ZENTONThe foundation for web products
Build less from scratch. Build more of what matters.
Zenton CMS is a platform for building and running content-managed websites. You start on a foundation real projects have already built and hardened, so your time goes into the part that makes your product yours.
Zenton CMS 1.9.1 1 In production now
01What is Zenton
One product. One foundation underneath.
Zenton CMS stands on a single foundation, built and hardened by real projects — so the choice you make today never boxes you in.
What you get with Zenton CMS
Zenton CMS
Create a website without rebuilding everything behind it. Pages, content, media, menus and an admin to run them — installed on your hosting, yours to keep.
Corporate sites, content and media projects, landing pages, documentation, a fast prototype that still has to look finished.
Start with Zenton CMS02The foundation
Don't rebuild what already exists
Every web product needs the same plumbing before it can do anything unique. With Zenton that plumbing is already built, tested and running in production — it's your starting point, not your first six months.
This is what ships in Zenton CMS right now. The roadmap below covers what the ecosystem is adding next.
- 01Accounts, sign-in and Google login — not a login form you write again
- 02Content, pages and a media library, with an admin to run them
- 03A database schema that's yours, with forward-only migrations
- 04Blocks, packages and modules — reusable units you add to any project
- 05CSRF protection, validation and safe forms by default
- 06Multi-language from the start — every project speaks more than one
- 07One-file install: upload install.php, open it, done — no Git, no Composer
- 08A connection to the Zenton ecosystem when you want it — never required to run
03Build your product
Your idea, on a foundation that's already done
Your product is your unique logic plus the Zenton foundation. You bring the part that matters; the rest is already there.
From an empty directory to a running project in minutes
Download one file, upload it to an empty directory on your hosting, and open it in a browser. No Git, no Composer, no account required.
- 01Download install.php
- 02Upload it to an empty site directory
- 03Open install.php in your browser
- 04Follow the installer
04Built through real products
Real products already run on Zenton
Zenton isn't designed in a vacuum. Independent products use it in production today — each on a current stable release, none carrying a private fork of the framework.
05The compounding part
Every real project makes the next one faster
When a real product hits a problem worth solving once, the solution goes back into the release — not into a plugin folder. The next project starts with it already in place.
- 01 Real project
- 02 A problem worth solving once
- 03 Fixed in the release
- 04 Next project starts ahead
It's the reason the foundation is worth more this year than last.
06Where your project runs
On your infrastructure — not ours
Zenton is not a hosting service your sites have to live inside. Your project runs on your own hosting and database. Zenton stays connected around it — identity, services, updates — as a layer you can add and remove, not a place your site is trapped.
- Your own hosting and your own database
- Your data stays on your infrastructure — content never leaves it
- No mandatory account to build, run or keep running
- If zenton.org is unreachable, your site keeps serving its visitors
Connecting to the Zenton ecosystem is always optional and always reversible.
07After launch
Then the ecosystem starts working for you
Your product is live on your own hosting. From here the Zenton ecosystem adds ways to understand it, protect it and improve it — connected to your running project, on your terms.
Zenton gives you the foundation. The ecosystem gives you what comes after launch.
Ask your product what's going on
The direction Zenton is building toward: an assistant that understands your project well enough to work on it.
- Understand
- Inspect
- Analyze
- Plan
- Change
- Verify
Not available yet — it's on the roadmap below. Shown here so you know where this is going.
Installation tracking is live today. Everything else here is the direction the ecosystem is being built in — nothing is billed before it ships.
08What it costs
Free to build. Pay when the ecosystem creates value for you.
Zenton CMS is a complete product — free, self-hosted, permanent. Not a trial, no license server, no "pay or it stops". You pay only when you choose an ecosystem service that does real work for you.
Build, run and keep running Zenton — on your own hosting, forever.
Analytics, backups, AI, automation, integrations, CDN — add the ones you want.
You pay for the services you turn on — for convenience and intelligence, never to unlock what you already built.
Service pricing is still being set — there's no final price list yet. Self-hosted stays free either way.
09Roadmap
Where Zenton is going
Grouped by what's real today and what's next. Nothing here is sold before it ships.
- Projects Register a Zenton CMS deployment as a Zenton Cloud project you own. Available
- Installations Connect a running product installation to its Zenton Cloud project and see its state. Available
- Licensing Issue and manage licenses for Zenton products from a central control plane. Coming next
- Entitlements Grant capabilities to an installation based on its license and subscription. Planned
- Releases & Updates Publish CMS release metadata and drive in-place updates. Planned
- Zenton Leads Capture leads from any Zenton site or app and route them to CRM, webhook, Telegram or email. Planned
- Marketplace Distribute packages, blocks and application modules across Zenton products. Planned
- Analytics Traffic, SEO, advertising, leads and orders read as one picture instead of separate reports. Planned
- Recommendations Turns analysis into concrete next steps for your project — not just another dashboard. Planned
- AI Consultant Ask what is happening with your project and what to improve — a consultant that understands its content, traffic and configuration. Planned
- Built for AI agents A structured protocol (MCP) for AI agents such as Claude or Codex to inspect and operate a Zenton project under your control. Planned
10FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is Zenton?
A platform for building and running content-managed websites. Zenton CMS is free and self-hosted; the Zenton ecosystem adds optional services around a running project.
I already have a working site — why switch?
You probably should not rush. But if your current site costs you money every month in plugins, fixes and "can you just…" requests, that cost is the architecture, not bad luck. Zenton is worth a look when the stack you maintain is bigger than the product it delivers.
Do I have to migrate everything at once?
No. Start a new project, or one section of one, on Zenton and leave the rest where it is. Nothing about Zenton requires a big-bang migration.
Is Zenton free?
Yes. Zenton CMS is free to download, install and run on your own hosting, with no license server and no usage limits. An account is entirely optional.
Do I need a Zenton account?
No. Installing through zenton.org does not create a runtime dependency on zenton.org — once installed, your CMS site runs entirely standalone.
Where does my site physically run?
On your hosting, in your database. Zenton Cloud never becomes the place your site lives — it is a control and services layer that connects to a project running on your own infrastructure.
What happens if the Zenton ecosystem is unavailable?
Your CMS installation keeps running. It does not depend on zenton.org to serve its own visitors — only an installation you have explicitly connected talks to Zenton Cloud, and only for account, licensing and installation management, never for your site's own traffic.
What does connecting to the ecosystem add?
An account layer above your installations, and — as they roll out — analytics, backups, AI assistance, automation and integrations around your running project. Installation tracking is live today; the rest is on the roadmap above and nothing is sold before it ships.
Can I start without an account?
Yes. Downloading and running the installer needs no account or sign-in — you only create one if and when you want to connect an installation to the ecosystem.
Can I disconnect from the ecosystem later?
Yes, any time. It sits on top of a standalone product, not inside it — your CMS installation keeps running unchanged.
Is Zenton suitable for production?
Yes. It already runs in production on the current stable release, with its own automated test suite and zero framework forks.
Build less from scratch.
Free, self-hosted, running in minutes. The ecosystem is there when you want it.
Zenton CMS 1.9.1 1 In production now