Choosing the best CMS (Content Management System) for a website or web based project can be a daunting task. Take a look at OpenSourceCMS.com and you can see that currently there are over 200+ CMS demos you can try out in the PHP category alone. Faced with this many options, and having to make a decision within a limited time frame, what do you do? The choice can be even more complicated if you are building a site for an important client, as the CMS you choose can have enormous consequences for the client further down the road.
For this reason it’s important to read the reviews, check the technical specifications, look at the code, and most importantly, know the requirements of the project. Over the years I’ve worked with many different open source PHP-based CMS systems, and, like everyone else, I’ve got my opinions as to which are best, and why.
Here’s a quick rundown of my favorite PHP based CMS systems, and why I think they excel.
MODx
MODx considers itself to be an Open Source PHP application framework and although it is a functional CMS out of the box, it is very modular, allowing you to pick and choose the features you want and easily extend it’s native compatibilities. It also features a slick AJAX based interface, and a modern architecture. Other strong points for MODx incude:
SEO friendly from the ground up
Built with Web Standards in mind
Fairly easy to create custom content using “chunks”
That said, it does take some time to get used to MODx, it’s terminology and its templating structure, and it is a bit lacking in pre-built 3rd party plugins and components.
Silverstripe
Silverstripe is another modern CMS system that also has its own framework, Sapphire, behind it, as well as a modular architecture that allows for a great deal of flexibilty. Silverstripe has been used for some high profile projects and has a slick, professional interface.
Other strong points for Silverstripe:
Allows you to use your own HTML/CSS structure
Great translation module available
Easy and flexible content editing
Like MODx however, Silverstripe does require some time to get used to, and you will need to learn the Sapphire framework to take full advantage of its capabilities.
Frog CMS
Frog CMS started out as a PHP version of the Radiant CMS for Ruby on Rails. It’s main strength is best described by the Frog CMS tagline, “It’s fast, it’s simple, and it works”. This CMS is a great choice for small to medium sized sites and those who already know some basic PHP.
Advanages for Frog CMS:
No templating languages to learn, just HTML/CSS and PHP
Clean interface that’s easy to modify
The main downside for the Frog CMS is it’s lack of pre-built extensions, and if you don’t know PHP this is probably not the best choice.
Drupal
Drupal is a classic, one of the most well-known CMS systems, it has been around for a long time and has a huge community behind it. This is both the best thing and the worst thing about it. It’s great because there are a huge amount of extensions for this CMS, and there have been numerous high traffic sites built on the platform, but at the same time it has a steep learning curve, and simply wrapping your head around the architecture and various extensions is a job in and of itself.
Plus points:
Robust, tested, and reliable
Lots of extensions
As far as critiques go for Drupal, the primary complaint seems to be the learning curve, and the somewhat limiting architecture, it is not the easiest system to style, and it’s hard to get a Drupal site to not look like a Drupal site.
Wordpress
No CMS roundup would really be complete without mentioning Wordpress. Many people think of Wordpress as simply a blogging platform, but it is actually a very capable CMS system, and can be used for almost any type of site. The advantages of Wordpress are quite obvious, an insane amount of prebuilt components and plugins, excellent documentaion, and a huge community make developing sites with Wordpress lightning fast. Before moving on to other CMS systems I would probably check to see if the site could be built faster with WP.
Kudos for Wordpress:
Mind boggling amount of prebuilt components available
Excellent documentation
Very large and supportive developer community
Of course, Wordpress is not a viable option for certain types of larger sites, as its main focus continues to be blogging and smaller scale sites (though it must be said that WP can handle high traffic sites).
At the end of the day, the type of CMS you choose needs to fit the type of project you are building. My experience is that there is no magic bullet. MODx, Silverstripe, Frog CMS, Drupal, and Wordpress are all excellent options, but you need to carefully examine their capabilities and the extensions available, and match those to your requirements or those of your client.
