Member Avatar for patk570

Besides Wordpress and Joomla, are there any other free CRM or CRM like sites out there? I am looking to get away from Joomla and I am not a big fan of Wordpress anymore. Was wondering if yall knew of any others out there?

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Quick practical summary (for anyone landing here later): separating the public site from the business backend usually fixes the “clunky admin / constant plugin updates” problem people hit with Joomla/WordPress. Several members on this thread suggested moving to a dedicated CRM rather than stretching a CMS into one — that remains the fastest, most secure route for a business-grade backbone. As and hinted, pick a CRM that fits your data model and test it on a staging server before ripping out the live site. (smashingmagazine.com)

Free, actively maintained self-hosted CRMs worth testing (short notes):

  • SuiteCRM — enterprise-ready, forked to stay open-source and extensible. (suitecrm.com)
  • EspoCRM — lightweight, modern SPA with a clear REST API and Docker install options. (espocrm.com)
  • ERPNext — full ERP that includes a solid CRM module if you need inventory/invoicing alongside sales. (erpnext.com)
  • Odoo (Community) — modular approach letting you add CRM, website, invoicing as needed. (odoo.com)

If the admin UX was the main gripe, consider a decoupled approach: use an editor-friendly headless/backend-as-admin and let your chosen frontend render the site. That reduces plugin surface and makes integrations (forms → CRM, webhooks, APIs) cleaner; tools like Directus or Strapi can act as the admin/content layer while your CRM handles customer data. (directus.io)

Quick action checklist (apply in order): 1) Spin each candidate in staging (Docker recommended); 2) export current data, do a small import test and map fields; 3) connect forms to CRM via API/webhooks or a middleware (Zapier/Make) for non-dev setups; 4) enforce HTTPS, strong roles, and automated backups; 5) run a short pilot with real users for a week and iterate. For security basics, follow OWASP guidance (keep components patched, limit exposure, monitor logs). (owasp.org)

This gives a practical path from “I hate the Joomla admin” to a maintainable, auditable setup without reintroducing WordPress-style plugin maintenance overhead.

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Member Avatar for Member #120589

You want CRM not CMS right? Or did you?

CRM: https://www.vtiger.com/crm/

CMS: Drupal

Edited by Member #120589
Member Avatar for patk570

haha, yea CRM is what i wanted. I am trying to create a new website for my business, and need a good backbone. RIght now i have Joomla but i need more features and easier navigation in the admin panel...

Member Avatar for pritaeas

vTiger is an old ripoff of SugarCRM.

Member Avatar for bradly.spicer

You could always make your own, there is plenty of tutorials.

If not I would highly suggest moving away from Joomla and to something a bit better.

Member Avatar for Member #120589

Sugar vs vTiger - just one review:

I chose to suggest vt as it's completely free, although sugar does have a free version. I have no preference though - I fiddled a bit (not much - CRM not my thing) with vt, but have never tried sugar.

Member Avatar for patk570

Awesome guys, I was looking for something OTHER then Joomla, I HATE their interface and its so hard to update anything on my current website. I think i might try out sugar and vtiger just to get a feel for each. I really do not want to go back to wordpress for my site, that had so many vulerabilities in and constantly updating everything got tiresome. Thanks again for your help and insight to other available options out there!

P.

Member Avatar for Member #120589

I know this is solved, but I read an article on Concrete5 (a CMS) that allows inline editing of pages. So if the admin interface is the issue, it may be worth a look. Can't recommend it though.

http://www.concrete5.org/

Member Avatar for patk570

Hey guys, So I went with a MOTO CMS site for my main site and then went with VTiger for my backend system.

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