• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

On the quest for the perfect CMS (Picking a CMS Part 1), I’ve decided to switch focus a little bit.

New Standards

As you guys can see, I’ve had way too much on my hands to do a thorough job on the quest for the perfect Content Management System. But then something came to mind. Aren’t we all busy? No matter how wondering or beautiful a CMS is; it’s not use if all that beauty is buried so deep that people can’t find it. If you have to dig more than three (3) pages down on a Google Search page, then it’s not good enough.

Popularity – Just Like In High School

I know, I know, it isn’t fair, but that’s how life is. The popular guys got the girls, they made the football team, and they drive better cars. That’s just how life is. If a CMS is popular enough, it’s going to have certain things going for it.

It’s going to have more contributors. That means more eyes on the code (let’s hope that this will be a good thing). The more people that know about it means, the more people that write about it. Now I will admit, there’s a little “chicken vs. egg” thing going on there. Maybe it gets popular because people write about it. But for our purposes it doesn’t matter. The fact is, there will be more formal and informal documentation.

I’ll be the first to admit that popular doesn’t always mean better. Take Wordpress for instance. Although I’ve never looked, I’ve been assured that the code is quite mangled. But notice what I said, I’ve never looked, and neither will your clients. No matter how elegant your code is and how fast it runs; none of that matters if your product doesn’t get out there do serve it’s purpose. With all it’s flaws, I’ve seen Wordpress run some of the largest blogs out there, so they must be doing something right. No one returns a BMW because they don’t like the layout of the engine.

So what does populartiy mean? Sorry to all the new kids on the block. You might be cool, but I just can’t take that risk.

Plugins, Modules and Addons.

I don’t care what you say, no matter how cool a CMS is, it will never everything that you want it to do. That’s why we need tons of plugins, modules, addons or whatever you want to call them. Let’s face it, clients always know what they want, until they don’t and you have to radically change your plans.

Also, plugins are an excellent way for other people to contribute to the community without having to hack the core or something.

New Playbook – 20 Minute Dry Run

With all of this said, I have a new plan of attack. I’m going to right some of these CMSs off the list right off the bat. Again, I’m sorry to the new comers. It isn’t fair, but that’s just the way it is. New platforms run the risk of being underdeveloped and not very well documented or supported. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take on a client’s site.

To get things on one baseline, I’m actually using a previous site as a common ground for testing. It encompasses some common functionality that I feel all CMSs should be able to handle: Images, Blogs, etc.

Where Are We So Far?

I’ve been told that Frog CMS is an excellent choice of a CMS. However, based on my new rules it’s not an option. It’s been in verion 0.9.5 since April 2009. And recently the author (yes, I think there’s only one) posted a Still Alive post. So, no offense, but this one’s not for me.

ModX seems to have a huge list of Extras on it’s page, so it’s still on my list. I’m assuming this shows an active community. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

What Have I Tried?

Those who ignore the past are destined to repeat it.

Leave The Past In The Past

These words are what keep me away from Joomla. I left Joomla at version 1.5 over three (3) years ago. Although people always swear this is true, the version numbers don’t show enough significant change from the mess I remember. So, I’m not touching this thing with a ten foot pole.

Testing The Drupal Waters

I did bite the bullet and installed Drupal. I mean, if it’s good enough for the President of the United States, I should at least give it a try, don’t you think? There are some things that I like so far:

• Admin Templates/Themes  - The backend is extremely flexible. You can change the look, and even the menus that are listed.  With a few modules, you can fine tune the permissions and give clients access to only what you want them to have. So, the argument of “too complicated for clients” can be countered.
• Template Caching – I’m not sure how it works, but I love it. Certain things in the template are cached. One of which being the CSS and JS files. You can even combine and minify these. I just love that.
• Multisites – You can set up a nice little web farm that all runs on the same Drupal core code. They can even share custom modules. I’m guessing it’s something like Wordpress MU, but I’ve never tried this myself.

Onward and Upward

The quest continues with Silverstripe and ModX. Stay tuned.

• Reader Input: Picking A CMS – Part 4
• Reader Input: Picking A CMS – Part 3
• Reader Input: Picking A CMS – Part 1
• Wordpress 2.5 – The Vista of Blog Platforms
• Moving Wordpress To A Different Domain

A content management system or CMS allows a user to manage this content. Excellent description, I know. Basically the user simply edits the content of the web site and not the actual pages. They don’t need to know any HTML, they don’t need to deal with the structure of the website they simply edit content.

