Cascade CMS vs. Elementor

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cascade CMS
Score 5.4 out of 10
N/A
Cascade CMS (formerly Cascade Server) by Hannon Hill is a content management system, with built-in tools to help users eliminate stale content, increase digital outreach, and promote end-user adoption and accountability. Cascade CMS is designed for decentralized web teams in most major industries, including higher education, government, healthcare, and technology. Included is Clive, an engagement and real-time personalization tool for collecting information and using it to craft personalized…N/A
Elementor
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Elementor is a Wordpress page builder and creative toolkit featuring a drag and drop live editor, 100+ widgets, and tools to landing pages and popups.
$11.99
per month
Pricing
Cascade CMSElementor
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Lite
$11.99
per month
Basic
$14.99
per month
Business
$24.99
per month
Grow
$32.99
per month
Expert
$149.00
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cascade CMSElementor
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPrices reflect deployment via WordPress. Options are also available for use with WooCommerce. A discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cascade CMSElementor
Features
Cascade CMSElementor
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
8.0
Ratings
1% below category average
Elementor
7.0
Ratings
14% below category average
Role-based user permissions8.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
7.1
Ratings
7% below category average
Elementor
3.0
Ratings
87% below category average
API7.00 Ratings4.00 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language7.30 Ratings2.00 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
7.1
Ratings
8% below category average
Elementor
7.9
Ratings
2% above category average
WYSIWYG editor6.10 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness6.00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Admin section8.00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Page templates9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Library of website themes5.50 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design7.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Publishing workflow9.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Form generator6.40 Ratings4.00 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Cascade CMS
6.9
Ratings
6% below category average
Elementor
6.2
Ratings
17% below category average
Content taxonomy8.00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
SEO support7.00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Bulk management9.00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Availability / breadth of extensions6.00 Ratings6.20 Ratings
Community / comment management4.80 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cascade CMSElementor
Small Businesses
ManageWP
ManageWP
Score 10.0 out of 10
ManageWP
ManageWP
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cascade CMSElementor
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
6.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
2.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
6.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cascade CMSElementor
Likelihood to Recommend
Cascade Server is well suited with it's WYSIWYG editor being better than most editors that I have used in other systems. In context, editing makes adding content easy compared to the last CMS I used where you had to wing it and view the page outside of the CMS to see if it was correct. The ability mix HTML, CSS, and the Script of your choice anywhere and with ease.
The scenarios were Cascade Server is less appropriate would be in the use of compilers or programs like Visual studio. You need to go out of Cascade Server and go to other environments to perform tasks and then copy the result to Cascade Server. You can write directly in Cascade Server, but it's easier to do in and editor that is specific to a function.
Read full review
I would recommend this for the ease of use and price. It is a good value for any website developer or designer to be able to create multiple websites a year with super simple coding. If you've got a way to speed up your website without using WP Rocket, then it's even better! I think this software is specifically made for someone with a coding background and would recommend that you have a background with Wordpress to make using this software even easier
Read full review
Pros
  • Very easy-to-use. I trained over 200 users, and never once heard someone say that it was difficult to figure out. People generally left the training excited to get started managing their content.
  • Technology independent. We were able to put any language into it that our customers required: .NET, classic ASP, PHP, static HTML.
  • Customer Support. The Hannon Hill team was truly amazing when it came to helping their customers, including us. They always went above and beyond to fix issues, help customers figure out complex methods for using Cascade Server, and general support.
  • Annual User's Conference. This was a great event that brought Cascade Server enthusiasts together, and the entire Hannon Hill staff was present and available for customers to talk 1-on-1 with.
Read full review
  • Theme builder (header, footer, site parts)
  • Forms, with options for what to do with form submissions after they've been submitted (email, collect , push to EMS)
  • Easy to use widgets for things that would otherwise need coding manually (sliders, carousels, flip boxes etc.)
  • Pre-built templates
  • Dynamic conditions for content display
Read full review
Cons
  • Not much that I can add here, except that as a non-programmer, it can be a bit overwhelming to understand all the options and capabilities of the system. We have programmers who have been able to do almost anything we need with the system, but I can't understand it!
Read full review
  • Could definitely use an AI bot for ad-hoc customer queries
  • Very limited Wdgets available in free version - If you have complex pages, go pro
  • Ensure robust internet speed (50 MBPS bare minimum) to be able to operate it. Below 8 GB RAM is not advised
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Changing systems would require too much effort. Our institution is using Cascade Server, WordPress and Drupal but we only serve 2200 students so we have 1 too many content management systems. Reflecting on current technical resources we would like to drop down to 2. This effort hasn't moved forward because of the extensive work required to migrate content and train users in a new system.
Read full review
Elementor is critical to our ongoing success and providing our clients with world-class websites
Read full review
Usability
Cascade CMS is completely usable on mobile devices, we can train our content editors in a single 2-hour session, and we support 1,000 users with a very small team.
There is a level of complexity for the system administrators, site managers and web programmers who implement templates and content types. But the complexity is neither arbitrary nor inconsistent – and once learned provides a powerful environment within which we can develop robust sites that are beautiful and powerful, yet easy for our content editors to manage.
Read full review
Elementor is one of those website builders that is really easy to get started with. The drag and drop features make it easy to create attractive and creative webpages for even the non-website designer. Some of the features available are not easy to find or easy to discover when you first start using Elementor. Practice makes perfect.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Amazing customer service and VERY customizable.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Performance
Does a great job.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
They have always regarded any question or problem we encountered as very important. We have never felt that they ignore or downplay any issue and not once has anything been left unresolved. They also hold an annual conference where users are invited to attend and share their experiences and wisdom with the entire Cascade community. And with the care and support the provide, we all feel a part of that community.
Read full review
There support is slow and at times can be frustrating and this is why many prefer to air out their frustrations within the Facebook group community. I tend to give up as when I'm working on something and something goes wrong I need the help straight away. I do not have the patience to wait anymore.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Training was helpful.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Still needed that physical help
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
The key to any CMS implementation is PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. Proper planning with Cascade can increase your satisfaction exponentially once the site migration/creation is complete. When all is said and done, your implementation can make your site run like a Yugo or Maserati. Be smart and deliberate in your decisions. Drive the Maserati. It is already paid for.
Read full review
The business team has to stick to its core competencies - Our key turning point occured when we delegated webpage design challenges to a tech. firm with specific mandates (including a certain degree of internal control). Once the initial go-live was completed, the agency trained us on internalizing ad-hoc and tactical change work
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Cascade CMS focuses on managing content and gives you the tools to display this content any way that is needed. While it may lack some features/extensions found in other popular platforms, the user management, workflow and template engine are the best you can get.
Read full review
Compared to other providers, Elementor can be easy to use and learn, allowing you to build professional websites in a fraction of the time it takes to build websites with other sites. The AI feature can help non-tech people to easily understand and build a website that is SEO and Google search compliant.
Read full review
Scalability
I used it only a few times.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Initially, ROI was positive - because we completely redesigned the website when we implemented Cascade.
  • Over time, the inability to keep up with the latest interactive tools has reduced visitors time on site.
  • Also over time, the difficulty of use has led to less buy-in by backend users, leading to outdated pages, little timely information, and lower visitors.
Read full review
  • Our sales have really grown over the past five years of using Elementor. We went from fulfilling less than five orders a month to now 10-15 per months. And we are a small bulk food store with a small audience.
  • We have been able to add plug ins along with Elementor to customize our products, store, and pages.
  • We haven't done as much with SEO and Elementor. I feel like this is one area that we could probably do better.
Read full review
ScreenShots