Written by
Oana Năslău
, Content Writer Specialist
In our previous article in this series, we explored the bigger picture by breaking down the differences and overlaps between knowledge management and content management. Today, we’ll dive into knowledge base software and content management systems, examining what makes each unique and how they can power your organization’s content. Plus, we’ll share some real-world examples to help you make the right choice.
- What is knowledge base software?
- What is a content management system (CMS)?
- What are the differences between knowledge base software and content management systems?
- Verdict: Do you need a content management solution or a knowledge management solution?
- Streamlining content management with knowledge base software
- Wrapping up
- Before you go...
What is knowledge base software?
Knowledge base software is a powerful tool that allows companies to create, organize, store, and manage a repository of information for easy access. It serves as a centralized hub where users can find answers, guides, documentation, and troubleshooting solutions. It comes equipped with a myriad of intuitive features to streamline collaboration and knowledge sharing, such as search and indexing, access control, or analytics and reporting.
Knowledge base software empowers you to:
- Find solutions without waiting on support.
- Access step-by-step guides, FAQs, and troubleshooting articles.
- Stay aligned with internal policies and updates.
- Share and scale knowledge across teams and departments.
- Make critical information readily available for both current and future employees.
Whether you're improving customer self-service or streamlining internal operations, knowledge base software turns tribal knowledge into structured, accessible insights, so no one has to reinvent the wheel.
Your knowledge base software features checklist
As you plan to either build a knowledge base from scratch or upgrade it to meet your business needs, make sure your knowledge base tool comes with these basic features:
✅ An intuitive search feature. A knowledge base without a search functionality is like a maze with no exit. Make the search experience of your users feel like a breeze. You can do that by choosing a knowledge base tool with a powerful search engine that allows them to retrieve pages and different file formats, using keywords and refining their searches.
✅ A user-friendly interface. Using your knowledge base shouldn’t feel like rocket science. That means a clean layout, easy navigation, and mobile responsiveness so users can find what they need anytime, anywhere.
✅ Migration capabilities. Depending on business needs, you may consider switching tools in the future. Just make sure it’s painless. Choose platforms with no vendor lock-in and easy import-export options.
✅ Customization capabilities. Aim for a knowledge base tool that is flexible, allowing you to create and customize templates and layouts.
✅ Powerful analytics. Knowledge base analytics give you powerful insights into the questions your employees or customers are asking. By understanding what people are searching for, you can uncover knowledge gaps, improve your resources, and make sure the right information is always within reach.
✅ Fine-grained access controls. Permissions capabilities give you full control over who can access what within your knowledge base. You can securely grant or restrict access to sensitive information based on an employee’s role, department, or team.
✅ Multilingual support. As you’re expanding worldwide, multilingual support ensures your knowledge base grows with you.
Popular knowledge base tools
XWiki
XWiki is an open-source, second-generation enterprise wiki and a robust knowledge management platform, featuring extensive customization, collaborative editing, document management, and granular rights management. It helps companies navigate the knowledge chaos by creating, organizing, and sharing knowledge flexibly and effectively.
With enterprise-level features like fine-grained access control, robust security, and extensibility through extensions and hundreds of RESTful APIs, XWiki is a versatile platform for diverse business needs. It can be used for content collaboration or creating collaborative web applications. It supports full customization and is available both as a free version and as a technically supported one, either in the Cloud or on premises.
Some of XWiki's essential features that will answer your needs when choosing your knowledge base software:
✔ Powerful Solr search engine with advanced and precise filtering capabilities
✔ Annotation and comments to enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing
✔ Multilingual support available in 42 languages
✔ Hierarchical structure to organize your knowledge under the form of notes, pages, and sub-wikis
✔ Unlimited version rollback, history tracking, and version comparison
✔ App Within Minutes, for everyone in your team to effortlessly create structured data apps without any technical expertise required
✔ Easy migration from other platforms like Confluence with the Confluence Migrator Toolkit, ensuring a smooth transition and no risk of losing data or user rights
✔ Comprehensive navigation features like search, page index, breadcrumb, URL, or jump to page
✔ Users and groups rights management (by space, page, user groups), to put you in control over who gets access to your knowledge base, whether it’s confidential HR policies, financial data, or internal processes
✔ A collection of templates to streamline your workflows and the option to create your own
✔ Analytics Application (Pro) for unique insights regarding search queries and usage
XWiki’s open-source model means no vendor lock-in and complete freedom to adapt the platform to your needs. If your priorities shift, you can take your data with you, no strings attached.
Confluence
Confluence is a collaborative platform designed to help teams centralize and manage information in one place. It supports various content formats, including tables, cards, and boards, allowing users to organize data in a way that suits their workflow. The platform provides automatic updates to keep users informed of recent changes and includes collaboration tools such as commenting, tagging, and task management. Confluence also integrates with other tools like Jira to support broader team processes and project tracking.
But here comes the downside: Atlassian’s decision to end data centers and push users toward a mandatory cloud migration has left many teams searching for self-hosted alternatives to Confluence. For organizations that prioritize data privacy and security, giving up control to a proprietary cloud platform simply isn't an option. This situation highlights a key risk of proprietary tools: vendor lock-in. When your tech stack is no longer in your hands, your flexibility and your data can be compromised.
