Content Management Systems, (CMS), play an important role behind the scenes of most websites. With websites moving more and more towards dynamic content and content updated daily it has become increasingly important for the client to be able to simply edit their own site without the need for a website developer. This is where CMS’ come in.
A CMS will allow you, (with no knowledge of HTML), to easily update pages, add and or remove text, upload pictures / PDF’s, add menu items, update your blog, add news stories, insert maps etc. All from a private, easy to use, back-end. All essential task for any modern, dynamic, content driven site
Below is a list of our most commonly used CMSs and why we rate them so highly.
Joomla
In our opinion Joomla is the THE best open source content management system. Suitable for everything from a 2 page blog to a 200+ page local government site Joomla is very adaptable and an excellent choice for a CMS
With over 4,000 extensions now available from the official Joomla site, it will definitely be able to do whatever you want.
From blogging, to forums, to twitter feeds, to social bookmarking, to RSS feeds, to picture galleys, to YouTube videos, you can be sure that Joomla has power to cope with your needs.
Of course, even if someone hasn’t yet created the extension you need we can always create it ourselves! See this blog post for more details.
As specialists in Political Website Design we often create sites for clients who need to be able to regularly update pages / news feeds/ blogs etc, and more often than not we recommend Joomla.
Joomla Homepage
WordPress
WordPress is primarily a blogging platform. Developed initially as a easy to install and update blog platform for non-web savvy people to use it offered freedom from the likes of blogger.com. Since then it has grown and grown and is now more of a full CMS than a specialised blogging platform.
Wordpress is ideal as a CMS for small sites of 20 pages or less. Its big advantage over the likes of Joomla is its simple & easy backend layout, allowing people who aren’t so confident to update and mange their sites.
WordPress Homepage
Expression Engine
Expression Engine is probably the lightest of the three CMS’s. It was specifically built from the ground up to be light-weight, easy to use and have a very small footprint. These combined make it a very powerful CMS, suitable for small to mid sized streamlined sites.
Expression Engine’s main weakness when compared to either Joomla or WordPress is its comparatively small selection of extensions. Both Joomla and WordPress’s extensions number in the thousands as Expressions Engines’s are only in the hundreds.
However, Expression Engine wasn’t built to be as diverse and all encompassing as Joomla, it was designed to be small, faster and light, a role it fulfils admirably.
Expression Engine Homepage