Xpert.com.au has a nice write up on CMS.

Advantages of a Content Management System:

• Decentralized maintenance.
• Designed with non-technical content editors in mind.
• Configurable access restrictions.
• Consistency of design is preserved.
• Navigation is automatically generated.
• Content is stored in a database.
• Dynamic content.
• Daily updates.
• Cooperation.
• Content scheduling.

As a web developer you have a decision to make. Do you go with an already existing CMS like Joomla or Drupal or do you design your own? Well, that depends on couple of things. How much content needs to be edited, what the user wants to do, what kind of system you have already established, etc.

Personally, I like Joomla. The problem with Joomla is that it lets you a LOT. Sometimes you don’t want the user to have all this functionality, it’s sometimes a bit of overkill. If the page is more or less static and the user may need to make simple changes from time to time, writing your own CMS makes sense. If the user wants a blog, I say go with Wordpress. I’m a huge advocate of not reinventing the wheel. They guys at Wordpress have been doing this for years now; they should know what they’re doing.

Basically folks, you need to analyze the task at hand and make an informed decision. OpenSourceCMS has a huge list of CMS programs that you can even test out on the website. When writing your own, you have to consider how long it’s going to take, whether you can do it effectively and efficiently. Prepackaged tools usually have all the fixings: file uploads, image stuff, etc. Simply decide what you need and what makes sense.

• From Mambo – Joomla! 1.0
• Dclick Ads – Another Quick Start Up Advertising Site
• Reader Input: Picking A CMS – Part 1
• Q&A With Joomla Development Leader
• Bad First Impression for Joomla

I’m not trying to stir up a Windows vs. Unix type debate but am interested in your thoughts and experiences, either as an administrator or user.

Personally, I feel that both of these are very powerful forum packages, but let me just mention that vBulletin is and always will be the best and preferred forum software. However, we’re doing the whole free thing, so let’s not even go into the costs of vBulletin. Let’s focus on the two free packages, phpBB and Simple Machines SMF. I have

I have been doing a lot of advanced work on a phpBB forum for over a year now, but I recently stumbled upon SMF. I was setting up a new website in the Joomla CMS for which I needed to have a forum integrated. It was easy enough to integrate the template so that it looks seamless, but I was also looking for a way to integrate the user database of both phpBB and Joomla. At the time their were no components around to do so, but there was a component to integrate SMF with Joomla, therefore I decided to give SMF a try. These are my observations after using both and doing a little bit of research:

• The library of MODs (modifications) for phpBB far out weighs those of SMF.
• The templates library for phpBB is also than those of SMF
• The MODs for phpBB came be intimidating to install for a novice user. They require editing files on the server and sometimes apply SQL queries to the database. There is also no roll back or uninstall feature.
• SMF on the other hand, has a brilliant set up where you simply upload the MOD from the administrator’s section and install.
• Out of the box SMF has much more functionality than phpBB. Eg. there is already support for attachments, real name, etc. phpBB requires the installation of MODs for what should be basic tasks.
• For me (I’ve gotten a lot of heat in the SMF forums about this, but what do you expect), the phpBB templating system is some what simpler to edit. The template files use tags (which are later replaced) for things like Forum Description, Title, etc. The templates are also in very basic HTML that the webmaster can dump in a WYSIWYG editor if he pleases.
• SMF templates are written in PHP, so an editor would at least need some PHP knowledge to edit the templates. Although it is simply to pick up, an editor with not HTML or PHP knowledge would be lost, whereas in phpBB they would have a chance.
• There is much more control over the forum and user permissions in SMF than in phpBB.
• SMF is a bit more complicated to configure simply because of the vast number of different options available to the administrator. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been working with phpBB so long.
• phpBB is prone to security issues. There is going to be an update or security patch at least every two months. If you consider this normal maintenance, then you’ll be fine. It is secure as long as you keep up with the updates religiously.
• SMF is a bit more secure. There are considerably less exploits for SMF than phpBB. I am interested in knowing why though.
• Personally, I feel that the default template for phpBB looks better and cleaner than SMF, but that might be a bias opinion.

