[wvbdmp]

ProcessWire is great and it’s the perfect example for the OP’s main criterion “can be downloaded, dropped onto a server, and you’ll have a website”! One great thing about it is that that’s also how you update it. Download new version, replace a single directory on the server, and you’ll have the new version.

For a WordPress alternative, however, ProcessWire is perhaps not batteries-included enough. Like many of the systems in this thread, it caters more to developers who want full control over their site. For someone who just needs a blog with maybe a contact form and wants to choose a nice “template” and be done with it, ProcessWire isn’t a good fit. While it has “site profiles”, it’s lacking a lot of traction in that area, as well as a consumer-oriented marketplace that’s nice to browse (screenshots, curation etc.).

But for anyone who wants to build something more complex, it’s a great choice. Cozy little community, too.