Open Source CMS: The 5 Biggest Platform Updates You Missed in Late 2025

The last few weeks of 2025 have been unusually busy for open source content management systems. While the world was distracted by Black Friday deals and AI hype, five major platforms quietly dropped updates that will shape how we build websites in 2026 and beyond.

Here’s everything you need to know.

1. Backdrop CMS 1.32.0 – The Lightweight Drupal Cousin Just Got Smarter

Released: 28 November 2025 Project page: backdropcms.org

Backdrop has always been the “Drupal 7 that never died.” Version 1.32.0 proves it’s still evolving faster than many expected:

• Fully responsive layout system out of the box (no more custom CSS hacks for mobile)
• CKEditor 5 is now the default WYSIWYG (finally goodbye to the aging CKEditor 4)
• New configuration management UI that rivals Drupal 9/10
• Performance: 15–20 % faster page loads on shared hosting (thanks to aggressive caching tweaks)

Who should care? Small agencies and non-profits who love Drupal’s content modeling but hate the complexity and cost of Drupal 10+.

2. Plone 6.1 – The “Most Secure CMS on Earth” Levels Up Again

Released: Mid-November 2025 (official launch campaign still running) Highlight reel: plone.org/6.1

Plone has quietly celebrated 24 years of zero reported remote code execution vulnerabilities. Version 6.1 doubles down on its enterprise credibility:

• New Volley theme (React + Tailwind) that actually looks modern
• Built-in multilingual support without extra add-ons
• Improved Blocks editor (think Gutenberg but for Python lovers)
• Python 3.12 support and 40 % faster startup time in containers

Real-world win: The European Commission and several Fortune-500 intranets are already migrating.

If your compliance officer has nightmares about WordPress vulnerabilities, send them the Plone 6.1 security whitepaper.

3. baserCMS Heads to OSC Osaka 2026 – The Japanese Dark Horse Goes Global

Event date: 31 January 2026 Announcement: basercms.net (Japanese) + growing English documentation

Most Western developers have never heard of baserCMS, yet it powers thousands of corporate sites in Japan. The team just confirmed a major presence at Open Source Conference 2026 Osaka, complete with live demos and an interactive “baserCMS omikuji” fortune booth (yes, really).

What’s new under the hood in the upcoming 5.x series (preview builds circulating):

• Native support for CakePHP 5
• Headless API mode
• Built-in blog, e-commerce, and membership modules that don’t feel like afterthoughts

If you’re looking for a WordPress alternative that’s huge in Asia and surprisingly polished, keep an eye on baserCMS in 2026.

4. Joomla Community Magazine December 2025 Kickoff – Community > Code

Meeting held: 3 December 2025 Watch the recording: joomla.org

While Joomla 5.x is now stable and boring (in the best possible way), the real story is the renewed volunteer momentum. The December JCM planning session broke attendance records, with new contributors from Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Upcoming goodies teased:

• Joomla 5.3 (Q1 2026) will ship with native WebAuthn improvements and better Cascade styling
• New “Joomla for Education” initiative (templates + learning pathways)

Sometimes the health of an open source project isn’t measured in GitHub stars but in how many people show up to a Zoom call on a Tuesday night. Joomla just reminded everyone it’s still very much alive.

5. The One That Ties Everything Together: The Rise of “Fork-and-Evolve” Philosophy

The Backdrop release perfectly illustrates a bigger 2025 trend: successful forks aren’t about drama; they’re about focus.

• Backdrop forked Drupal 7 → stayed lightweight
• ClassicPress forked WordPress 4.9 → rejected the block editor
• Plone keeps evolving without chasing JavaScript framework fashion

In an era where “move fast and break things” often means abandoning existing users, these projects prove there’s still massive value in deliberate, community-first evolution.

Final Thoughts: Which Update Matters to You?

• Need something dead-simple and cheap? → Backdrop 1.32.0
• Building for government or university? → Plone 6.1
• Expanding into the Japanese or Asian market? → Watch baserCMS at OSC Osaka
• Love a vibrant, global community? → Jump into the next Joomla Magazine sprint

2025 is ending with a clear message: open source CMS isn’t dying; it’s maturing. The platforms that respect both new developers and long-time users are the ones still shipping meaningful updates in December.