Business Website - Which CMS to use?

[conor22]

Been asked to Project manage a website for a medium sized website. Mainly information based site that will be updated on its various services and provide general information such as contact details and upcoming events

- It will probably need 3 levels of hierarchy
- User feedback such as online polls would be included
- Use of mass produced marketing emails
- I have a designer lined up to produce the template design
- USe of PHP would be desirable

I would consider purchasing a relevant CMS but was considering using opersource CMS systems available to save costs.

Anybody have any advice or reccomendations?

 

[conor22]

Anywhere else I may get some good advice?

Is there an Open Source forum specifically for CMS?

 

[chip_y2kuk]

Hi,

joomla is a pretty popular CMS

but there are loads of open source ones for different projects and purposes

have a look at

http://php.opensourcecms.com/

joe

 

[Dawg]

You'll maybe get an answer if you wait more than 10 minutes.
CMS, opensource:

Wordpress
Joomla
Drupal
and many, many more.

Then, funnily enough, if you Google 'open source cms forum' you get Open Source CMS
Spooky.

 

[conor22]

cheers Joe, been told a bit about Joomla

I have used some CMS's before and this would be my first project managing the actual design and implementaion of one

Have also been told to possible get some Vietnamese designers to sort out the programming of the site but I'm guessing due to the size of the project I should be able to sort this out for myself

 

[conor22]

the business is a very reputable company, i was hoping to base it on something like the hendersons group (belfast) website

they want it professional and not over the top, was thinking of getting a 'off-the-shelve' CMS solution if possible that would allow me to implement the designers work and obviously I would place content into it etc

 

[conor22]

Is wordpress easy enough to use? I would have around a week or two to get my head around whichever software would be best to use. I would like to implement using a free software so I can in the future possibly do more projects such as this

 

[chip_y2kuk]

Yeah joomla is pretty popular because it has lots of modules and theme's readily available.

there is a large community of people who actively develop and support it.

www.joomla.org (i think is the official website)

there is also Drupal (which is where the developers of joomla originally started)

joe

 

[chip_y2kuk]

Wordpress is pretty easy to use however it's designed as a blogging solution. this means to make it look like a professional website you need to modify lots of code (so i'm told) i've had a play with wordpress for blogging.

joe

 

[Dawg]

Wordpress is easy to use, there are loads of themes/templates (both free and paid for), and plugins for added utilities.

It could easily cope with a site the size of Hendersons; (it does large sites like Number 10 Downing Street and and all the New York Times blogs).

Some people prefer Joomla as they think, probably rightly, that as it was primarily designed as a CMS rather than a blogging platform, like Wordpress, it is better suited for non blogging sites.

In my limited and unknowledgeable experience Drupal is for people saving up for their Golden Geek badges. A bit more hardcore, but probably very good if you are far enough up that particular food chain.

 

[conor22]

the easier and less confusing, the better

Joomla may be the best idea. I'm considering getting 'foreign' cheap programmers to develop the CMS as an option, if organisation agrees this as a possibility

 

[ocStevenJ]

Hi

We make ocPortal CMS so i am a little biased but as CMS go it has a very favourable amount of installed features as standard compared to the other CMS mentioned. In addition if you do need help the original developers are contactable to give help, at a commercial rate of course. Its very secure and very accessibility compliant too.

visit ocPortal dot com for more information

Please feel free to get in touch with me and see if we can help you further

 

[onesixtyfourth]

You need to seriously consider Drupal for your needs. It is a very good mature CMS with lots of modules adding function.

 

[edmondscommerce]

I would go for Drupal or if simplicity is a primary requirement then Wordpress

I definitely wouldn't get one "custom made" by some offshore programmers - pointelss and highly unlikely to produce something that is even close to the quality of those two packges

 

[JoomGuru]

If your not familiar with CMS infrastructure go with joomla, It can handle the highest level of professional solutions and is easier on the first timer than Drupal. Tesco's are building their sites in Joomla so its definitely got the cojones for most applications.

Get in touch with me if you want advice on best apps, I will be happy to advise.

 

[mobyme]

In my limited and unknowledgeable experience Drupal is for people saving up for their Golden Geek badges.

Ouch! I guess I know what you mean but it really is the best solution if you are looking for something for free. Joomla is a nightmare to SEO and Wordpress needs to be hacked to death to come up with something that plays well with any form of e-commerce unless youi want a site of two halves.
The trouble with hacking is that updating to fix any potential security issues etc can mean a lot of additional work.
Thanks for the chuckle though; at least I now know why the lads call me the "Silver Geek".

 

[ocStevenJ]

I really would like you to try ocPortal, its very very SEO friendly and accessible and has loads of features without needing third party mods, We would like your input as well as someone who knows Drupal/Joomla well.

We compare very well on things like CMS Matrix but struggle because of the viscous circle of Joomla, Wordpress and Drupal getting all the media coverage.

 

[JoomGuru]

I really would like you to try ocPortal, its very very SEO friendly and accessible and has loads of features without needing third party mods, We would like your input as well as someone who knows Drupal/Joomla well.

We compare very well on things like CMS Matrix but struggle because of the viscous circle of Joomla, Wordpress and Drupal getting all the media coverage.

I am happy to look at this and make a comparison against 5 years of working with Joomla. I'm always looking for different ways of doing the same thing and if I can find a fit for my customers then I will definitely consider it.

I will report back.

 

[ocStevenJ]

Thank you and I look forward to your thoughts