Thread

First, I’d like to say EllisLab Rocks. But, I’m looking for recommendations (since I hold EllisLab, EE and CodeIgniter in such high esteem) for another CMS up to snuff with EE (hopefully php based and open source). Any recommendations (not looking for joomla, drupal recommendations) Thanks!

—Eric—

Some good php CMSs that take a similar “template centric” design as EE:
- http://modxcms.com/
- http://cmsmadesimple.org/
- http://silverstripe.com/

I don’t think any of those currently match EE though. So many posters claim that EE is a bargain. I absolutely hate the licensing scheme though. If I’m going to take the months necessary to completely learn a CMS, then why invest that time in one that is going to cost me every time I use it? Answer: sadly, because there aren’t any practical alternatives.

Frog CMS, it seems easy to work with: http://www.madebyfrog.com/

I have a few links to some other ones here: http://delicious.com/ontguy/cms

Rick, to be fair (in development terms) you could learn most of EE from having the free (core) version couldn’t you?

I sort of agree with you though, i think i have been spoilt with a range of very good open source systems that if something is paid for i think to myself, why on earth would i want it then?

However, i do really really like EE and when it comes atop Ci i will gladly(ish) pay the licence fee.

I found one that i thought was pretty cool, never used it yet, but great for small projects

http://www.cushycms.com

Rick, to be fair (in development terms) you could learn most of EE from having the free (core) version couldn’t you?

Of course. What I mean is if it takes me 3 months to completely learn a CMS and I figure my time is worth $25/hr, then I’ve invested $12,000 into that framework. Now they’ve got me. There is no way I’m going to reinvest that sort of time into another solution, even if another CMS matures to the point of being competitive with EE. I’m stuck - and the more I use it the more I pay. That just bites. I prefer to pay once - even a hefty sum - so that the more I use it, the better my return-on-investment becomes. Same reason I buy cars rather than lease. It just makes financial sense.

Edit: To put it another way, when people write “$250 is a bargain considering the quality and features of EE”, I think “if my company produces 50 EE sites per year, that’s $12,500/year”. Um, maybe I’ll just improve an existing CMS, thanks.

Edit again:
My numbers are probably too high. It wouldn’t take me 3 months of uninterrupted time to be familiar with EE.

However, I have another gripe with the current licensing policy. Support is included. That might be a plus for many users, but for savy self-motivated users, that’s a drawback. In effect, user’s who don’t require support are subsidizing those who do.

I found one that i thought was pretty cool, never used it yet, but great for small projects

http://www.cushycms.com

That CMS isn’t in the same category as EE. It’s a simple way to edit blocks of content on static pages. Very nice if that’s all you require. Nothing dynamic. Very limited.

modxcms.com

better than EE and open source

modxcms.com

better than EE and open source

Better by what measure?  EE is not perfect for every task, but blanket statements like yours are silly.

modxcms.com

better than EE and open source

Better by what measure?  EE is not perfect for every task, but blanket statements like yours are silly.

read this

http://modxcms.com/forums/index.php/topic,15397.0.html

Just because modx is opensource makes it better for some of us.

Correct, EE is not open source, and I respect that some people will only use open source software.  I strongly support the philosophy and goals, and have released my own open source software, in addition to my involvement in CodeIgniter.  I say that by way of prefacing the rest of this message. 

To say that something is “better” AND open source, and then say that its “better” BECAUSE its open source, is not a fair statement.

In order for anyone to fairly compare 2 or more things, we need to be clear on what we are comparing.  If we are comparing license, and you’ve already decided “GPL wins”, then there’s no point in comparing.  If you are comparing because of financial cost though, I’d invite you to compare the cost of modx’s support to EE’s.  I’ve yet to find a large institution that will implement a CMS without formal support.  With EE, lifetime unlimited support is available from a trained and professionally staffed crew, a full development team, and company officers.

There are a few CMS’s already written by CI community members.  These are open source.  Would you argue that they are “better” if I needed to build a site for say Nike, and said site was going to traffic hundreds of thousands of people daily, be managed by a team of several dozen users each with different rights and permissions, and also be the target of dedicated hackers attempting to deface it?

Sometimes closed source software is a better choice given the situtation, which again brings me back to my point of asking what we’re comparing.  I’m writing this on a Mac (what operating system do you use?).  My word processor is Pages (what word processor do you use?).  My image editors are Photoshop and Fireworks (what image editor do you use?).  My coding environment is Textmate. 

