Todays post is a guest opinion article from Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos, he shares his thoughts on how to choose the best CMS and to not be limited to only, as he calls them, The Big Three (Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal). What are your thoughts on CMS selection? Which is the best, and why?
Joomla, Wordpress and Drupal – Should you look outside the big 3?
Whenever someone decides to launch a website, or hired to do so for a client, he’s given three broad choices which will define how they’ll proceed: static HTML, a CMS or Flash. The former being practically dead due to inflexibility and the latter being not only inflexible, but extremely costly to produce, the CMS route seems a dead end; more specifically, the Open Source CMS route.
Dead end it is. Try raising the simple, innocuous question “Which CMS should I chose for my site?” on any public forum and a war seems to spring right out of nowhere. The fighting fractions are what I usually call The Big Three: Drupal, Joomla! and WordPress fans. But is this all there is to it? Does the Open Source CMS universe revolve around only three players? Given the Open Source spirit of Freedom of choice, one would hardly expect this to be the case. In fact, it isn’t. There is more to Open Source CMS than meets the eye.
Swatting flies with a baseball bat
The hidden truth behind the aforementioned question is that not all software is created equal. There is no such thing as a “one size fits all” CMS. Each site is a separate project, with specific requirements and solid needs. Each CMS is a tool bound to architectural objectives and compatibility concerns. As a result you can either stretch the project to fit the tool, or pick the right tool for the project. As the common parable goes, you might end up swatting flies with a baseball bat.
Far-fetched as it might sound to the die-hard fans of The Big Three, none of them is exceptional in creating and maintaining simple, structured, web sites. All of them suffer from the major ill-effect of being popular: they have to be “one size fits all“. Since this phrase is by definition an oxymoron in software design, all of them have to trade off some usability for flexibility, transforming into content management frameworks on which third party developers can build their next big thing.
This gradual transformation has taken the focus from the user to the developer and puts content management in the back seat, almost making it look like an afterthought instead of an integral element of the system. This is great if you have a dedicated IT department or at the very least a tech-savvy person to maintain the web site, but it’s unecessary complexity for the “mom and dad” kind of company who strives for a basic Internet presence. Guess which one is the biggest client – in terms of installed base – for Open Source CMS?
Minimalistic genius
Necessity is the mother of innovation. To this extent, a lot of smaller CMS have sprung in the last decade. Sometimes out of the death of a pre-existing CMS, as the evolution of another web publishing system or written entirely from scratch, these small CMS strive to fill in the low to middle end gap in Open Source CMS: making actual content management their priority.
Back to the CMS roots or grassroots software? I guess we’ll never know for sure, but the small CMS are here to stay. I can never be surprised enough by the neat structure of CMS Made Simple’s content. I admire how MODx handles powerful extensibility without compromising simplicity in the content management. Want some powerful features – like integrated presentation mode and content versioning – without giving away much ease of use? Well, take a look at Plone.
Sometimes, you don’t even need a CMS. If all you want is a wiki, a photogallery, an e-shop or a forum, there’s no need searching for a suitable implementation of them over a CMS. usually you can get away with installing a dedicated web application for each of these tasks. Most of the times, it’s much simpler to install them side-by-side to a CMS, or even a static HTML or Flash based website.
OpenSourceCMS.com offers a comprehensive catalog in excess of 200 such CMS and web applications, complete with demos. It’s like window shopping for your next web site project. My advice is to take a peek and start toying around with whichever system looks best to you, or looks easy to maintain without hiring a full-time geek to deal with it.
When size matters
All things considered, the small CMS are not a panacea. Sometimes a small CMS is too small to consider for a given project. You have to weigh carefully the need for easy management, the required feature set of the site and the expansion potential of your site project and, finally, making the best use of your own time.
The latter part is very important. If you get stuck trying to do something, you’ll need assistance. The more popular the community using a software, the more prompt a reply you’ll get if you post to a relevant forum. It’s also got to do with security. A large, active, community will discover and patch bugs quickly, whereas a small team might take ages to provide a fix. Of course, it also has to do with support from third party developers. Put bluntly, the more popular a project is, the more developers will produce extension software for it, which makes it even more popular. In short, you can’t beat the network effect.
About the Author
Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos is a Mechanical Engineer turned web developer. Interested in software development since his early adolescence, Nicholas became best known as the developer of JoomlaPack, the increasingly popular Joomla! site backup component. He is currently working as a freelance consultant and web developer specializing on Joomla!, running the JoomlaPack project and actively contributing to CMSmoz.com’s blog and business activities. You can also follow him on twitter @nikosdion.
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4 Feb, 2010
I wonder how many adopters there are out there of MySource Matrix GPL. But, I guess it’s more of a shotgun than a baseball bat.
