Advice on which CMS to use?

Storm · 15-03-2009, 10:04 PM

Dear all, I am looking into designing a new website that will be based around updatable content as its main use, however I also want it to be able to have a store, forum, chat room etc... so in principle, an information portal that has the functionality to build a strong community. Currently I am looking into using Drupal? Alternative suggestions are welcome...

**monaghan** · 16-03-2009, 08:15 AM

Joomla (www.joomla.org) is a very popular and powerful CMS, has a wealth of open source and commercial plugins for just about every requirement.

***Brian Turner*** · 16-03-2009, 01:01 PM

Drupal certainly tries to build it all in, but could be quite a learning curve if you're looking to do it all yourself, though.

MH-Andy · 21-03-2009, 05:18 PM

Joomla is good, if you have a high budget use "Interspire Website Publisher" - its very clean and easy to use.

A4D · 26-03-2009, 09:03 PM

light weight easy to use and loved by search engines

wordpress

and yes, it can be used as a CMS

lin robinson · 27-03-2009, 04:11 AM

Agreed. I examined about four of these and built two sites with Joomla. One was for a client: I chose Joomla instead of straight html because I thought it would be easier for her to update, etc. It drove her nuts and she begged me to rewrite the site so she could just learn where to copy and plug in html code.

Since then I have been using blogs. I did a few with Nucleus, which I like, but ran into stuff that required more goodies and sprung for learning wordpress.

That's where it's at. It IS a CMS. Get the right template for you needs, tweak it to your taste, shop for plug-ins and widgets, and you're on your way.

Another problem with both Joomla and Nucleus is that all the tutorial, including the forum advice, assumes a pretty high level of knowledge not so much of tech, but of the systems themselves. So you end up having to scurry around learning stuff in order to learn how to do stuff.

Wordpress is the most user friendly way to present php content that I've seen.

It first saw it recommended on this site and agree completely. You could have it up and running and be adding content before you even figure out what the hell Joomla and Drupal and Nuke are talking about.

MarkD · 27-03-2009, 12:47 PM

I would work out what I want to do with the site, then see which CMS can offer the best "off the shelf" solutions. Also, work out which CMS you have the skills to work with or think you can pick up. Then pick the one that best fits the above.

***Brian Turner*** · 27-03-2009, 10:47 PM

Personally I'm a big fan of Wordpress as a CMS - it does most everything you need on a basic level, and is far simply to use and admin than Joomla.

While Joomla does offer more features, as does Drupal, the problem as I see it is a CMS trying to be a jack of all trades and master of none. This is not least regarding forums, which are heavily targeted by hackers and spammers, and vbulletin is built to stand up to this, plus much more feature rich than any forum module on a CMS.

2c.

A4D · 28-03-2009, 07:46 AM

you can integrate Drupal with vbulletin via vBdrupal

it is an outstanding integration and gives you the best of both

ps.. the only hassle for some is there is a lag in updating to drupal 6 and development can often seem slow but it does happen

lin robinson · 29-03-2009, 08:58 PM

I'm surprised to hear you say Joomla has more features than Wordpress, Brian. My impression was that there's an ever-growing wealth of widgets, plug-ins and other development for WordPress and that Joomla is pretty static. And a complicated pain in the neck to add content.
How many steps required to add an image to a post or article? Whoa.

It's too restrictive, I guess I'd say. There's one way to do things and it can involved four different menus.

15-03-2009, 10:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
Storm Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1	Advice on which CMS to use? Dear all, I am looking into designing a new website that will be based around updatable content as its main use, however I also want it to be able to have a store, forum, chat room etc... so in principle, an information portal that has the functionality to build a strong community. Currently I am looking into using Drupal? Alternative suggestions are welcome...

16-03-2009, 08:15 AM	#2 (permalink)
monaghan Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 549	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? Joomla (www.joomla.org) is a very popular and powerful CMS, has a wealth of open source and commercial plugins for just about every requirement. __________________ Alex Monaghan - Monaghan Consultants Ltd IT & Database consultancy Become Legal - Some thoughts about legal software TVR Cars for sale Dancing on Ice - Samantha Mumba

16-03-2009, 01:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
*Brian Turner* Business Guru Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Near Inverness, Highlands, Scotland Posts: 7,892	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? Drupal certainly tries to build it all in, but could be quite a learning curve if you're looking to do it all yourself, though. __________________ SEO specialist

21-03-2009, 05:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
MH-Andy Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 12	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? Joomla is good, if you have a high budget use "Interspire Website Publisher" - its very clean and easy to use.

26-03-2009, 09:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
A4D Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Internet Posts: 19	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? light weight easy to use and loved by search engines wordpress and yes, it can be used as a CMS

27-03-2009, 04:11 AM	#6 (permalink)
lin robinson Throbbing Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mexico Posts: 320	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? Agreed. I examined about four of these and built two sites with Joomla. One was for a client: I chose Joomla instead of straight html because I thought it would be easier for her to update, etc. It drove her nuts and she begged me to rewrite the site so she could just learn where to copy and plug in html code. Since then I have been using blogs. I did a few with Nucleus, which I like, but ran into stuff that required more goodies and sprung for learning wordpress. That's where it's at. It IS a CMS. Get the right template for you needs, tweak it to your taste, shop for plug-ins and widgets, and you're on your way. Another problem with both Joomla and Nucleus is that all the tutorial, including the forum advice, assumes a pretty high level of knowledge not so much of tech, but of the systems themselves. So you end up having to scurry around learning stuff in order to learn how to do stuff. Wordpress is the most user friendly way to present php content that I've seen. It first saw it recommended on this site and agree completely. You could have it up and running and be adding content before you even figure out what the hell Joomla and Drupal and Nuke are talking about. __________________ MEXICAN SLANG 101

27-03-2009, 12:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
MarkD Commercial Finance Broker Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 69	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? I would work out what I want to do with the site, then see which CMS can offer the best "off the shelf" solutions. Also, work out which CMS you have the skills to work with or think you can pick up. Then pick the one that best fits the above. __________________ Mark Commercial Finance Broker including Equipment Leasing

27-03-2009, 10:47 PM	#8 (permalink)
*Brian Turner* Business Guru Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Near Inverness, Highlands, Scotland Posts: 7,892	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? Personally I'm a big fan of Wordpress as a CMS - it does most everything you need on a basic level, and is far simply to use and admin than Joomla. While Joomla does offer more features, as does Drupal, the problem as I see it is a CMS trying to be a jack of all trades and master of none. This is not least regarding forums, which are heavily targeted by hackers and spammers, and vbulletin is built to stand up to this, plus much more feature rich than any forum module on a CMS. 2c. __________________ SEO specialist

28-03-2009, 07:46 AM	#9 (permalink)
A4D Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Internet Posts: 19	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? you can integrate Drupal with vbulletin via vBdrupal it is an outstanding integration and gives you the best of both ps.. the only hassle for some is there is a lag in updating to drupal 6 and development can often seem slow but it does happen

29-03-2009, 08:58 PM	#10 (permalink)
lin robinson Throbbing Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mexico Posts: 320	Re: Advice on which CMS to use? I'm surprised to hear you say Joomla has more features than Wordpress, Brian. My impression was that there's an ever-growing wealth of widgets, plug-ins and other development for WordPress and that Joomla is pretty static. And a complicated pain in the neck to add content. How many steps required to add an image to a post or article? Whoa. It's too restrictive, I guess I'd say. There's one way to do things and it can involved four different menus. __________________ MEXICAN SLANG 101

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