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WriteFreely VS Anchor CMS

Compare WriteFreely VS Anchor CMS and see what are their differences

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WriteFreely logo WriteFreely

Write Freely is free and open source software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.

Anchor CMS logo Anchor CMS

Free and lightweight blogging system
  • WriteFreely Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-13
  • Anchor CMS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-18

WriteFreely features and specs

  • Open Source
    WriteFreely is open source, allowing users to inspect, modify, and contribute to the code. This fosters transparency and community-driven improvements.
  • Privacy-Focused
    The platform places a high emphasis on user privacy, with features that avoid tracking and unnecessary data collection, providing a more secure writing environment.
  • Minimalistic Interface
    WriteFreely offers a clean, distraction-free interface, enabling writers to focus on their content without unnecessary frills.
  • Federated
    WriteFreely supports the ActivityPub protocol, which allows integration with other federated platforms like Mastodon, broadening reach and interaction.
  • Self-Hosting Option
    Users have the option to self-host their WriteFreely instance, providing greater control over their data and customization.

Possible disadvantages of WriteFreely

  • Limited Features
    The focus on minimalism means that WriteFreely lacks some of the more advanced features found in other blogging platforms, such as built-in SEO tools or extensive plugin ecosystems.
  • Technical Skills Required for Self-Hosting
    Self-hosting WriteFreely requires a reasonable level of technical knowledge, which could be a barrier for users without sysadmin skills.
  • Customization Constraints
    The simplicity of the platform can be a downside for users seeking advanced customization options for their blogs’ look and feel.
  • Limited User Support
    Being a smaller, community-driven project, WriteFreely may not offer the extensive customer support that larger, commercial platforms provide.

Anchor CMS features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Anchor CMS is known for its minimalistic approach, which means it has a smaller footprint and requires fewer server resources.
  • Markdown Support
    Content in Anchor CMS can be written using Markdown, providing a simpler and faster way to format text compared to traditional WYSIWYG editors.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, Anchor CMS allows developers to contribute to its development and customize the CMS according to their requirements.
  • Simple Interface
    The user interface is clean and straightforward, making it easy to navigate and use, even for beginners.
  • Customization
    Anchor CMS offers good customization capabilities, allowing users to create and manage different types of content with ease.
  • Developer-Friendly
    Due to its simple structure and clear codebase, Anchor CMS is easy for developers to extend and integrate with other systems.

Possible disadvantages of Anchor CMS

  • Limited Features
    Compared to other, more robust CMS platforms, Anchor CMS lacks many advanced features and plugins.
  • Small Community
    Anchor CMS has a relatively smaller community, which can make finding support and resources more challenging.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    The development and release cycle for updates and new features tend to be slower compared to more popular CMS platforms.
  • No Built-In SEO Tools
    Anchor CMS does not come with built-in SEO tools, which means additional effort is required to optimize content for search engines.
  • Limited Themes and Plugins
    The ecosystem of available themes and plugins is limited, offering fewer choices for customization and extending functionality.

Analysis of WriteFreely

Overall verdict

  • Overall, WriteFreely is a good option for individuals seeking a lightweight, privacy-focused writing platform. Its open-source nature and community-driven development add to its appeal.

Why this product is good

  • WriteFreely is a well-regarded platform due to its simplicity, open-source nature, and focus on privacy. It allows users to publish text-based content without distractions, making it suitable for writers who prefer a minimalist interface. Additionally, its decentralized approach aligns with the values of users who prioritize data ownership and privacy.

Recommended for

  • Writers who prefer distraction-free environments
  • Users who value open-source software and privacy
  • Individuals or groups looking to host their own blogging platform
  • Fans of minimalist design and functionality

Analysis of Anchor CMS

Overall verdict

  • Anchor CMS is a good option for those who seek a simple, efficient, and customizable CMS without the bloat of more complex systems. It suits users who prioritize performance and simplicity over an extensive feature set.

Why this product is good

  • Anchor CMS is a lightweight and simple content management system designed for users who prefer a minimalist approach to website creation and content management. Its streamlined design focuses on providing a user-friendly interface, making it easy to set up and manage content. Being open-source, it allows developers to modify and customize the platform as needed, and it's known for its fast performance due to its minimalistic framework. Additionally, Anchor CMS supports Markdown, enabling users to write content in a format that's easy to read and edit.

Recommended for

  • Bloggers looking for a clean and easy-to-use platform.
  • Developers who want a lightweight, customizable CMS.
  • Users who prefer using Markdown for content creation.
  • Website owners who prioritize speed and simplicity over advanced features.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to WriteFreely and Anchor CMS)

WriteFreely

Anchor CMS

Blogging
54 54%
Blogging
46% 46
CMS
36 36%
CMS
64% 64
Blogging Platform
46 46%
Blogging Platform
54% 54
Social Networks
100 100%
Social Networks
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare WriteFreely and Anchor CMS

WriteFreely Reviews

  1. Kristina Ponting
    · home at Homewife ·
    I love this:)

    It is siple to use, the words are the center:)

25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
WriteFreely is designed for writing, with little distraction and an easy-to-use interface. It’s free to use and can be edited on any browser, which makes it very versatile.
Source: forgefusion.io

Anchor CMS Reviews

We have no reviews of Anchor CMS yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, WriteFreely seems to be a lot more popular than Anchor CMS. While we know about 35 links to WriteFreely, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Anchor CMS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

WriteFreely mentions (35)

  • The Home Server Journey - 6: Your New Blogging Career
    When looking for something more dynamic, I initially though about using Plume, since it's easy to integrate with some applications I plan to deploy later, but unfortunately it's not well maintained anymore. As Ghost or Wordpress seem overkill, I ended up opting for the conveniences of WriteFreely: it lets me create and edit posts in-place, with Markdown support and no need to upload new files. However, that comes... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Why I'm leaving Medium: AI policy
    From the top of my head: https://ghost.org/ https://writefreely.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • One of the greatest user interface disasters in history
    Mastodon is a microblogging service, so not meant for large bodies of text. This is why the text entry box is small, the columns are somewhat narrow (especially in deck mode) etc. Platforms like https://writefreely.org/ , which are designed to be for blogging and long-form writing, are the place to write this. Write Freely federates so one can follow accounts and interact with posts via Mastodon etc. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Which platform for occasional blog posts?
    An alternative to Plume is WriteFreely, which is a pretty clean & simple experience. Just don't expect to much regarding customization. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • ActivityPub server that can run on Docker with external db?
    And since you've mentioned you want to write a blog, take a look at WriteFreely: https://writefreely.org/. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

Anchor CMS mentions (2)

  • No input file specified
    I'm running Anchor CMS and I just upgraded to version 0.8. When I try and run the installer I get a 'No input file specified' error. I believe it's more than likely a .htaccess problem but I'm not sure what the correct settings should be. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Suitable platform for an art gallery
    Nothing wrong with using WP as the platform for this. Alternatively you could try ClassicPress, Ghost or even Anchor. Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing WriteFreely and Anchor CMS, you can also consider the following products

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

ClassicPress - The WordPress fork. No Gutenberg. Great future!

Tumblr - A feature rich and free blog hosting platform offering professional and fully customizable templates, bookmarklets, photos, mobile apps, and social network integration.

Sitecake - Drag and drop CMS for HTML websites. It's flat file CMS so it's pretty fast.

Medium - Welcome to Medium, a place to read, write, and interact with the stories that matter most to you.

Textpattern - Textpattern is an elegant content management system that is free, open source software.

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