I am looking for the best CMS out there (I know there is not a best one as it depends on your needs).... so this is what I want please help me find it:


Free.... willing to pay little... no more than $40 :)
SEO friendly
Gives professional looks
No bugs
It is to serve as a website, not a blog.
flexible with layouts... not one static look.
commonly supported, not someone out of a basement created it.
php4 and supports 5
not running on version1 .... new releases are expected every so often.What do you think?

Hi Guru,

Checkout Joomla (joomla DOT org). We had used it for a project last winter. Actually, we built a more advanced interface on top of it. We chose it for it's flexibility with regards to design and expansion.... and I believe it fits all of your needs as stated.

SEO friendly?

I see it has components for SEO ... I was thinking of opensef... but when a new relaease for Joomla is out, could it conflict with the component added?
I like everything I see so far.

I doubt it would conflict. I would just make sure that a) you are familiar with the architecture of the added component or b) you still have the developer or staff that developed the component available; in case an update does conflict. That being said, just because Joomla updates to version XYZ.2xxxxx doesn't mean that you have to install the update either.

cool. will give it a go. :)
thanks guys

hey, check drupal (its not as heavy as joomla)
and textpattern is my favorite CMS. lightweight, hacker friendly code and highly customizable.

If you could increase your budget to 100 bucks I'd go with ExpressionEngine from Ellis Labs.

The most powerful, flexible and expandible system I've ever used. They just released a MSM (multi site manager) though it costs, it allows you to run multiple websites, inlcuding different domain names, all from one centralized control panel.

Write your own global variables, all sorts of great stuff. Nothing is encoded so you can edit anything you want.

It's by far the best CMS I've ever used. I also own licenses for other CMS systems that cost 4X more. I'm taking a theme from their system and porting it to EE. Well I'm having it done. I'm not personally doing it.

www.expressionengine.com is the URL. you can get a trial, or even download the core for free and get a feel for it.

You wouldn't be dissapointed, I can assure you of that. You'll never use another joomla, php-nuke or any other canned cms again.

I have the MSM, and discussion forum module which is a great combo

you can always try textpattern.

I use phpcow, very nice, cheap and easy to work with!

Nice one :)

3 I recommend:

1) ExpressionEngine
2) Joomla
3) Drupal

If you could increase your budget to 100 bucks I'd go with ExpressionEngine from Ellis Labs.

The most powerful, flexible and expandible system I've ever used. They just released a MSM (multi site manager) though it costs, it allows you to run multiple websites, inlcuding different domain names, all from one centralized control panel.


I second that.

Can't stress enough how absolutely flawless ExpressionEngine is.

There is no CMS that offers the flexibility in relation to both design and functionality as easily as EE does.

The support forum is extremely active, very friendly community, quite a few very helpful modules/plugins and its in continous development.

Also, and fairly obviously, its a commercial product so it gives you that extra peace of mind regarding development pace and security.

Check out their forum for examples of sites that use it.

I've used Joomla for some years now (starting with Mambo, then converted to Joomla) and it is great (I continue to use it on a fairly active website) - Its a solid CMS, lots of templates, lots of plugins...The weakness with it is when you try and customise it. I find the templating system overly complex and rigid.

Also, several of the main 3rd party components/plugins for Joomla (such as Community Builder, GigCalendar, JSMF Bridge etc.) have extremely slow development and in some cases the development halts (I've noted this on several components I've used with Joomla). The Joomla core CMS itself is actively developed though.

With regards to Drupal, its come on leaps and bounds with the latest release, but I'd not recommend it to anyone who isn't technically proficient if you want to customise it.

As an out-of-the-box product, its pretty great - But I found it overly difficult to customise, like the others there are numerous plugins for it and its continously developed. The template system is (I found) really difficult to work with. No doubt though, Drupal is a monster of CMS framework and extremely powerful.

T.

I use phpcow, very nice, cheap and easy to work with!

I have to add that I disagree with this a lot. It's extremely difficult to work with.

PHPCow is ALL encrypted. it's ridiculous. It's also very cryptic to figure out where things are at. I could see if someone used them for a long time they'd get to know the system, but it's not userfriendly at all.

Their support is also terrible. I have a client I recommended PHPcow to and we tried for a few weeks to work with it. Today I had him charge back his card because they refused to refund.

Tickets take a minimum of 24 hours to answer, and even then they are very arrogant and offer very little real info in the replies.

Other people probably had a better experience but for $400.00 it's asbolutely not worth it.




3 I recommend:

1) ExpressionEngine
2) Joomla
3) Drupal



I second that.

Can't stress enough how absolutely flawless ExpressionEngine is.

There is no CMS that offers the flexibility in relation to both design and functionality as easily as EE does.

The support forum is extremely active, very friendly community, quite a few very helpful modules/plugins and its in continous development.

Also, and fairly obviously, its a commercial product so it gives you that extra peace of mind regarding development pace and security.

Check out their forum for examples of sites that use it.

I've used Joomla for some years now (starting with Mambo, then converted to Joomla) and it is great (I continue to use it on a fairly active website) - Its a solid CMS, lots of templates, lots of plugins...The weakness with it is when you try and customise it. I find the templating system overly complex and rigid.

Also, several of the main 3rd party components/plugins for Joomla (such as Community Builder, GigCalendar, JSMF Bridge etc.) have extremely slow development and in some cases the development halts (I've noted this on several components I've used with Joomla). The Joomla core CMS itself is actively developed though.

With regards to Drupal, its come on leaps and bounds with the latest release, but I'd not recommend it to anyone who isn't technically proficient if you want to customise it.

As an out-of-the-box product, its pretty great - But I found it overly difficult to customise, like the others there are numerous plugins for it and its continously developed. The template system is (I found) really difficult to work with. No doubt though, Drupal is a monster of CMS framework and extremely powerful.

T.

What's your screen name on their forum? I post there daily.

I have to add that I disagree with this a lot. It's extremely difficult to work with.

PHPCow is ALL encrypted. it's ridiculous. It's also very cryptic to figure out where things are at. I could see if someone used them for a long time they'd get to know the system, but it's not userfriendly at all.

Their support is also terrible. I have a client I recommended PHPcow to and we tried for a few weeks to work with it. Today I had him charge back his card because they refused to refund.

Tickets take a minimum of 24 hours to answer, and even then they are very arrogant and offer very little real info in the replies.

Other people probably had a better experience but for $400.00 it's asbolutely not worth it.






What's your screen name on their forum? I post there daily.

I have struggled with it too, but the more time I spend with it, it's starting to do better things.

Yeah that does make sense. Getting to know the system better would be a huge plus. That's for sure.

you can always try textpattern.

I second trying this.

I also say that you can't really listen to anyone who says a certain CMS is the best one because there is no best CMS. Everyone has different tastes.

I'm using the Joomla too.
It's open source,and have powerful feature.
It's my best love