Depending on the type of development that needs to be done, one of these CMS platforms could be the perfect option for quick development, or you might need a more customized solution, in which case you may want to look at a PHP framework such as Zend, Codeigniter, Kohana, or Symfony, or decide to build your site from the ground up with PHP.
Choosing the best CMS (Content Management System) for a website or web based project can be a daunting task. Take a look at OpenSourceCMS.com and you can see that currently there are over 200+ CMS demos you can try out in the PHP category alone. Faced with this many options, and having to make a decision within a limited time frame, what do you do? The choice can be even more complicated if you are building a site for an important client, as the CMS you choose can have enormous consequences for the client further down the road.
For this reason it’s important to read the reviews, check the technical specifications, look at the code, and most importantly, know the requirements of the project. Over the years I’ve worked with many different open source PHP-based CMS systems, and, like everyone else, I’ve got my opinions as to which are best, and why.
Here’s a quick rundown of my favorite PHP based CMS systems, and why I think they excel.
MODx
MODx considers itself to be an Open Source PHP application framework and although it is a functional CMS out of the box, it is very modular, allowing you to pick and choose the features you want and easily extend it’s native compatibilities. It also features a slick AJAX based interface, and a modern architecture. Other strong points for MODx incude:
That said, it does take some time to get used to MODx, it’s terminology and its templating structure, and it is a bit lacking in pre-built 3rd party plugins and components.
Silverstripe
Silverstripe is another modern CMS system that also has its own framework, Sapphire, behind it, as well as a modular architecture that allows for a great deal of flexibilty. Silverstripe has been used for some high profile projects and has a slick, professional interface.
Other strong points for Silverstripe:
Like MODx however, Silverstripe does require some time to get used to, and you will need to learn the Sapphire framework to take full advantage of its capabilities.
Frog CMS
Frog CMS started out as a PHP version of the Radiant CMS for Ruby on Rails. It’s main strength is best described by the Frog CMS tagline, “It’s fast, it’s simple, and it works”. This CMS is a great choice for small to medium sized sites and those who already know some basic PHP.
Advanages for Frog CMS:
The main downside for the Frog CMS is it’s lack of pre-built extensions, and if you don’t know PHP this is probably not the best choice.
Drupal
Drupal is a classic, one of the most well-known CMS systems, it has been around for a long time and has a huge community behind it. This is both the best thing and the worst thing about it. It’s great because there are a huge amount of extensions for this CMS, and there have been numerous high traffic sites built on the platform, but at the same time it has a steep learning curve, and simply wrapping your head around the architecture and various extensions is a job in and of itself.
Plus points:
As far as critiques go for Drupal, the primary complaint seems to be the learning curve, and the somewhat limiting architecture, it is not the easiest system to style, and it’s hard to get a Drupal site to not look like a Drupal site.
Wordpress
No CMS roundup would really be complete without mentioning Wordpress. Many people think of Wordpress as simply a blogging platform, but it is actually a very capable CMS system, and can be used for almost any type of site. The advantages of Wordpress are quite obvious, an insane amount of prebuilt components and plugins, excellent documentaion, and a huge community make developing sites with Wordpress lightning fast. Before moving on to other CMS systems I would probably check to see if the site could be built faster with WP.
Kudos for Wordpress:
Of course, Wordpress is not a viable option for certain types of larger sites, as its main focus continues to be blogging and smaller scale sites (though it must be said that WP can handle high traffic sites).
At the end of the day, the type of CMS you choose needs to fit the type of project you are building. My experience is that there is no magic bullet. MODx, Silverstripe, Frog CMS, Drupal, and Wordpress are all excellent options, but you need to carefully examine their capabilities and the extensions available, and match those to your requirements or those of your client.
Depending on the type of development that needs to be done, one of these CMS platforms could be the perfect option for quick development, or you might need a more customized solution, in which case you may want to look at a PHP framework such as Zend, Codeigniter, Kohana, or Symfony, or decide to build your site from the ground up with PHP.