Conent Management Systems...

I've been doing web-developement for quite a while now.  I've seen it evolve from one thing to another, from one technology to another.  I've also seen MANY different browsers.  I've tried them all, and there's a lot to be said of how modern browsers work with modern sites.

Recently I was asked to put together a site for a friend.  I decided that I wouldn't code the site, as there are several excellent content management systems out there - free none-the-less.

Back in the day, we used to wite our own in-house content management systems for internal sales-marketing-support departments to easily add, and remove content from the site.  When I first started to investigate some of the projects out there, I became fanatical about choosing a solution that could quickly and easily be implemented.  I was able to wittle down to a few.  MORE recently, with the amount of web-design I've been asked to do, I narrowed the list down even further.

The three I'm commenting on are Word Press (I know not exactly a CMS), Joomla, and Drupal.  The main reason I've chosen these three is that they are the projects that seem most likely to be around in the distant future.  They have quite a following, and supposedly are easy to use.  There are several "take-offs" from these, but they are "take-offs."\





1. Word Press

Wordpress is by far the most simple, easy to understand interface.  Some may argue that it's not comparible to the other two because it doesn't serve the same purpose.  I'm looking at it from a usability stand point; how well it is written, how easy it is to manage content, how easy it is to put content on the web, the operability of the interface, etc..

I've been using WP for a couple of years now, and I must say that it's a terrific application.  There's quite a following behind WP; a following I might say has some of the most talented designers out there.  It's almost as easy to customize as a windows application, and anybody can add images to a post, add modules to enhance functionality, and get their opinions online while feeling like serious web developers.  I long for an application similar to WP, that accomplishes some of the tasks the other two do.

2. Joomla

Joomla is a very well written application, that can be incorporated by small businesses, with very little effort.  It is a bit rough around the edges (from a usability standpoint), but still is written very well.  There are "Modules" that you can add to the application to make it more flexible, but if all you're looking for a website that's online quickly, Joomla is a good solution.

Part of what makes it "rough around the edges" is the complexity of understanding the interface.  They do their best to answer questions you may have along the way, but in order to become a power-user, you need to know a little about web-developement.  Sure you can work your way around, but to use an example, if you wanted to add an image to your article, you need a basic understanding of directory structure, and filesystems on a web-server.  The same applies to links of any type - if you want to link to another article from the article you're composing, there isn't an elegant way of adding the link.  In my perfect world, there's an application that makes it as easy as WP, but is as powerful as Joomla.

3. Drupal

The biggest reason I chose Drupal is because it is beloved by most web-developers.  Drupal is a very good application, and it's fast.  If you'd like to have content installed, with an application that's easy to customize, Drupal is a great choice.  My most recent project I used Drupal, becuase of the ability it gave me to have a site up very quickly.

I have several hang-ups with Drupal (I know, a controversial statement).  The most obvious hang-ups I have with the application are the following:

1.  There isn't an easy way (on the surface) to add images to articles.  Sure I know it's easy to add the reference to the article, but you have to enable the html tags in the application.  I'm looking for a way my mother could post an article if she has a quilting business; I don't want her to have to learn any code.

2.  If I want to extend the functionality of the application - which is much needed by the way, I have to install add-ons.  One may argue, how is that different than the other applications, well the difference is huge.  Try to find WHICH module to use if you want to customize the appearance of your article...  It's impossible to locate the correct module, and there are several that do the same thing.  If you had an expert setup Drupal for you to use as a company, maybe the story would be different, but then isn't the purpose of having a content management system defeated?

3.  Documentation is abysmal!  In order to find out how to easily embed images into the interface, I had to look all over Drupal's site.  After installing several, I finally found the plugin I needed.
Sorry, but Drupal looses big time in my book.  Sure it works well, but I don't want to have to be an expert to use it.  As far as I could tell, it was difficult to complete some of the most basic tasks (I know that some tasks aren't Basic by nature, but I'm referring to the end result).


Summary:

Word press is fun to use simple, and easy to figure out.  Joomla is quite a bit more complex, but the end result can be good.  Drupal is basic, but complex.  If you want nothing more than an extremely basic site, use Drupal.