system is perfect for learning more about how Node.js works, and also how the web is reacting to such systems. There’s a great tutorial and how-to section to immerse yourself in.

Content Management Systems Built With Node.js

I hope you enjoyed this small, but concise roundup of CMS’s built with Node. I’m hoping to explore KeystoneJS a little bit more, as it looked to be the most mature out of all three, but if you know of any other content systems that were not in this post, please suggest them in comments so that I may take a look and perhaps add here.