The best CMS for a news website is the one your team can run and your editors can use under deadline. Check that it supports drafts, review before publishing, scheduling and a news sitemap. Ghost, Drupal, Wagtail and WordPress each document different answers, so shortlist by workflow, stack and who maintains the server.
Word & Press is an independent publication. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to WordPress, the WordPress Foundation or Automattic. This profile describes the open-source WordPress software as a third party.
A news website has different demands from a brochure site. Articles go out several times a day, more than one person touches each story, and search engines expect fresh pages to be easy to find. The CMS has to make that routine, not heroic.
This guide gives a method for choosing, then four open-source systems measured against it. It rests on vendor and Google documentation. We have not installed any of these systems, so nothing here is a test result.
What does a news website need from a CMS?
Six things matter more than the rest:
- Roles that separate writing from publishing. A trainee should be able to file a story without being able to put it live.
- Review before publication. Somebody senior approves the story, ideally inside the CMS rather than by email.
- Scheduling. Embargoed and timed stories need to go out without a person at the keyboard.
- Search markup. At minimum an XML sitemap and sensible metadata. Many publishers also want a news sitemap and Article markup.
- A stack you can maintain. Updates, backups and security fixes are your job if you self-host.
- A way out. Clean exports and stable URLs keep a later migration affordable.
Our features checklist turns these into questions you can put to any vendor, and how to trial a CMS covers what to test before committing.
What does Google ask of a news publisher’s CMS?
Google documents two news-specific pieces. The first is the news sitemap. Its documentation says a news sitemap can hold up to 1,000 news:news tags and should only include articles created in the last two days. Four elements are required: news:news, news:publication (with name and language), news:publication_date and news:title.
The second is Article structured data. Google says there is no markup requirement to be eligible for Google News features like Top stories. It supports the schema.org types Article, NewsArticle and BlogPosting, and it lists author, datePublished, dateModified, headline and image among the recommended properties. No property is required.
So the practical test is modest. Your CMS should write accurate dates and authors into its markup, and you should know whether it, or an extension, produces a news sitemap. None of the vendor pages we read for this guide said whether the system generates a news sitemap, so ask before you rely on it.
How do the four options compare on editorial workflow?
| Ghost | Drupal | Wagtail | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write without publishing | Contributor role | Roles and Content Moderation | Users without publish permission | Contributor role |
| Review step | Editors manage authors and contributors | Workflow states and transitions | Submit for moderation | Submit for Review, pending status |
| Scheduling | See the Ghost profile | Not covered here | Not covered here | Future status |
| Custom workflow states | Not covered here | Yes, through Workflows | Not covered here | Custom statuses need code |
| Sitemap | Automatic XML sitemap | Not covered here | Not covered here | See the WordPress profile |
“Not covered here” means we did not read a source for it today, not that the feature is absent.
When does Ghost suit a news site?
Ghost documents five roles. A Contributor can log in and write posts but cannot publish, an Author can create and publish new posts and tags, and an Editor can invite, manage and edit authors and contributors. Administrators have full permissions, and the Owner holds billing access.
Its SEO help page says Ghost automatically creates and updates an XML sitemap, includes structured data in all posts and pages, and adds canonical tags. That covers the basics without extra software. It does not mention a news sitemap. The trade-off is a small, fixed role model, which suits a small desk better than a large one. See the Ghost profile.
When does Drupal suit a news site?
Drupal’s Content Moderation documentation describes a published version that stays live while a separate working copy is reviewed. States and transitions define who can move a story from one stage to the next. When Drupal is installed with the standard profile, a default Editorial workflow is created with Draft, Published and Archived states.
That is the closest of the four to a configurable newsroom process, and it costs development effort to set up and maintain. See WordPress vs Drupal and the Drupal profile.
When does Wagtail suit a news site?
Wagtail documents page permissions for add, edit and publish. Users who lack publish authority must submit their changes for moderation, so the person who writes a story need not be the person who releases it.
Wagtail is a Python and Django system, so it suits teams with developers already in that world and less so a desk that wants to install a theme and start. See the Wagtail profile and Wagtail vs Drupal.
When does WordPress suit a news site?