4 Feb, 2010
For me, this is how it goes..
Joomla, then comes Wordpress, and finally Drupal
:)
4 Feb, 2010
I used all 3 many times…Since 2 years I’m a BIG fan of Umbraco and it rocks my world! Umbraco is clean and fast!!
4 Feb, 2010
I’ve tried all 3 and i find the backend of Drupal and Joomla a little bloated. Wordpress is great as a blog but the one i’ve stuck with for the past two years is ModX because it allows total design freedom and is completely expandable…albeit with a small learning curve. It’s well worth a try and the new ModX Revolution version should be out in the coming months.
4 Feb, 2010
MODx is far better than any of these ’supposed top 3′! http://www.modxcms.com – spread the love!
4 Feb, 2010
DRUPAL only!!
4 Feb, 2010
Symphony, Symphony and Symphony CMS
4 Feb, 2010
Wordpress 4 ever..
4 Feb, 2010
MODx isn’t one of the top three, not because it isn’t good software, but because it doesn’t have an active enough blogging/plugin/theme community. That is really why the others are such a success by comparison. Hate to say it, but these days, it is more than the software itself that goes into making my CMS choices for me. You have to consider the community as well.
5 Feb, 2010
modx does not need a theme community as you can just used any html/css – if you need a theme just look for free css themes and they work fine.
I agree that modx community does need to grow on the whole though
7 Feb, 2010
I also disagree on the lack of themers: to me design follows the structure of the content. If that is fixed (like in wordpress) then one can design a working theme. Modx however allows to very easily make up your own content type; so for MODx, it is impossible to design an ‘off the shelve’ theme, because it won’t fit that content type.
Also, I believe ‘themeing’ shouldn’t be a skill one has to acquire in order to make design for a CMS. xHTML & css skills should be enough. No themeing skills needed for modx !
In drupal custom content types are also possible; how come there are some much more themes available ? I think it is because making a content type in drupal is hard work, and most people stay with the standard content types drupal modules offer, hence one can still make an off the shelve theme.
4 Feb, 2010
When you use Business Catalyst (a Commercial CMS) for the first time, you don’t want to go back and design templates for others platforms.
Bad: The prize. It’s too expensive.
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4 Feb, 2010
I have discovered MODx and I’m simply loving it. I like to use Wordpress when blogging is the min focus of the site. I used Joomla and did not like it much. I have not had the experience of working with Drupal.
4 Feb, 2010
Drupal. It’s the most stable, and if your site has anything more than a simple blog, Drupal is the right option. There are ANY problems about customizing a theme in Drupal. But about structure, any CMS has it’s problems. Try to learn the basic of all 3 and then choose one you fell better to be “the expert”. I suggest Drupal, off course.
4 Feb, 2010
I see what you are saying, but I disagree with your comment “none of them is exceptional in creating and maintaining simple, structured, web sites.”
Joomla, no, your right. It has too much of a learning curve to be the best “DIY” for the masses, and is too TOO for a simple website.
Drupal, no comment, as my experience with it is too limited to really make judgement.
But WordPress, in my opinion, can be as heavy or light as you’d like. Sure, out of the box it may have limitations, but if you really know what you are doing, you can code it anyway you want. It has such a solid structure that, for me, it’s much better to customize than Joomla.
I’m not saying you are wrong, however, about the need for people to look beyond the “Big 3″ and you are abosolutely right, every project is different.
I generally use WordPress because I teach my clients how to maintain their own site. And it’s great in that respect. And despite what people may think, you don’t have to use it as a blog!
Anyhow, thanks for the great article! :) Got me thinking before 10, which is unusual this late into the week!
4 Feb, 2010
i used Joomla and still use Wordpress for blogging.
However, for almost all other projects, i use MODx.
Easy to setup, customize and extend.
And the Revolution is coming…
4 Feb, 2010
Which CMS depends on your specific needs including: including understanding the capabilities required for data management, workflows, marketing, multilingual content, affiliate content sharing and future development plans.
http://www.oshyn.com/solutions/choosing-a-cms.html
4 Feb, 2010
Hi. I love WordPress. I never really liked Drupal or Joomla but maybe that’s because I’m not a programmer, I’m more of a content contributor/editor. “Best” CMS may also mean easier workflows and user-friendlier interfaces for less technical folk like me.
I’ve just recently discovered ModX and I love its structure. Typo3 is also worth checking out. Plone also looks promising, will test drive it soon.
4 Feb, 2010
You should try CMS Made Simple, very nicely presented, very easy to customize, form builder is my favourite module.
4 Feb, 2010
Expression Engine[2].
Even J.Z.(Jeffrey Zeldman) loves it.