Bottom line for me, since I’m doing a lot of sites using Joomla the integration is nice for me and the fact that I can deploy a basic forum with with a lot of functionality without having to fuss with too many MODs I would have to choose SMF. Hope this has helped you. I would also be interested in hearing your views on the subject.

• SMF 1.1 RC 2 Is Out!
• phpBB Skins from TemplateMonster
• Bad First Impression for Joomla
• Wordpress Installed
• phpBB 2.0.19 released

Joomla! roadmap is what convinced me to stick with Joomla!, the next version of Joomla!, due to release very soon will have an improved RTL support and more important 100% UTF-8 compatible, and as you know these are great news for us Hebrew, right to left users.

I just love hearing these stories of people who have been struggling with other nukes and CMS’s and finally found Joomla/Mambo.

• Q&A With Joomla Development Leader
• Nail in The Coffin – Mamboserver.com Hacked
• Joomla! 1.0.4 Security Release Out
• From Mambo – Joomla! 1.0
• Joomla Book In The Works

There is another book by the same author, Building Websites With Mambo : A fast paced introductory tutorial, which left much to be desired for me. If you’re looking for a quick, light, step by step procedure manual then I guess this will be enough for you. But if you’re looking for anything other than how to navigate through some of the menus you need to look somewhere else. This basically packages a small among for Mambo’s online documentation and sticks it in a paper back. But it is interesting to see anything about this CMS being published.

• From Mambo – Joomla! 1.0
• Nail in The Coffin – Mamboserver.com Hacked
• Q&A With Joomla Development Leader
• Joomla! 1.0.4 Security Release Out
• Hebrew Joomla Success Story

Basically, he’s been having some problems with the templates:

I sent an email to this company wondering what the problem might be and asking for a refund of my $50 subscription if the template required a lot of configuration, which I can’t do yet. In return I got a rude little email detailing the points of their terms and conditions.

I hate to hear these sorts of horror stories. It really does pain me, because Joomla is an incredible CMS with a wealth of power at your finger tips. Just as long as you follow a few basic rules, you’ll be fine. I’m not saying that Joomla does not have a significant learning curve; it does. But once you’re over that hump, it’s all down hill from there.

First of all, mistake number one was paying for something you’re not sure about. There are a wealth of Free Joomla Templates out there. They do make them a little bit hard to find, but they are out there. Joomla-Templates has a nice little starter kit. I suggest using these templates and any more you can find to test out Joomla first. After you’re familiar with the templating system, you check out a few tutorial sites and modify the templates or make your own from scratch. Here is one nice Joomla/Mambo Tutorial which has helped me. Here is another using Dreamweaver to create the Joomla Template.

Secondly, remember, the forums are your friend. The Joomla Forum always has a wealth of information from people who are ready and willing to share. Don’t hesitate the sign up and ask questions.

Lastly, experiment with the thing. Joomla has a tremendous learning curve to be totally effective, but it does have a lot of potential. Start dropping Modules and Mambots and Components all over the place and see what they do. Download additional addons and see what those do. Bottom line, don’t pay for anything unless you know what you’re looking for and have an idea of how things work. We are living in an open source age; coders no longer beg for money so designers and trying to squeeze a couple cents out of the pie. I have nothing against that but, unfortunately a lack of customer support goes hand in hand with design products.

• From Mambo – Joomla! 1.0
• Nail in The Coffin – Mamboserver.com Hacked
• Joomla Book In The Works
• Q&A With Joomla Development Leader
• Joomla! 1.0.4 Security Release Out

• Create 3 Column CSS Layouts Like A CSS God!
• Dclick Ads – Another Quick Start Up Advertising Site
• Content Management Systems
• Fixed vs. Fluid Layouts and Screen Resolutions
• Cute CakePHP Trick of the Day – GenerateList Empty Slot In List

In what can only be described as very embarrassing Mamboserver has been hacked.
The open source content management system that lost it’s entire development team and the vast majority of the community not so long ago has today had it’s web site defaced.

read more.

I really think this is it for Mambo. But my one problem is that people seemed to be getting the wrong idea. Joomla and Mambo had the same core as of a couple days ago. It’s not that Joomla is so much better than Mambo. Joomla has had some minor updates since the split, but there were essentially the same. So people saying that Mambo is vulnerable and not Joomla is not a viable statement.

