Best CMS for news content website these days?

[born2run]

Hi so I am looking for a speedier, seo friendly, mobile friendly, easy to update, Google AMP compatible, easy to design or edit design CMS.

I'm using Drupal but I've pretty much given up on complicated Drupal as finding a programmer for it is a headache for me, and it's highly complicated to conduct even the smallest updates (security etc) or tweeks to the design.

What about node.js? or Wordpress? Thanks!

[tangor]

Changing hammers does not change the job. You just end up with a different hammer.

[NickMNS]

node.js is not a CMS it is server side scripting language (basically Javascript that runs on the server).

If you are willing to go the route of node.js, then you should definitely check out Python Django, it is web framework that was developed by a news room.

[born2run]

How’s wordpress for mobile?

[archiweb]

which version of Drupal is causing such issues for you?
Design tweaks require html/css skills.
Security updates require knowledgeable developer but same applies for every decent system.

[born2run]

I’m using drupal 7. I do know it’s very robust and powerful but its marketshare is dropping and good drupal developers are expensive and hard to find imho.

[archiweb]

Yep, good developers expect to be paid accordingly.

The cms marketshare stats gravitating the web are misleading because lots of Drupal installs are running with decoupled frontends - Vue, React, etc.

Drupal 7 is officially supported until November 2021, so you have plenty of time to shop around.
Wordpress is a mess ever since Gutenberg dropped recently - lots of folks are less than thrilled.

The Django framework mentioned by NickMNS requires lots of dev work if you need the features of even basic Drupal rig and you will still need substantial budget and rolling support.

[born2run]

I wanted to know about node.js based cms..

[tangor]

Please don't throw anything...

Remember Perl?

I get it that folks want a plug and play to make their day ... but it all comes down to the same thing. HTML, CSS, and maybe a script to do some WORK.

I haven't seen anything all that special that would make me change what I've been doing since 1996...

As for WordPress ... I have to fight every client that insists on gong that direction, and this last year I have simply said no, find someone else. Why? Brilliant Bob decided to install some insane plugin or Harry Hacker tanked the site. The client won't pay for their mistakes and they scream and howl if the bad actors f-up their site. WP is okay, don't get me wrong, but if you deviate any little bit from the core the potential for evil mischief is immense.

node.js functions like Perl, just in a different language that is subject to bad actors piddling and playing.

[born2run]

Hmm ok on further deliberations I’ve decided to stick to my current setup which is drupal. If done right drupal surely is very powerful.

[tangor]

It is. Every Drupal webster I've spoken with has nothing but glowing praise (and a touch of rage from time to time). :)

It's a tool. This one is like a Victronix.

[TorontoBoy]

I dev both Drupal and WP. Drupal is pretty solid and bots seem to never get through. I do check my raw access log. Yes, Drupal is more difficult to use, but once you get it going it is solid and can run for years. If you look at the vulnerabilities database, Drupal has about 12, the last time I checked, and that dates back to 2006. Wordpress, OTOH has hundreds, pages of vulns.

Wordpress is much easier to install and configure, but you need to be on top of it for updates and security. You need to research each plugin to ensure it has no security holes. WP needs constant care and feeding, and is high maintenance. If your customer is unwilling to pay you then of course walk away. While Drupal checks each module, WP does not. You can get plugins from anywhere, so quality is often very suspect for plugins and themes. In my raw access log most of my security challenges of any kind are Wordpress. If you are unwilling to put the time into protecting WP then do something else.

Wordpress has a really good UI and is easy for beginners to understand. There is a lot less training for Wordpress. Clients simply get on and can publish within a couple of minutes. This is why they like it. Customers don't see the extra hours you need to protect the site. You need to remind them that WP is like an iceberg: 2/3ds of the work is under the water unseen by them.

I would not discount either WP or Drupal. They have their strengths and weaknesses. You choose the right tool for the job.

[ergophobe]

TorontoBoy - I know we've had some discussions on the matter, but how do you feel about Drupal 8?

They recently sent out and End of Life PSA for Drupal 7 (I believe the date is Nov 2019). So anyone who builds on Drupal will be forced into Drupal 8 or 9 by then.

[timchuma]

How about an entire state government who decided to go with a CMS that has only one vendor in the world and 2 people in the entire country who can do a scripted update. Good thing I have skills in migrating large websites on those sites (Squiz Matrix). The contract for Lotus Notes was signed by the Devil I believe as they still use it for email.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Use whatever CMS suits your need and has support.

[timchuma]

I used Wordpress on my own site as I wanted to try it out and not have to make a new HTML site for each festival I wrote reviews for. Had a Dreamweaver managed site I can't be bothered to update any more. Would be good candidate for a CMS but I want to make a custom one I can have database fields in.

[TorontoBoy]

I know we've had some discussions on the matter, but how do you feel about Drupal 8?

I dev and run a Drupal 8 site, and it is solid. Of course I tend to it carefully, doing the required updates as they are released. I don't find too many obvious differences in the admin UI between D7 and D8. D8 is just as confusing, complex, and slow to dev. I am a D8 developer, but look for simple solutions to problems. There are much fewer modules available and as time goes on more are released. There are also fewer available themes, so you need to learn how to mod themes to your liking. This all takes work, but nothing you cannot overcome.

In terms of hacking, D8 is as solid as D7. There are bots roaming for the drupalgeddon2 vulnerability and others, so you do need to be careful. Security is pretty good on Drupal, touch wood. Drupal takes patience and a lot more dev time than Wordpress.

Wordpress' Gutenberg came out and many in the community hated it. I installed a plugin to turn it off and have simply ignored it. All is the same as before. Wordpress has an excellent UI front end for novice users, and I appreciate that. The install is simple and easy to do for the non-tech person. The problem is after you do the core install, WP has many security problems. I see the thousands of bots targeting WP. I have given up convincing people to hire me to take care of their WP security issues. They often return after they are hacked, and ask me to dig them out of their hole.

If you want more of a hands off maintenance then go Drupal, preferably D8 as it is being upgraded. Note that the writing UI is not as nice and dev is much slower and more complex. If you want to get instant gratification then WP is the ticket. The writing UI is really excellent. But you will need to baby it and keep up with the maintenance. I like both for different reasons.

[ergophobe]

Thanks. My negative experiences with D8 have mostly revolved around Composer and Dependency Hell that eventually just borks the site. I find it hard to keep it on its feet.

[ergophobe]

Decided tonight to give Drupal 8 another spin. I have just made three failed attempts to do a completely basic install of Drupal 8.

I followed the basic instructions for a Composer install, and it all downloaded fine, but I literally cannot get even a simple install running.

Every time it does something like get to the database form and then kick me back to the language selection and then errors out. When I go to start over, it wants me to log in, but since I never reached the screen where I set an admin password, I have no admin access and probably only have a partially installed DB.

So now I have erased it twice and started over and still cannot get Drupal installed.

My experiences with Drupal 8 continue to be nothing but frustrating.

[ergophobe]

And alas, it is a known issue
[drupal.org...]

And update to Symfony broke Drupal and when you do the composer update or install, you get the version of Symfony released on a April 2... which breaks the Drupal install process.

And that is why I now find Drupal so frustrating

[Demaestro]

What are some of the requirements for functionality on your site, and what features are you adding that requires custom programming?

Your features list should be the determining factor when it comes to the tool you select for the job.