[Dizi]

This is a great site that lets you try out some of the free and open source software systems.

http://www.opensourcecms.com/


It should be useful to all of you who are unsure which CMS is the right one for you. It has information, ratings and also lets you go into the admin panels and see what the backends look like and work. So it will save a lot of time as there is no need to download all the different ones to see which one suites your needs as a site has done that for you


EDIT:

Also have a look at www.cmsmatrix.org it lets you compare up to 10 CMS's in great detail- thanks to rjdejong for the link

[Expat629]

Awesome. Thanks, Dizi!

[angstmann]

This looks superb. Many thanks. I am currently at the stage where I don't really know where to start with a CMS! I need to "cut to the chase" sharpish, and hopefully this will help a lot. Many thanks.

[Tony]

Thanks to that website i came in contact with the cms called: MODx

Well.... for me, this is absolute the best open source CMS in the world (for me that is)

[Sunny83]

And I like this one - UcoZ

It is easy to use and there are many modules which allow to create any site you wish.

[J.P]

I have been using open source cms for a while now because it saves installing the program only to find it was nothing like you intended.

[Sono Juventino]

I love Textpattern. I little hard to cusomise, but it's totale worth it.

[Curvball]

This is a great resource, used it a while back.


While it isn't technically a CMS, I love wordpress - I use it for everything

[rjdejong]

www.cmsmatrix.org

In my quest to find the perfect CMS system i sumbled upon this website. It's pretty neat you can pick up to 10 CMS systems and compare them in great detail.

[Dizi]

Thanks rjdejong, I have added it to the first post so that everyone can see it and it won't get lost should more people post in here

[Andysweb]

Great stuff, I have been a dreamweaver only until recently and am looking to develop my content management. I am moving my blog to word press from hosting it on my own site.. great link thanks again dizi

[tigerlabs]

I like Joomla! It is really nice.

[Seth]

Meshach, on May 30 2008, 14:50, said:

I like Joomla! It is really nice.

Wow you can figure out that backend?

I love Wordpress too. I use it just for blogging but it's a great platform.

[BlueIce]

Thanks for the site, very useful

[Pete Fairclough]

Here's another vote for Modx - thanks for the post!

[jlspurling]

movable type for me: http://www.movabletype.org/

[Scott S]

ModX all the way baby!

(oh, and wordpress for the smaller sites)

[bocaj]

Another modx fanboy (:

But i've been curious about joomla, is it worth trying out?

[Seth]

I'm all about Wordpress. I think Drupal is a great CMS I just can't figure it out. Joomla has a horrid Backend UI.

That's IMHO

[jessicas]

My friends are using new free open source cms called Zimplit. They like it because it has on-site editor, so they edit their pages online and also Zimplit allows to use any template from anywhere they want. And who needs can get domain and hosting from Zimplit too. I´m planning to create a website soon too and to do that with Zimplits help

[carthworks]

Typolight is my choice



-TK
http://www.carthworks.com

[Sandroe]

Very good resource!

[Bruce2005]

What CMS is the same as asking what kind of car should I buy lol.

ExpressionEngine has a free core version for those wanting something easier to work with and customize.
The templates are very much like complete web pages where one can add what's wanted where wanted.

Takes a bit to catch on, but once one does it's the most user friendly one.
ee-features
and also:
example index template which shows what I mean about the templates.

[Espark]

This is very helpful. I am drowned of selecting which CMS works best for me.
I will look for the links you've provided.

Salamat (Thank you)

[CAD Web Design]

Anybody use Cutenews PHP?

[jaysquared]

Hey there

I am also a Joomla!® fan.

Thousands of modules and add-ons and many nice premium templates.

[bocaj]

Quote

Anybody use Cutenews PHP?

I've used cutenews in the past, and still do occasionally. It's the kiss solution for me, flexibility is good, but there are some pretty big limitations. For people who only need a simple way to edit and amend text, it's a pretty good solution.

[Vitruvius Web]

Content Management is something I am just starting to think about I know very little so far. What exactly are the benefits as to maintening content by hand? And more importantly what are the disadvantages.

Is there anyone on here who still does there content management without a system? if there is I'd love to here why?

[CAD Web Design]

Vitruvius Web, on Apr 13 2009, 15:27, said:

Content Management is something I am just starting to think about I know very little so far. What exactly are the benefits as to maintening content by hand? And more importantly what are the disadvantages.

Is there anyone on here who still does there content management without a system? if there is I'd love to here why?