Notion
Notion is an all-in-one productivity platform that combines note-taking, task management, database organization, and team collaboration. It’s widely appreciated for its clean, modern interface and extensive customization options.
Despite its strengths, Notion has some limitations that users frequently point out. Many find the platform has a steep learning curve, particularly when trying to set up more complex workflows or databases. The cost can also be a barrier, especially for individual users or small teams who require features that are only available in paid plans. In terms of privacy, there are real concerns about the data collected by Notion and third-party services, which may include content from your notes, IP address, location, and device information. Additionally, while Notion includes some project management capabilities, it lacks certain features such as built-in time tracking, which can be essential for more advanced workflows. Another limitation is related to version history. On the free plan, users can only access and restore page versions from the past 7 days. Notion charges you for extended or unlimited version history.
What is a content management system (CMS)?
A CMS is a robust software application that streamlines website management by offering intuitive tools for publishing, updating, and maintaining a consistent look and feel for all your web pages. It allows you to build and maintain websites without needing deep technical knowledge of coding.
A CMS enables you to:
- Easily publish new content.
- Update existing pages.
- Manage multimedia assets.
- Ensure a consistent design across the entire site with reusable templates and themes.
Your CMS features checklist
✅ Easy-to-use content editor. Creating and updating content shouldn’t feel like coding from scratch. Opt for a CMS that offers a user-friendly editor with drag-and-drop support and rich formatting tools, so anyone on your team can publish content confidently.
✅ Design flexibility. Your website should reflect your brand. Look for a CMS that lets you customize themes, layouts, and styles, whether through visual tools or direct access to HTML/CSS.
✅ SEO-friendly tools. Choose a CMS with built-in SEO features like clean URLs, metadata editing, and sitemap generation to help your content rank higher in search engines.
✅ User roles and permissions. Not everyone needs full access. Fine-grained permission settings ensure the right people can edit, review, or publish content, while keeping sensitive areas secure.
✅ Scalability and extensibility. Make sure your CMS supports plugins, integrations, and custom modules so you can add features as your needs evolve.
✅ Reliable security. Keep your content and users safe. Prioritize content management platforms that offer regular updates, backups, and protection against common vulnerabilities.
✅ Multilingual support. Multilingual capabilities help you deliver a localized experience to users around the world without juggling separate platforms.
Popular content management software
WordPress
WordPress is a very popular, open-source content management system that lets users easily create and manage websites or blogs. Known for its flexibility and ease of use, WordPress powers over 40% of websites worldwide. With thousands of themes and plugins, users can customize their site’s design and functionality without needing to code. There are 2 versions: the self-hosted option that offers full control and customization, and a hosted version with a simpler setup and built-in maintenance.
Drupal
Drupal is an open-source software for content management, built for creating complex, highly customizable websites. It's a popular choice among developers, large organizations, and institutions that require strong security, scalability, and flexibility. It comes with a powerful set of features, including advanced user roles and permissions, multilingual capabilities, and a robust taxonomy system for organizing content. Its modular architecture allows you to expand functionality with thousands of contributed modules and themes.
Joomla!
Joomla! is an open-source software for content management system for building and managing websites and online applications. It comes with strong content management capabilities, multilingual support, and built-in features like user access control, content versioning, and menu management. It also supports thousands of extensions, allowing you to add extra functionalities such as e-commerce, SEO tools, or social media integration.
What are the differences between knowledge base software and content management systems?
For a clearer overview, check out the comparison table below to see how the 2 are different in terms of content type, users, main features, and use cases.
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Verdict: Do you need a content management solution or a knowledge management solution?
While content management systems can be adapted for internal use, such as building intranets, their primary focus remains on managing content throughout its lifecycle. As a result, they may fall short when it comes to advanced features like intelligent search or algorithms designed to surface specific information efficiently.
Knowledge management software, on the other hand, is purpose-built to help organizations capture, organize, and share knowledge. Designed with collaboration in mind, these platforms offer capabilities such as content ownership, version control, usage insights, and granular-access permissions.
If your goal is to publish and manage digital content with some basic collaboration features, a CMS may be the right fit. However, if your organization needs a system that supports deeper knowledge sharing and internal collaboration, knowledge management software is likely the more strategic choice.
Streamlining content management with knowledge base software
Can a knowledge base tool handle content management? Yes, if you pick a smart, scalable one.
We saw this in action with the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (HLS), a multilingual online encyclopedia visited by thousands daily. As their content volume grew and their needs became more complex, they were looking for a platform that could support advanced content workflows, multilingual publishing, and long-term scalability.
That’s where HLS benefited from XWiki's capabilities. With its flexible architecture, strong multilingual support, and integration options (like Jira for workflow management), it proved to be the right fit. The outcome was a smoother editorial process, a better experience for users, and a CMS-level transformation without vendor lock-in.
To go a step further, our XWiki team built a Feedback Form Application that encourages visitors to easily share input, reinforcing a sense of community and continuous improvement.
Wrapping up
Now that you’ve got the details on both knowledge base software and content management systems, it’s time to consider what kind of information you need to manage, then pick 2 or 3 tools to test out. Check if they meet the key features we’ve outlined. And most importantly, avoid at any cost finding yourself (and your company) locked into a tool that makes migration a nightmare. Choose wisely and think long-term.
Before you go...
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