The world of Content Management Systems is definitely an awkward place to be in, However, I don't think that the notion "The CMS Is Broken" is really justified

The world of Content Management Systems is definitely an awkward place to be in, However, I don't think that the notion "The CMS Is Broken" is really justified. I think the first major problem with CMS' is that people expect them to be the end all be-all solution to their site and content needs. Clients expect them to be an intuitive cheap publishing platform that will magically format, organize and display an endless array of content and content types, while developers expect them to be fast, easy to extend, scaleable, lightweight and fit a theoretical "goldilocks zone" of adhering to conventions but still being flexible. To fix the client problem, clients need to understand software does not create good content for you. Content needs to be curated and software is there to help with the heavy lifting. Instead of forking out X amount of money on software, spend half that and spend the remaining half on writers, photographers and people to make your content great. As for the software/development problem, each specific case can require a different platform. Just like one specific programming language is only one tool in the box, one CMS follows the same pattern. Educate yourself about all your tools and explain the pros/cons to the client before making a decision, but in the end, isn't that what were being paid to do? Sorry if my comment is a little more about the business side of things and not necessarily about the CMS itself, but I feel its a pretty important point on this issue