The Joomla team, however, did take this as an opportunity to release Joomla! 1.0.4 [ Sundial ].

• From Mambo – Joomla! 1.0
• Q&A With Joomla Development Leader
• Hebrew Joomla Success Story
• Joomla! 1.0.4 Security Release Out
• Joomla Book In The Works

Critical Level Threats

• Potentional XSS injection through GET and other variables
  - Affects all previous versions of Joomla! and Mambo 4.5.2.3
• Hardened SEF against XSS injection
  - Affects all previous versions of Joomla! and Mambo 4.5.2.3

Low Level Threats

• Potential SQL injection in Polls modules through the Itemid variable
  - Affects all previous versions of Joomla! and Mambo 4.5.2.x series
• Potential SQL injection in several methods in mosDBTable class
  - Affects all previous versions of Joomla! and Mambo 4.5.2.x series
• Potential misuse of Media component file management functions
  - Affects all previous versions of Joomla! and Mambo 4.5.2.x series
• Add search limit param (default of 50) to `Search` Mambots to prevent search flooding
  - Affects all previous versions of Joomla! and Mambo 4.5.2.x series

Since this is a security release, it is advised that you upgrade as soon as possible.

• From Mambo – Joomla! 1.0
• Q&A With Joomla Development Leader
• Nail in The Coffin – Mamboserver.com Hacked
• SMF 1.1 RC 2 Is Out!
• Bad First Impression for Joomla

LinuxWorld Q&A with Lead Developer of Joomla!, Andrew Eddie
— In September, core developers of Mambo, the popular open source content management system, announced a fork of the project, called Joomla!, with virtually all active participants following the fork.

This is an interesting article. If any of you were wondering about the Mambo-Joomla split, here you go. One thing I forgot to mention is that Mambo is still in existence. I believe it is at the same version where it left off before the split. For me, it seems that Joomla is the way to go. Joomla is being developed by the same development team. And what makes the decision even easier is that most 3rd party developers have started making their Mambots, Modules and Components specific to Joomla.

This is what Andrew Eddie (Development Leader of Joomla) had to say in response to 3rd party products for Joomla:

I think this is the most powerful area of Mambo and will continue to be for Joomla! Whether you love it or hate it, somehow we have struck on a formula that allows people to easily develop extensions and this is a testament to our growth and popularity. It’s easy to develop for Joomla! and we want to continue this heritage, if not make it even easier.

In an article at News.com, IBM airs their views about the split:

It’s unfortunate for the Mambo open-source publishing software project and for its customers that its developers had to decamp with their source code to start the Joomla project, according to a high-ranking IBM software executive.

Even though I have clearly chosen Joomla in favor of Mambo, does this mean that I am now going to switch all my prior customers from Mambo to Joomla? I think not. For the projects that I am currently still developing, it is only fair to switch. I mean, I am still in the development stage. But to those who have already been spawned and are up and running. They shall remain in the Mambo format. I will, however, speak the praises of Joomla to my client and charge a small restructuring fee if they are interested.

• Nail in The Coffin – Mamboserver.com Hacked
• From Mambo – Joomla! 1.0
• Joomla! 1.0.4 Security Release Out
• Hebrew Joomla Success Story
• Wordpress Installed

From Mambo spawn Joomla!!! In a nutshell, there were some differences between the management team and the development team on the Mambo project, so the development guys decided to leave and create their own product, Joomla

Joomla! is a production of Open Source Matters, the same team that brought you the award winning Mambo Content Management System. OSM has taken their final stable version of Mambo (4.5.2.3), given it a spring clean and named it Joomla! 1.0 In addition, several small features that were going to be released in Joomla! 1.1 have been brought forward and included in this release.

Joomla comes with more stability and a huge library of plugings (modules) and templates for you. A beginner can get a webstie up and running in less than a day. I, personally, have converted a static HTML website into a Joomla template including importing of data in less than three (3) hours.

Do, give it a try.

• Nail in The Coffin – Mamboserver.com Hacked
• Q&A With Joomla Development Leader
• Joomla! 1.0.4 Security Release Out
• Hebrew Joomla Success Story
• Content Management Systems