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Looking for a great web CMS
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Looking for a great web CMS

Hey all, hope all is well.

I tried to do my own research on finding some great open source / free CMS that can handle multiple sites (multisite) functionality. I have a customer/family friend who had their own CMS developed about 10 years ago and it works but his developer left and now it's kind of difficult to try and figure out how everything/anything works. Below are the requirements I am trying to figure out. I am not that great with coding stuff so this is why I am looking at a CMS that has these features integrated in.
Requirements:

  • Multi Site Function (if possible) I might end up recommending instead of 1 big system the company does little VPS for each client/site to not have an entire impact of downtime if something goes haywire
  • The CMS has it's own blogging system, event/calendar system, login/password system for members of a web site (couple of the sites have private site sections for small portion of members). All these things should be able to be easily maintained/edit via the CMS
  • Easy and clean WYSIWYG edit (hopefully support for HTML5) and even better if possible Drag/Drop functionality
  • Version/History control
  • Navigation/Menu easily able to edit/configure list with drop down availability
  • eCommerce shop/store functionality

A couple that I looked at which seemed great were:

  • OctoberCMS https://octobercms.com/ but I was unable to figure it out right off the bat, so I'm doubtful a client/customer would have ease on using it as well. Aside from that it seemed great and had a strong community of users/plugins
  • MobX modx.com/ looks real cool, have not tried this yet.
  • WordPress & Joomla -- all unfortunately out of the picture.
  • Drupal -- need to try out still

Thanks for your time!

Comments

  • Why not wordpress ? It's a pretty powerful CMS in my view (But I'll always go for custom if I had time)

  • wychwych Member

    doughnet said: WordPress & Joomla -- all unfortunately out of the picture.

    why?

  • @wych said:
    why?
    @sdglhm said:
    Why not wordpress ? It's a pretty powerful CMS in my view (But I'll always go for custom if I had time)

    From my experience, it definitely is powerful but it could be overwhelming for people just needing to change specific parts.

  • AbdussamadAbdussamad Member
    edited July 2015

    When it comes to CMS you want to stick with the majors. WP, Drupal and Joomla. The reason is the huge ecosystem of plugins/addons/modules and lots of developers. If you pick a niche system then you'll have the same problem as you had with the custom CMS - expensive devs.

    I only have experience with WP and Drupal so here's what I think. WP can do all you need but it's permissions system is not as fine grained as Drupal's. Drupal however is much harder to use. Drupal is more like a framework than a CMS. See if WP will work for you otherwise go with Drupal but understand that simple sites will be harder with Drupal.

  • @Abdussamad said:
    When it comes to CMS you want to stick with the majors. WP, Drupal and Joomla. The reason is the huge ecosystem of plugins/addons/modules and lots of developers. If you pick a niche system then you'll have the same problem as you had with the custom CMS - expensive devs.

    I only have experience with WP and Drupal so here's what I think. WP can do all you need but it's permissions system is not as fine grained as Drupal's. Drupal however is much harder to use. Drupal is more like a framework than a CMS. See if WP will work for you otherwise go with Drupal but understand that simple sites will be harder with Drupal.

    Thank you for the information. I do agree, there is a reason why the major CMS are being used. The sites I will be working with are simple though but I have a style of bootstrap/html5/css that I'd like to use for all of them to give them all a new style/spark to their web presence. I will try out Drupal and see how the functionality performs. Again, thanks for your time reading and replying.

  • GM2015GM2015 Member
    edited July 2015

    Wordpress is fast with this theme:
    http://www.buildersociety.com/threads/buso-lightning-the-fastest-wordpress-theme.763/

    Add these to functions.php:

    //Removes query strings from static resources
    function _remove_script_version( $src ){
    $parts = explode( '?', $src );
    return $parts[0];
    }
    add_filter( 'script_loader_src', '_remove_script_version', 15, 1 );
    add_filter( 'style_loader_src', '_remove_script_version', 15, 1 );

    //Fucking emojis. Wordpress going after kids now.
    remove_action( 'wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7 );
    remove_action( 'wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles' );

    w3tc and a good server. you can probably optimise better than I do. My loadings times and http calls are low.

    Thanked by 1budi1413
  • @GM2015 said:
    Wordpress is fast with this theme:
    http://www.buildersociety.com/threads/buso-lightning-the-fastest-wordpress-theme.763/

    Add these to functions.php:

    //Removes query strings from static resources
    function _remove_script_version( $src ){
    $parts = explode( '?', $src );
    return $parts[0];
    }
    add_filter( 'script_loader_src', '_remove_script_version', 15, 1 );
    add_filter( 'style_loader_src', '_remove_script_version', 15, 1 );

    //Fucking emojis. Wordpress going after kids now.
    remove_action( 'wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7 );
    remove_action( 'wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles' );

    w3tc and a good server. you can probably optimise better than I do. My loadings times and http calls are low.

    That's awesome at how fast it is. Great to know! Does it improve the performance/resources it requires to use on a VPS/System? I'm hoping to dedicate a single VPS (1core/512mb ram/~20gb SSD) per site used.

  • GM2015GM2015 Member

    That theme mostly reduces the bloat compared to most WP themes. Otherwise, your database and network connection will determine mostly your loading time. Also, try to reduce http calls.

    try these speedtests to see where and what loading takes place:
    Google gives you optimised files, and I used the other two to see where the loading comes from.
    https://gtmetrix.com/
    https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
    http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/

    doughnet said: That's awesome at how fast it is. Great to know! Does it improve the performance/resources it requires to use on a VPS/System? I'm hoping to dedicate a single VPS (1core/512mb ram/~20gb SSD) per site used.