5 Feb, 2010
That’s why he’s using wordpress in his site? http://www.zeldman.com/
:-P
4 Feb, 2010
I’m going to throw a spanner in and go for a smaller CMS. I’ve been wanting a really simple CMS that is made for portfolios. I found one called ‘Stacey’ that’s great. It’s tiny, quick, simple and built from the ground up with portfolios in mind. I’m currently working on redoing my static HTML portfolio in Stacey and it’s really good. For blogs though I tend to go with WP. personal preference I suppose!
4 Feb, 2010
Joomla is easiest and works best for clients that can barely point and click a mouse (lol); however, I think Word Press is the best over all. I mean Word Press lets you do the most, is laid out very well, has tons of per built plug in’s and sets up in 2 minutes (maybe less).
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26 Feb, 2010
Sorry but i do not agree with Joomla being an easy to use CMS.
I showed it to some friends while testing a few CMS’s and they all took a while to figure out how it works. It’s a bit complicated in the begining due to the strucure itself. Articles, etc.
Anyways, i do agree with you about Wordpress. It is powerfull as a blog, as a CMS, or as a simple single-paged website.
I’ve never made a template from scratch to it, but i’ve edited some and it’s pretty easy.
Have a nice day :)
4 Feb, 2010
I’m a big fan of WordPress for most simple websites, it’s easy, familiar and streamlines development.
Anything larger than a few pages we always build custom, based on our already existing CMS. Instead of taking the time to develop modules and plugins for Joomla or Drupal, we’ve just build own modules.
4 Feb, 2010
I have much experience building CMS’s, I have built many websites using Joomla straight out of the box or heavily customized, I hated it from day one. Joomla has a big community but overall a very poor CMS, clunky, inflexible. Biggest fail of Joomla is the lack of Taxonomy support, just a joke.
Wordpress is a blogging tool not a CMS and should really be used as such, an amazing backend makes clients lives really very easy.
CMS Made Simple is usually my choice of CMS software very versatile, I have customized it with just modules to build a CRM. Smarty templates are amazing, the presentation of your pages is just so simple. Very flexible and user friendly too. It does have a steeper learning curve when building modules, although this is about to change with support for ORM in version 2.0. I would say that it is slightly more featured than ModX and has a great developemnt roadmap.
I have also recently discovered Drupal, oh how I am so amazed by Drupal, very much a CMS for very large sites. I love the way the data is organised and how modules are available for every type of page you create. The big selling point of Drupal is the big modules CCK (custom content kit) and views. CCK allows you to build a new content item with custom fields and views displays CCK for example you could build a jobs content item in CCK and then display the latest jobs on the homepage with view. Really clever stuff.
In summary:
Joomla = joke
Wordpress = blog,
CMS Made Simple small to medium sized site
Drupal enterprise sized site
4 Feb, 2010
Not to knock your post, but I really wish you went into more depth.
You left me hanging with the thought of those other systems you mentioned. :(
4 Feb, 2010
WordPress isn’t in the same category as Joomla! or Drupal. It’s a toss up for me but I am waiting for D7 to come out before making the jump into the PHP CMS world.
4 Feb, 2010
i’m wordpress user, but i prefer to drupal. i think we should keep look outside the big 3, to compare all aspect at CMS, maybe the new comer will have new technology who better than them
4 Feb, 2010
I think content is the main thing responsible for choosing the best CMS. Of course the major 3 are not the only ones available for the perfect solution to a particular problem, but due to the majority usage, we can find better communities only for these CMSes. The rest are in the oblivion.
5 Feb, 2010
Wordpress is always flexible and easy for administration
5 Feb, 2010
Heresy i say, heresy! Somebody call the CMS police!
Joomla! is of course the ultimate answer to all web solutions. Ever.
5 Feb, 2010
modx user here. i do appreciate drupal (wp for blogs) but i cant stand joomla! and all it’s freak followers that go “joomla right on, it pwnz” – screw that lousy cms ~~.
5 Feb, 2010
Another modx fan here! to me its total freedom for the designer, tried the other cms options out there and just got confused with the templating systems…
im impressed about how modx seems to be gaining favour
5 Feb, 2010
For small sites there is no difference what CMS to choose as long as its interface is easy to learn. Wordpress would be my choice, but CMS made simple or other would be as good choice. It is possible, but not optimal to buy an e-shop with wordpress, or something custom.
I do not like both Joomla and Drupal’s interface and plugin system. Drupal has other large problem (when i worked with it): lots of plugins are not compatible with each other. So, I work using inhouse CMS’es for larger projects.
Btw, Sympal looks really promissing.
5 Feb, 2010
Seriously, not one mention of Textpattern?
