Which CMS and why?

[bensd]

Joomla? Droopal? Xoops? Custom?

Which CMS do you use and why?

-Ben

 

[BFTUK]

Tough question, really depends on what i'm doing.

I've used Joomla, but not that impressed with its SEO capabilities and has a couple of deadly SEO disadvantages.

I like the look of Drupal but have yet to use it for a major project.

I use Wordpress alot as its so damn easy to setup, configure and use.

I also have a 'custom' cms that i use for most of my mini sites, easy to install (a couple of clicks) and simple to churn out pages.

 

[Jeewhizz]

CMS Made Simple - www.cmsmadesimple.org
Expression Engine - www.expressionengine.com

I haven't used EE yet, but will do for my next project

 

[fred]

We've used drupal for a few client sites. It takes a bit of getting your head round the way it works, but once you've got it sussed, it's very good.

 

[Lemon Jelly]

I like Wordpress but I don't like to have so many sites that look like blogs. I have been playing with Joomla and I like it quite a lot and has an army of followers, tons of addons and you can get some really sweet themes, although for good ones you gotta pay.

I think Joomla is best suited for sites with lots of content though, your best off trying any listed in this thread to see which you like the best.

I'm gonna give CMS Made Simple ago, looks alright.

 

[Lemon Jelly]

Just found this, looks nice. http://www.easysitemaker.net

 

[retired_member12]

^ McAfee gave me a strong warning to avoid this site, something on it attempted to make system changes to McAfee's own test PCs.

Best avoided by all i think!

 

[Lemon Jelly]

DoubleTap, I searched for it in Google and I got an unsafe warning as well but I entered the site any way.

 

[storebuilder]

Depends what you want to achieve. Most cases you are better off with HTML.

 

[eetc]

What about ForestBlog and ForestSite? I incorporated ForestBlog in to my eetc site, thus, in just an hour or so. They are not very exciting templates but you can integrate your template with ease. I have played with ForestSite too but don't have a live example to point you to, it was eaqually easy to configure. I found them as I was looking for something in ASP so if you like ASP these may be good for you.

eetc

 

[bensd]

Depends what you want to achieve. Most cases you are better off with HTML.

Why?

<filler>

 

[businessdata]

I have used a few cms; the one that is most feature-rich is TYPO3.

- and it is free Open Source

can develop your own features using its own script language or integrate your own php or mysql if you want to get clever.

We have a couple of sites running happily on it (7,000 page and 15,000 page). Only thing is don't use their integrated AWstats feature, better to put in your own ie Google Analytics.

 

[storebuilder]

Why?

<filler>

There are several reasons why you need to look at what the end goal is before choosing a cms.

Firstly if you choose something like joomla it can take you a long time to figure out exactly how the menu system works for starters. It's really not straightforward and can take you a few days of learning how to add a menu, add a component to a menu and display the frontpage as a menu item etc.

Then you need to know whether you want to create static pages, news pages, learn how the categories/sections work and spend some time finding a workable template.

That's the first issue - compared to a straightforward CMS or blog like wordpress, joomla is a pretty steep learning curve for a one off site.

Secondly, some CMS can do some tasks much better than others. For instance if you wanted to build a recruitment agency then a cms with a recruitment agency module available either through GNU GPL or commercial is going to save you weeks of development.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the more popular CMS like joomla get hacked on a regular basis via sql injection and you need to keep up with the patches. Once you've patched your site with the latest version then you usually break any other installed components that don't keep up.

That's why it's important to define what you want to achieve first and then find the best solution to fit.

 

[Admin]

I have used a few cms; the one that is most feature-rich is TYPO3.

- and it is free Open Source

can develop your own features using its own script language or integrate your own php or mysql if you want to get clever.

We have a couple of sites running happily on it (7,000 page and 15,000 page). Only thing is don't use their integrated AWstats feature, better to put in your own ie Google Analytics.

Ive tried Typo3 and it is powerful yes, but it is not for the faint hearted, the scripting is very complex (even to do something like a menu) and most of the documentation / forums are either in german or French.

If you are a developer than its great but for me the whole point of a CMS is to make things easier.

 

[bensd]

There are several reasons why you need to look at what the end goal is before choosing a cms.

Firstly if you choose something like joomla it can take you a long time to figure out exactly how the menu system works for starters. It's really not straightforward and can take you a few days of learning how to add a menu, add a component to a menu and display the frontpage as a menu item etc.

Then you need to know whether you want to create static pages, news pages, learn how the categories/sections work and spend some time finding a workable template.

That's the first issue - compared to a straightforward CMS or blog like wordpress, joomla is a pretty steep learning curve for a one off site.

Secondly, some CMS can do some tasks much better than others. For instance if you wanted to build a recruitment agency then a cms with a recruitment agency module available either through GNU GPL or commercial is going to save you weeks of development.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the more popular CMS like joomla get hacked on a regular basis via sql injection and you need to keep up with the patches. Once you've patched your site with the latest version then you usually break any other installed components that don't keep up.

That's why it's important to define what you want to achieve first and then find the best solution to fit.

Thanks for your detailed reply, thats really helpful.

Ive tried Typo3 and it is powerful yes, but it is not for the faint hearted, the scripting is very complex (even to do something like a menu) and most of the documentation / forums are either in german or French.

If you are a developer than its great but for me the whole point of a CMS is to make things easier.

Which CMS have you used?

 

[tifosi]

If you want a really simple one for adsense based mini-sites try snews. Also some good templates with it and enough bespoke mods. Very light & simple.

solucija
sNews main site

S

 

[businessdata]

Ive tried Typo3 and it is powerful yes, but it is not for the faint hearted, the scripting is very complex (even to do something like a menu) and most of the documentation / forums are either in german or French.

If you are a developer than its great but for me the whole point of a CMS is to make things easier.

That's a fair point, and I agree with you. Takes a long time to get very familiar with typo3 and in hindsight would not recommend it to anyone without a basic programming ability, despite what the documentation says.

However, for those with large, scalable site aspirations and time on their hands, this cms will achieve whatever you want in the long run. Once you have it set up, you can drop in news, forums, polls, ads, content pieces and code snippets wherever you like in the tree structure of the web site.

Although it took a long time to create the first site, we saved a huge amount of time when when it came to updating and revamping the site. It is also very easy to port your development to new Typo3 sites.

 

[bensd]

CMS Made Simple - www.cmsmadesimple.org

I have just started buidling a site with this one! Would definitely recommend.

Not a huge learning curve - very easy to add/amend templates and pages.

-Ben

 

[Brassneck]

Wordpress for me as it is so simple to use and seems to have loads of useful plugins which are very easy to install - even I have managed it.

I've also got a few joomla sites running, but it is an order of magnitude more difficult.

Stephen.

 

[meinthecorner]

Here's another one http://www.monkeycms.com/ it powers www.cdtimes.co.uk and www.dvdtimes.co.uk