  • I'd recommend you a 1.5GB or higher with SSD + 1Gbps network port. It will make your WP amazingly fast.

  • @sdglhm said:
    I'd recommend you a 1.5GB or higher with SSD + 1Gbps network port. It will make your WP amazingly fast.

    Thank you for the information. I will keep it in mind if for some reason we go with WP as the CMS. The 1.5GB seems like a large amount of resources, but having over 100+ sites would not be cost effect to get expensive/managed VPS with those specs.

  • Also you can get a personal range dedicated if you're planning to go big.

    Btw, WP is sometimes bit resource hungry. In most cases it was the plugins. If you encounter any resource monster. Try disabling and enabling plugins one by one.

  • SaahibSaahib Host Rep, Veteran

    Best way to try CMS which already comes with loaded native support to your need.
    And stay away from Drupal.. its kind of mess, they say you don't need to code but then hack.. you have to learn a lot that you starts coding soon. But in most cases, its overkill. Unless you have plenty of time to learn that thing or you have someone very experienced to guide.. then go for Drupal.. else rather think of investing that time in symphony 2 like framework..

    Otherwise WP is best because of ecosystem it has ...

  • The perfect CMS doesn't exist. Two problems (at least):

    1. The big ones (e.g. WP) try to satisfy all markets and become bloated with feature you don't want. And rely on third-party plugins and themes for features you do want, which break or become discontinued.

    2. The small (specialized) ones either don't have the feature you want, or die because of lack of interest.

  • FritzFritz Veteran
    edited July 2015

    Use WP-Multisite and use Wp-Rocket plugin (paid). It's the best caching plugin (or you can try Hyper-cache too - free).
    Mine can have 'A' grade from all page speed test using the plugin.

    Zero server load.

  • @sleddog said:
    The perfect CMS doesn't exist. Two problems (at least):

    1. The big ones (e.g. WP) try to satisfy all markets and become bloated with feature you don't want. And rely on third-party plugins and themes for features you do want, which break or become discontinued.

    2. The small (specialized) ones either don't have the feature you want, or die because of lack of interest.

    true true ... exactly how i feel as well ... but im kind of in a position where i have to make a choice. also, i forgot to mention i need to be able remove any open source branding.

  • thsigitthsigit Member
    edited July 2015

    doughnet said: remove any open source branding.

    why would you want to do that? Anyone can determine if your site is using Drupal/WP/Joomla just by the look at the source page, and your clients --even if they are the most web ignorants themselves-- can find out which one you are using. And many top sites are built on top of these three.

    doughnet said: having over 100+ sites

    If you are on Drupal, this will become a pain-in-the-neck once you need to update 100+ sites all at once, except if you're using Drush or Aegir

    doughnet said: I'm hoping to dedicate a single VPS (1core/512mb ram/~20gb SSD) per site

    It is more likely you will use the whole dedi for all those sites. The reason being, you would need the script (which handles multisite/network functionality) to be on the same server as the micro-sites.

    Despite many comparisons out there, I think this link is relevant:
    http://redcrackle.com/blog/Comparison-Drupal-WordPress-Joomla

    doughnet said: Easy and clean WYSIWYG edit (hopefully support for HTML5) and even better if possible Drag/Drop functionality

    If this is the case, WP (with help of some drag n drop plugin) is the answer. Drupal has it with Panel module, but not anything else.

    If your 100+ sites are similar and share contents, I would recommend using Drupal. If not (e.g different theme, menus, contents, etc ), I would recommend using Wordpress.

    However if your sites are completely different, I would recommend to create a separate site than a multisite, and use 3rd party service (in case if you will choose WP) to manage them all.

  • riuriu Member

    Undoubtedly Wordpress is the best engine. With good plugins and light theme (of course with good server config) - should fit the need.
    Easier for a layman to manage than managing joomla / drupal.

  • KodisKodis Member

    My recommendation goes for Wordpress.
    Most popular, most user friendly.

  • Typo 3 might also be worth looking at

  • jbarrjbarr Member

    Check out opensourcecms.com for a comprehensive list of popular CMS offerings.

    While not up to your specs, my favorite is GpEasy, a lightweight non-db CMS that I use for many small sites.

    Thanked by 1Shot2
  • n1kkon1kko Member

    Not opensource but I moved to CMS pro. Fits all my needs and very easy to work with.

  • warihwarih Member

    Wordpress is usefull with many plugins to make more powerfull

  • Thanks for that theme, Probably will use it!

    Wordpress has now, after multiple severe vulnerabilities in their code base began to release worthy versions, just don't go bloating it with random plugins and themes.

    Remember to be vulnerability free you've got to trust that the dev(s) are knowledgeable; and that they have had their work checked & reviewed before releasing into the wild.

    You can install wordpress on a 32MB LEB and it'll serve static pages fine. For higher traffic than a handful of people you'll need to be looking at 512Mb+ to be safe.

  • BruceBruce Member

    don't dismiss drupal too soon. have a look at distributions of drupal. there's some nice ones customised for different tasks. acquia, open atrium, etc. can be made simple for basic editing of new pages/posts, and hides a lot of the detail of admin for a usual drupal site.

    otherwise, wordpress. there is wordpress multisite, but I never got on with it too well. easier to just spin up a new WP site

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