Coranto Hosting: Compare Hosting

What is Coranto Hosting?

Coranto is an open-source content management system (CMS) known for being simple and flexible. Its versatility comes from the allowance of numerous add-ons, which offer the expansion of Coranto’s core functionality.

While Coranto is no longer being actively developed, it is still available for download and some web hosts continue to offer it as a free site builder because of its easy setup and user-friendly interface. If you do choose to create your site with Coranto, keep in mind that you won’t receive much in the way of support, and since it hasn’t been updated in many years, there may be security vulnerabilities to consider.

Since the late 1990s, content management systems have provided a way to publish, maintain, and modify Web content. As a central interface, a CMS facilitates workflow management as well as collaboration. Site owners and administrators can use a CMS such as Coranto for the creation of blogs, websites, and e-commerce locations, often enjoying the fact that the system requires little to no manual coding.

Despite its simplicity, Coranto is just as useful for creating a large, high-traffic news site as it is a small, personal blog. Because the CMS exists in a browser-based environment, users can easitly make updates when needed from any location.

Written in the Perl programming language and with Server Side Includes (SSI) commands, Coranto runs on just about any server. The add-ons for Coranto provide a number of customization features, though not as many as you will find with a more modern CMS. Among the more popular features are forum integration, banner rotation, a What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor, search functions, and MySQL support.

All of Coranto’s files are developed and stored at, and released from, Sourceforge. You may download the latest (and earlier) versions of the software for free directly from the Coranto website. The size and basic nature of the program should make it easy to secure a hosting provider, but be sure to check with potential hosts for compatibility info before signing up if you intend to build and manage your sites with Coranto.

Should You Use Coranto?

There are some definite benefits to Coranto, particularly if you’re new to website management. The software is free to install and use, so there’s no harm in downloading it and trying it out. The user interface is one of the easiest you can find, and the WYSIWYG editor means you don’t have to know any code to create your website. If you’re accustomed to the drag-and-drop world of Office and Google Docs, and would prefer to avoid html at all costs, this will feel very comfortable (if a little outdated). Because it takes up barely any space on your server, you can start with a budget or free web hosting plan and minimize your initial investment.

However, the web has changed considerably since Coranto’s last release, so don’t expect a cutting edge web experience. Or even close. If you’re looking for innovation, modern themes, Web 2.0 integration, or just a site that looks like it wasn’t created a decade ago, there are a number of better alternatives. Coranto’s support forums are inactive, so if you run into an issue, you’ll likely have to troll through several-year-old posts for a solution, if there’s even one available. And while Coranto’s appeal rests in its small-size and add-on capabilities, space isn’t the issue it used to be, and you’ll find a much broader selection of add-ons with newer CMS applications.

In its day, Coranto offered something unique — a small, free, customizable web hosting solution — but that’s not a small niche anymore. If you’re looking for something that will keep pace with the changing demands of your business, it won’t be hard to find a solution that is just as simple and offers much more in terms of customization, add-ons, and support.

Alternative Solutions

While Coranto may have been one of the most flexible CMS applications available, the lack of regular updates has left it trailing to other open source CMS solutions. Unless you’re obsessed with that “classic” web look, you might want to give one of these alternatives a try.

WordPress is the biggest name in CMS right now. Why? Because it’s relatively easy to setup, free, and highly customizable. When Coranto was still in vogue, WordPress was primarily used to add a blog to your existing site, but that has all changed. WordPress still provides one of the best blogging experiences around, but it’s now a full-function CMS platform with near-limitless variety of themes, add-ons, and customization, many for free.

Another free solution, Joomla, is particularly useful if you’re looking to incorporate an ecommerce solution into your site. Like WordPress, this is a highly-customizable CMS with more than enough templates and add-ons to suit anyone’s needs. Installation is a little trickier than WordPress, and some degree to technical knowledge is helpful, but there are plenty of support documents to help you along the way.

If support is important and free isn’t a requirement, Movable Type offers a stable, closed-source solution. Designed for scalability, Movable Type allows you to run an unlimited number of blogs and websites under a single installation, as well as unlimited users, all while maintaining fast page loads. It also offers more flexibility in terms of customization, as template files allow multiple programming languages, including Perl, PHP, Ruby, and more. The downside, or course, is you have to pay for it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you’re just looking to build a simple, drag-and-drop website with plenty of templates to choose from, you might be better off finding your preferred web host (or log in to the web host you already have), and see what type of site builder they offer. Most hosting plans include a simple site builder for free and a more advanced option for an additional cost. These typically aren’t as customizable as some other options, but they’re usually very easy to setup and maintain.