Versatile CMS

New to content management systems

[Psycho111]

I'm in the midst of developing a new site and I'm looking at content management systems right now. Does anyone know of a really versatile CMS that allows me to really customize the look and functionality...like being able to add/take out functions and also integrate it with a forum. I'm an administrator at a post-nuke site and I'm not really feeling that CMS.

Thank in advance for any help.

[grimlock]

Hello, I really love the Mambo CMS. Check it out and tons of other CMS's at [cmsmatrix.org...] I used to run Post Nuke too but it's slow and hard to create templates for. Mambo only requires around 7 lines of PHP inserted into your template and it will wrap the site around it. If you do like Mambo and want to add more modules to it go to www.mamboforge.net there are tons of mods and addons'.

Goodluck,

Me Grimlock!

[mivox]

If you're comfortable with php, I'd recommend drupal. It is a bit of a pain to get your head around at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is very versatile... Everything from blogs and membership sites to ecomm sites (and combinations of the above, etc.) can be run through it.

Just installed it on my employer's site, and actually feel a bit guilty about not using it to better advantage for all its features.

[Psycho111]

I like Mambo a lot but I really don't think I'll be able to customize it exactly how I want...same with drupal since I'm not a whiz with PHP.

Is it common to hire someone to create a custom CMS for the specific needs of a site? If so, where are good places to look for this type of service? Thanks.

[mivox]

There are people who will install/configure/customize drupal for a fee... That would no doubt be cheaper than having someone build a whole system from scratch.

If you search for drupal installation customization, you'll probably find a number of sites offering such services.

[Psycho111]

Thanks, I'll have to check that out.

[Psycho111]

I think I just fell in love with a CMS, lol. I stumbled across the most oddly named CMS when looking at performance figures....E107. It's super fast compared to the other CMSs and it has the forum integration that I've been looking for.....not looking for a blog. Anyone have experience with E107?

[jatar_k]

We had some issues with e107, I think that is the one we tried, but I will have to find out what they were.

[Psycho111]

Anyone else have experience with E107? It doesn't seem too popular but I'm liking it much more than other CMSs.

[mivox]

Never heard of it, but I'll have to check it out. Always looking for a better mousetrap. ;)

...but just to note: drupal isn't just a "blog" program. It does forums and a ton of other things too.

[jatar_k]

I think the main problem was that it was a process hog and it was a real pain to hand customize.

[Psycho111]

That's weird jatar_k.....maybe E107 wasn't setup correctly because mamboserver did a benchmark of different CMSs and E107 blew all the others out of the water. You can see it at [forum.mamboserver.com...]

I don't think they skewed the results since Mambo didn't do the best, hehe.

[Marcia]

I've got Fantastico included with some hosting which has automatic install of a bunch of programs, including Drupal and Mambo. I tried installing Drupal, looked at the instructions in the admin section and it took a few minutes to figure out it would take learning a whole new proprietary terminology, which there's just no time for. I wouldn't need help installing and couldn't consider paying for help for a non-revenue personal informational site, but might need an interpreter to learn the language. ;)

Mambo is in plain, understandable English, though it would be nice if there were simple instructions on how to use a different template.