ExSite Webware manages website applications, content, users, databases, input and output, and security. It does this in a way that allows any number of domains, sites, applications, databases, and users to share the same system.

ExSite is a Content Management System (CMS) which includes CMS tools and plug-ins. The CMS tools are web-based applications. There are numerous different CMS applications you can install into ExSite, so there is no one single "CMS" interface in ExSite. There are simplified CMS applications for casual users, and advanced ones for professionals, and various specialized ones for dealing with specific types of content (such as photos). ExSite allows for the installation of other web applications for doing things other than content management, for example, report generation, e-commerce transactions, e-mail accounts, and membership management.

ExSite Webware is LAMP-compatible, meaning it runs on industry-standard Linux-Apache-MySQL-Perl web servers. It is also used on OS-X, Unix, and Windows IIS servers. ExSite is dual-licensed; a fully supported commercial version can be licensed from Exware Solutions, and a GPL version is available for free download.

ExSite functions as an Operating System. Like a conventional operating system, it has a user interface, a kernel that provides basic system services, utility programs for administering the system, and an API that allows 3rd-party applications to run on it.

ExSite uses an extensible plug-in architecture to allow the incorporation of new features and services. Because it is built on standard open web technologies, it is compatible with a variety of database and high-performance solutions. Its templating and layout system allows for freedom of design and the free placing of elements.