The Dreaded CMS question...

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infolock
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The Dreaded CMS question...

Post by infolock »

Here is the issue. I am looking for what my fellow php devs consider a rock solid CMS tool.

I have long been one who said "public CMS tools are bloated, poorly written and end up being more headache then they are worth. write your own". I still say that, but unfortunately that isn't flying too well. Instead, I am on the search for the uber CMS tool. I am hoping you, my fellow developers, could share your experiences with such tools.

Currently, I've tried Mambo and php Nuke, both of which were very disappointing. I am aware there are hundreds of others out there, but I was hoping some of you have found *The One*, the uber, the icing on the cake CMS tool that makes you smile when you have to use it.

I need something that has the power of Mambo, but without the headache involved with adding components or modules. Something as simple to install as php-Nuke, but not convoluted and bloated.

Something that will not only be easy to manage, but easy to update. Is such a CMS only a figment of my imagination, or does it exist below the popular ones? Thanks!
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jayshields
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Post by jayshields »

Have you tried Joomla? IIRC it's a very popular fork of Mambo.
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infolock
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Post by infolock »

Not yet. I read up on it a bit and didn't try it out after finding out it was basically Mambo but with a different name. Have you tried it out? Would you say it's a bit more solid than mambo? Any significant differences? Thanks for any input man, i really do appreciate it.
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jayshields
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Post by jayshields »

Sorry, I don't use CMS. The last one I used was PHP-Nuke, and that was about 5 years ago. I just heard from various people that Joomla is usually a good choice.
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

From what I remember about Joomla, it is built/founded by a core group of the original Mambo developers. It is supposed to be different/better/etc, though I cannot say because I have never used any CMS tools.
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infolock
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Post by infolock »

Everah: I couldn't say it better. Joomla actually was/is mambo back in the day.. The devs split off and made their own version, calling it joomla. As for usage of CMS, yep, same here... I have never been a fan of CMS tools when I could write them on my own.. But, ya gotta do what you are told sometimes i guess =\ Let them find out on their own (= hehe
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

Heh, sometimes there is no better teaching than experience. Its all good. If I find one that stands out (soon) I'll post back.
matthijs
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Post by matthijs »

I've read good stories about Expression Engine (php, but not open source). I've had a quick look at Joomla but the admin interface is horrible. I wouldn't dare present that to a client. And then there's Wordpress. It may be not as feature rich as some of the bigger systems out there, but it's flexible enough and if you know a bit of php you can write any plugin you want (if it doesn't exist yet, that is).
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

I'd consider using Wordpress as a CMS. It takes little bit of understanding of the code, but it could do. Throw in the Tiger Style Administration plugin and it looks really sweet.
alvinphp
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Re: The Dreaded CMS question...

Post by alvinphp »

infolock wrote:I have long been one who said "public CMS tools are bloated, poorly written and end up being more headache then they are worth. write your own". I still say that, but unfortunately that isn't flying too well. Instead, I am on the search for the uber CMS tool. I am hoping you, my fellow developers, could share your experiences with such tools.
You seem to be in the same boat as me. A few years ago I would not touch a CMS with a ten foot pole. However, my current responsibilities do not afford me the time to code anymore so I recently started researching CMS solutions. I ended up going with Drupal as I felt it had the most flexibility for those that know PHP. If you wanted something that is already pretty out of the box then Joomla is pretty popular.
toasty2
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Post by toasty2 »

If you need a CMS based around a forum... I am starting to like TinyPortal, its a mod for SMF. It's going to have a photo gallery in a soon upcoming release. It already supports blocks (with permissions and location options), custom pages, and some other stuff that I can't think to name. http://www.tinyportal.net/

Other CMS that are good are Drupal, e107, Joomla, and Wordpress seems to make a good one too.
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Kieran Huggins
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Post by Kieran Huggins »

I've always been drawn towards expression engine - something tells me it's worth a try.

http://expressionengine.com
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patrikG
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Post by patrikG »

As with anything: be very clear about what you want before you start looking. There is no one-size-fits-all CMS. Mambo/Joomla tries to be that, which is it's problem, typo3 and others are geared towards a far more complex set of solutions, eZ is a totally different kettle altogether again.
Each CMS comes with its own limitations so: be very clear about what you require before you start looking.
alvinphp
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Post by alvinphp »

Check this site out, it lists all the major CMS systems out there and a lot of not so major ones. The one cool thing about this site is you get to demo every single one of them.

http://www.opensourcecms.com/
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infolock
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Post by infolock »

Alvin,
Dude that is an awsome link! Thanks alot.

Thanks a lot guys for your input. Some reinforced my arguments, others made valid points. This helps out a lot. To be clear, it was just a CMS for an entire website, not just a portal or a forum. Like, we would throw our own flash controls for the nav on it, and things like that. Mambo did it, but it is very bloated (just as patrikG said). That's why I'm so mad about it. Mambo tried to put it's greasy little hands on everything, and tried to control every single thing through the database. But it was cool because all it took was your own custom xml install file and you could put your own componetns and stuff in it.

All in all, that link was the best. Thanks a lot man!
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