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Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsQuestions about CMS'
Hey guys!
So recently I have really been working on my HTML, CSS and JavaScript skills and I have been having a lot of fun with it. I have already started making some sites for close family members and etc and the experience has been good.
However, how can I allow these guys to add content to their sites? I know I will need to use a CMS of some kind won't I? Which CMS would you guys recommend?
Thank you to anyone who takes their time to help me out!
-Luke
5 Answers
John Steer-Fowler
Courses Plus Student 11,734 PointsHey Luke Glazebrook,
I personally recommend Drupal for larger projects that are requiring a CMS. It has a well supported community with lots of plugins. You could try Wordpress too (lots of courses and tutorials on Treehouse for Wordpress).
For really small websites (eg one-page sites) or basic company websites there are some small free CMS out there that are more suitable for small sites.
I recently made a big site for a company and I started using Drupal for the site. The good thing about Drupal is it scales well. A few weeks later the company asked if I could integrate ecommerce into the site, which was easy with Drupal.
It comes down to personal preference like most things in web development. Try out a few different CMS' and see which one you prefer.
Like I mentioned earlier, Wordpress is probably a good bet as Treehouse have some great courses on it.
Keep up the good work
Gunjeet Hattar
14,483 PointsIve personally used and seen many developers use wordpress, given the flexibility it offers. But then again you will have to tailor your website (to an extent) so as to match wordpress coding style and file structure. Best is its free. Also there is Joomla and Drupal, but since I haven't used it personally I can't really say much.
If it's just a light weight CMS that you would want to add to your website then you could try looking into Perch . My cousin uses this and I've tried it out myself. Pretty easy to add.
If it's just comments you are concerned with, why not look into Disqus comments and integrate it within your website.
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsI have heard a lot about WordPress and even watched some videos about it here on Treehouse but I don't know about it. It doesn't seem like something I would enjoy using.
Most of the projects I am working on now will be lightweight so I could indeed look into Perch!
I am looking for a way to add content such as images more than comments.
Stephen Murphy
780 PointsWordpress is a great start for not-techsavvy folks to get a site up and running. You could also use Drupal/Joomla. Wordpress definitely has the easiest user interface compared to the others.
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsMaybe I should go for WordPress then... I will have another look into it, thanks for the advice!
Rich Bagley
25,869 PointsHi Luke,
The one I've used the most recently has to be WordPress. Very easy to use and highly customisable. The huge amount of available plugins is an advantage too.
It also allows you to restrict access to certain user roles meaning users can only access what you need them to.
Just my opinion on it and it may not be what your site needs but hope it helps you make a decision either way.
-Rich
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsThat seems great that you can restrict users and etc on what they can and can't do! I am going to take another look into WordPress.
Thank you for your answer Rich it's been very helpful!
Rich Bagley
25,869 PointsNo problem. Glad I could help!
John Steer-Fowler
Courses Plus Student 11,734 PointsThe restriction of users on Wordpress is nothing unique, you can do that on almost every decent CMS.
Personally, I think before jumping the gun, you should test out Wordpress, Drupal and Joomla and see which you prefer. Some CMS' are better for certain things than others.
If I was making a website that would have some sort of purpose (Blog, Job Website, Real Estate etc) then I would use Wordpress due to it's nice plugins for those features.
If I am adding a CMS to a website for a business or some users to update content on the website then I would 100% use Drupal without a doubt. It's community focus much more on normal websites (eg business websites/brochure sites) than Wordpress.
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsOh right! Thanks for the information, I am very inexperienced with CMS'.
So different CMS' are better for different things? Is that subjective or not?
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsLuke Glazebrook
13,564 PointsI shall take a look into Drupal, thank you for the recommendation! Most of the projects I will be working on at this moment in time will be fairly small, however, so I might look into a smaller free CMS for now!
That seems awesome and it's great how it allows you add new features such as ecommerce with relative ease.
I will have another look into WordPress I think, I did start on it before but I never continued.
Thank you for all the help!
Andrew Shook
31,709 PointsAndrew Shook
31,709 PointsLuke, I've been both a WordPress and Drupal developer, so I figured I would add my two cents to the collection. Drupal is not for the faint of heart or those new to PHP. Drupal's documentation is very heavy and hard to read, not to mention incomplete in some area's. Also, Drupal's learning curve is a Sisyphean task. Finally, it's admin area is complex and full of developer jargon, and I found most clients don't like it much. The upside to Drupal is that it's extremely powerful and practically very module( Drupal's term for plugin) you could ever need is free.
Now, WordPress is the exact opposite of Drupal in almost every way. All the really great plugins cost money, the admin area is super user friendly, and the documentation is amazing. That being said, WordPress does have it's limitations. I generally use WordPress for simple sites that don't require a lot of functionality and customization (this sound like what you might be doing), and I use Drupal for site with complex database requirements and heavy backend functionality.
Best of Luck, Andrew.