So this is why I asked you what measure you were using.  If its license only, and you require GPL, then I agree EE is not a good choice.  If its financial cost, then we’re closer, but you could still make the argument that modx is cheaper, and I respect that.  If its for support, EE’s support is second to none.  If its security, EE’s security record is stellar.  If its features, EE is adequate.  Some CMSs have much more.  If its learning curve, EE is not the fastest CMS to learn, but it’s fast.  If its flexibility, EE rocks.  If its code quality, community, goodwill, industry leaders, standards compliance, all of these are areas where EE is strong.  If it is the future viability of a project, then EE is solid here as well.  I don’t know who backs Modx.

I don’t pretend that any one solution is always the best - obviously much depends on what your goals are, but I for one will not say that one choice is “better” then another without fully understanding the needs of its use.

I’d like to recommend WordPress. If you’re a PHP developer you can easily make it to handle almost any site. It gives you a publishing framework with built in posts/pages, comments and user auth, plus a vast array of plugins. WordPress is about simplicity and this makes it much more flexible to theme and quick to code for. Most CMS make everything unnecessarily complicated but WordPress is so refreshing after using something like Drupal. Particularly for small content managed sites it is ideal or when time is short. The downside is the sheer number of people using it and hence the regular updates required.

Rick, to be fair (in development terms) you could learn most of EE from having the free (core) version couldn’t you?

Of course. What I mean is if it takes me 3 months to completely learn a CMS and I figure my time is worth $25/hr, then I’ve invested $12,000 into that framework. Now they’ve got me. There is no way I’m going to reinvest that sort of time into another solution, even if another CMS matures to the point of being competitive with EE. I’m stuck - and the more I use it the more I pay. That just bites. I prefer to pay once - even a hefty sum - so that the more I use it, the better my return-on-investment becomes. Same reason I buy cars rather than lease. It just makes financial sense.

Edit: To put it another way, when people write “$250 is a bargain considering the quality and features of EE”, I think “if my company produces 50 EE sites per year, that’s $12,500/year”. Um, maybe I’ll just improve an existing CMS, thanks.

For some people the cost of EE is a problem, but if the model isn’t appropriate for your situation simply don’t use it. Also I don’t think it would be $12.5k as you would be using multi-site. As a software developer I feel it’s more than fair for CMS developers to get paid.

modxcms.com

better than EE and open source

Better by what measure?  EE is not perfect for every task, but blanket statements like yours are silly.

read this

http://modxcms.com/forums/index.php/topic,15397.0.html

Just because modx is opensource makes it better for some of us.

There’s nothing remotely interesting on that page. Put forward a reasoned argument or none at all. By the look if it MODx doesn’t even have its own forum code and the admin area is not very user friendly.

Bkno, your post touches on why it all depends on the tools needed.  There aren’t any one trick ponies.  For instance, you mention WordPress, but then note that MODx doesn’t have their own forums.  So taking the MODx site (or this one, for that matter) where one needs both content management, integrated membership, and a forum, ExpressionEngine shows its strengths, and WordPress, no matter how customized, wouldn’t do.  A wiki too for that matter, all in one comprehensive package.  I’ll quote from Les on the sister thread for this topic on EE’s forums which might make what I’m saying more clear.

We’ve been known to recommend other systems when its clear that EE isn’t appropriate for the project. We take the position that no CMS can be perfect in every situation. That’s why Mike asked about the requirements needed. Obviously there is going to be a bias, but most people on these forums are web professionals and use a variety of tools depending on the situation.

Keep a varied toolset, and use the right tool for the job.  Anyone who tells you that Product X will always be the best choice is a craftsman whose only tool is a hammer.

Lookatthosemoose asked for CMS other then EE.

I was just expressing my opinion. I played with both CMSs and I choose the one I liked more. To be honest I was a little familiar with Modx when I looked at EE. But the open source made me drop EE.

Also I looked for a CI CMS that feels like modx but I could not find one.

Anyway it’s my opinion and I do not want to start a CMS war again. If you have another, feel free to say it. I do not always have to justify myself. Decide for yourself.

PS: I love CI

If you want a CMS and a Framework all in one, Drupal is absolutely the way to go. When taking it into production, however, be sure you know some kung-fu caching and performance measures.