WordPress’s roles documentation describes an Editor who can publish and manage the posts of other users, an Author who can publish their own posts, and a Contributor who can write but not publish. Users who can edit but not publish see a Submit for Review button, and the story takes the pending status until someone with publishing rights acts. A future status covers scheduled posts.
That is a simple three-step flow out of the box. Anything more elaborate, such as a custom status that shows in the admin screens, takes code or extensions, and the post status documentation notes that registering a custom status does not add it to the administration screens. See the WordPress profile and how plugins work.
Which should you choose?
- A small desk that earns from readers and wants a lean stack: Ghost.
- A newsroom with defined review stages and developers to build them: Drupal.
- Developers who work in Python: Wagtail.
- A team that wants a familiar editor and the widest extension choice, and can vet extensions: WordPress.
- Nobody to maintain a server: compare hosted plans before you compare features, starting with the cost guide.
For a shortlist focused on hosting and licences, read the self-hosted guide. For page layouts, see news site design patterns. If you later outgrow your choice, the migration guide covers moving without losing search traffic.
Questions people ask
What is the best CMS for a news website?
There is no single best one. A news site needs fast publishing, review before publication, scheduling and clean search markup. Ghost, Drupal, Wagtail and WordPress all document some of these, but we have not installed any of them. Shortlist on your workflow and your developers' skills.
Does a news website need a news sitemap?
Google documents news sitemaps for publishers, with limits of 1,000 news tags and articles from the last two days. Google also says Article markup is not required to be eligible for features like Top stories. Check whether your CMS or an extension produces a news sitemap.
Which CMS has an approval workflow for journalists?
Drupal's Content Moderation module uses states and transitions, with a default Editorial workflow. WordPress has a Submit for Review step and a pending status. Wagtail makes users without publish permission submit changes for moderation. Ghost's Contributor role can write but not publish.
Should a news site use a headless CMS?
Only if you have developers to build and run a separate front end. A headless set-up gives freedom over presentation but removes the ready-made theme. Our [headless guide](/headless/choose-headless-cms-for-publishers/) sets out the trade-offs.
Can I change CMS later without losing search traffic?
Yes, if you plan redirects and test them before launch. Google documents site moves, and our [migration guide](/guides/migrate-news-site-between-cms/) covers the steps for a news site.
Sources
- Google's news sitemap documentation says a news sitemap can contain up to 1,000 news:news tags, and that you should only include recent URLs for articles created in the last two days. — source, checked 19 October 2026.
- Google's Article structured data documentation says there is no markup requirement to be eligible for Google News features like Top stories, supports the schema.org types Article, NewsArticle and BlogPosting, and says there are no required properties. — source, checked 19 October 2026.
- Google's Article structured data documentation lists author, datePublished, dateModified, headline and image among its recommended properties. — source, checked 19 October 2026.
- Ghost's staff documentation says Contributors can log in and write posts but cannot publish, Authors can create and publish new posts and tags, Editors can invite, manage and edit authors and contributors, Administrators have full permissions to edit all data and settings, and the Owner is an administrative account that cannot be removed and has access to billing information. — source, checked 19 October 2026.
- Ghost's SEO help page says Ghost automatically creates and updates an XML sitemap, automatically includes structured data in all posts and pages, and adds canonical tags. — source, checked 19 October 2026.
- Drupal's Content Moderation documentation says it allows a published version that is live with a separate working copy undergoing review, using workflows of states and transitions; the default Editorial workflow, with Draft, Published and Archived states, is created when Drupal is installed with the standard profile. — source, checked 19 October 2026.
- Wagtail's permissions documentation describes page permissions for add, edit and publish, and says users without publish authority must submit their changes for moderation. — source, checked 19 October 2026.
- WordPress's roles documentation describes an Editor as somebody who can publish and manage posts including the posts of other users, an Author as somebody who can publish and manage their own posts, and a Contributor as somebody who can write and manage their own posts but not publish them. — source, checked 19 October 2026.
- WordPress's post status documentation says users with the edit_posts capability but not publish_posts see a Submit for Review button instead of Publish, which sets the pending status; it also lists a future status for posts scheduled to be published at a future date, and says registering a custom post status with register_post_status() does not add it to the Administration Screen. — source, checked 19 October 2026.