Ok, the community ain’t as big as some, but when in comes to speed and flexibility you’ll be hard pressed to find better!!!
5 Feb, 2010
Joomla > Wordpress > Drupal.
Anyone who says wordpress > joomla, needs to get their head checked.
5 Feb, 2010
In my opinion, your site could be very simple or very complicated, the main question will still be : will the CMS I choose be able to handle efficiently my database structure.
When it comes to handle a structured database different from blog entries, will WP do tho job ?
If you need simple categories and article sites, will joomla do the job too ?
Are these CMS able to simply manage my datas ?
Once you have answered to this question, you can go to the next step, from the winners, which one is the easiest to learn, what will be the learning curve…
But all that really matters, in choosing a CMS more than an other, is to first know if you can say what you need to say with it…
5 Feb, 2010
The best for .NET is Umbraco for sure, and for PHP, SilverStripe rocks.
//Garrett
5 Feb, 2010
I use CMS Made Simple.
I looked at all 3 CMS’s two years ago, and CMS Made Simple gave the designer, developer, and the client the flexibility and ease to use.
I tried training a nube on Joomla, forget it, too complicated for them. CMS Made Simple was so easy for them to understand.
Plus, the CMS easily allow for multilingual sites, which is a huge bonus for me,
5 Feb, 2010
I like Joomla! the best. Nice article this..
P.S : I love JoomlaPack, Nicholas!
5 Feb, 2010
It’s tough, usually each CMS has it’s own minor issue that needs some coding round. Having played with Drupal, CMSMS and Wordpress for few years, I’ve just moved on to Symphony and I’m very very impressed with it, worth a look if you’re getting bored of the big 3!
6 Feb, 2010
Wordpress FTW!
6 Feb, 2010
Textpattern – high amount of flexibility but does take a certain amount of configuring
Wordpress – easiest to just install and go if you can find a template that is close to want you want
Movalble Type – would be my favorite but the static nature/PERL backend makes it problematic
7 Feb, 2010
hm, somehow i miss typo3 in the list and comments, also textpattern.
i am very glad and happy that i could release all my projects and pages with wordpress. very nice post and interesting comments. thank you
7 Feb, 2010
I’d take a look at Concrete5 (http://www.concrete5.org) if you want to see a CMS that is set to break the mold. Forget confusing user experience, start editing with the only true point and click CMS!
8 Feb, 2010
Typo 3 is bigger in corporate environments in Europe.
10 Feb, 2010
My first CMS was Drupal and I fell in love with it; however, one of my clients asked for “anything but Drupal” after a previous bad experience with it, so I had to branch out. For them, I chose Joomla!. At first I detested Joomla’s rigid structure, but found the community incredibly supportive and active. Working with Joomla, I often run into issues where I’m thinking “this would be so easy to do in Drupal…”
I mostly build social networks or large project-based sites. Each time I check out Wordpress, I always have to move on: its good for small sites (ecommerce, blog), but cannot handle anything beyond that. Modx is an amazing CMS – I hope it continues to grow. Typolight and Umbraco are also good.
There are so many good CMSs out there that it really depends on the type of site needed.
11 Feb, 2010
I have tried other CMS’s by going to oensourceCMS for some time now, it is the best place to get the feeling what other CMS can offer, as not all CMS apply for every client. Though I like the big 3 I do also have some love for others small CMS that have fit for other clients according to their requirements, budget and skill level
17 Feb, 2010
And where is the CMS SPIP ?????
http://www.spip.net/
4 Mar, 2010
I have to say, when I first started writing my own cms, I realized that it’s a big task. But I need to be able to quick add scripts and big 3 where dreadful to customize. I then found CMS made simple, and thou every once and a while I still need to fix a wordpress, or drupal site, I can’t help but think, we are people putting up with those… I can only guess to the logic of people but from a designers point of view CMSms is way too easy to create a site that doesn’t look like every other site, and from a programmers view, module creation for CMSms is butter. All I can say is IMHO wordpress is for common low web knowledge people, CMSms is for professional service providers aiming to hand the site off to common low web knowledge people.
Never been happier to be able to push out 2-3 very complicated sites a week, and be able to hand them over to my clients to run with ease. CMSms rocks hard, Cheers -J
Oh by the way… this is a wordpress site right.. did you know that it’s broken in IE? can’t submit a form in the biggest browser market… hmmm.. ;)
4 Mar, 2010
IE maybe the most popular browser, but in Speckyboys market it accounts for only 13%.
The form problem is not a Wordpress issue it is a theme issue, and it is not one something I am going to rush to fix either!
4 Mar, 2010
It was just a heads up.. I know it was part of the theme.. I was not jabbing there, just letting you know the 13% of your market is not being accounted for.. good article btw … :D cheers -J