I cant imagine why any web designer who understands a CMS would avoid using one. Unless of course you have a site less then lets say...5 pages?

Some CMS's require a lot of time and knowledge to master, whilst there are others you can grasp during the installation process.

To me, if you dont have a system in place you aren't managing content, you're just editing the pages on your root access.

[traxor]

I know it's not really a content-management system, but I enjoy modifying sites for WordPress, as they've got everything down to a fine art, it's simple to modify settings, has great support and a lot of add-ons. As for a content-management system, I've never had the need to use one majorly yet, I had a go at using both Drupal and Joomla to no avail, they were both far too complicated and not worth the hassle, so I just quit with it completely.

[Martin Hyde]

Hi all, my first post.
I really love Expression Engine for CMS projects. Its really flexible and doesn't put any limitations on design. I found when I researched CMS's a couple of years ago, that it was the only one that didn't force you down any design paths. I wanted to be able to design the site however I wanted then use a CMS that worked around it.

The support and documentation available is really good.

I have also started using Wordpress for smaller projects which now is really nice to work with.

I know quite a few people who use Drupal, and heard good reports, but I am pretty much settled on EE and Wordpress.

[minardix]

I have been using JOOMLA for quite some time and consider it manna from the heavens after all
how one could get so much for free in one package,until i came across zimplit.It is a very light weight CMS best suited for non geeks ,who want to create small ,private websites with out having to do any thing with programming.Yes this CMS does not require a database and website could be easily integrated with CMS with out writing a single line of code.

[Electric Studio]

We use either WordPress or ExpressionEngine. Both are great, and the main reason for sometimes opting for EE is the multiple blog feature, better members management and more supported add-ons like the wiki and shopping basket. But for most of our "sub 1000 pages websites", WordPress is more than adequate and is so simple to setup and theme.

Both WordPress and ExpressionEngine are also so much easier for our clients to learn and update if you compare to Drupal/Jomla, which are both dreadful to manage, at least as far as our customers are concerned.

[simianman]

Expression Engine gets a lot of press on this site, but are commercial CMS the best way to go - think one team vs hundreds/thousands of teams working on modules and add ons as is the case with open source.

If you follow the link below you will see that this site's prefered CMS is EE, however, take a closer look at the numerous links to EE on the page and you'll see they all contain the suffix 'index.php?affiliate=wdf" - rather dilutes their praise in my humble opinion!!

http://www.webdesignerforum.co.uk/index.ph...;f=23&id=13

[Britton]

Joomla is the Best

[BlueDreamer]

Britton, on Jun 14 2009, 14:44, said:

Joomla is the Best

Best for what? It would be useful for the original poster if you explained your reasons.

[Scott S]

Britton, on Jun 14 2009, 14:44, said:

Joomla is the Best

...

For turning you prematurely grey, and bald, and causing anger-related breakdowns

[BlueDreamer]

Scott S, on Jun 14 2009, 17:09, said:

For turning you prematurely grey, and bald, and causing anger-related breakdowns

so funny!

[Scott S]

[BlueDreamer]

simianman, on Jun 14 2009, 03:05, said:

Expression Engine gets a lot of press on this site, but are commercial CMS the best way to go - think one team vs hundreds/thousands of teams working on modules and add ons as is the case with open source.

If you follow the link below you will see that this site's prefered CMS is EE, however, take a closer look at the numerous links to EE on the page and you'll see they all contain the suffix 'index.php?affiliate=wdf" - rather dilutes their praise in my humble opinion!!

http://www.webdesignerforum.co.uk/index.ph...;f=23&id=13

The affiliate link belongs to Ben, this site's owner, and any income helps to pay for the sites running costs

As to your question about using commercial CMS's the main point should always be to use the CMS that is most suitable for the project - whether the software is free or costs £1,000 is irrelevant to any professional.

With the one vs thousands of module developers both approaches have pros and cons, but I don't think that argument really stands up since the "right CMS for the job" shouldn't need many (if any) addons since functionality will already be built in.

It might be great to have 1000's of addons available for XYZ free software but that raises several possible issues;

1. Multiple addons that do the same thing
2. Poor quality control
3. Weak security
4. Abandoned projects
5. Infrequent updates
6. No developer support when you're stuck

Conversely, commercial software offers a different set of rules;

1. Most functionality is part of the core CMS negating the need for oodles of addons
2. Stricter quality control (if it's a crap product the developer will go out of business very quickly)
3. Fewer abandoned products since they provide a living for the developer
4. Updates to co-incide with core CMS updates or add new features
5. Developer support provided