WordPress vs. Cascade CMS: A Perspective From a Higher Ed Agency That Has Worked With Both

WordPress and Cascade are both content management systems (CMS) that power higher education, government and institutional websites. As an agency we have been using both platforms for more than a decade and have built dozens of websites with each CMS. This is a quick primer on when to choose one over the other. But first a little background on each.

Originally designed as an open-source DIY blogging platform for everyone, WordPress, has matured into an open-source website development CMS platform. It has a user-friendly interface and a vast ecosystem of themes and plugins, allowing users to customize design and functionality without extensive coding. It supports SEO, mobile responsiveness, and content publishing out of the box.

Cascade is a powerful commercial-grade, enterprise CMS backed by Hannon Hill corporation’s solid customer support. It is easier to use for large content teams without technical chops.

For the benefit of a recent client team, we created a comparison matrix between the two CMS systems.

In a nutshell, we recommend using WordPress when a university needs a flexible, user-friendly platform for managing content-rich sites like blogs, department pages, or marketing microsites — especially when customization, frequent updates, and ease of use for non-technical staff are priorities. We recommend opting for Hannon Hill Cascade when the university requires enterprise-level governance, multi-site management, structured workflows, and robust content reuse across departments and campuses — ideal for large, decentralized institutions with complex publishing needs and IT oversight.

Elliance builds websites and offers comprehensive support for both WordPress and Cascade CMS systems.

If you are seeking web development agency for your next website project, please see our work and consider partnering with us.