A comparison of some of the most popular PHP-based Content Management Systems (CMS). The views and opinions expressed are simply that.. my views and opinions.. not so much straight facts. If there are systems mentioned that you would like to contribute input to, do so in the comments. Same goes for any systems that I neglect to mention: feel free to mention it in the comments and a quick pro/con comparison.

Drupal – a blogging and forum CMS

The Good:

Drupal is a great platform if you’re a developer looking to have a very flexible and dynamic blog/forum. Drupal has the functionality and great integration of blogging and forums right in the core of the system. Drupal is also fairly easy to learn and has a large community and professionals using the system. Drupal is also one of the few Content Management Systems that is not dependent on one server technology, since it works on both IIS and Apache.

The Bad:

Backward Compatibility: Drupal is in constant development, and each launch lacks backwards compatibility with the previous version. This makes it extremely frustrating as each year you have to upgrade old sites manually and modify the code to have it working correctly with the new version.

The Ugly:

Usability: Most aspects of Drupal’s administration interface are confusing and intimidating, particularly for new administrators. This makes it difficult to train clients and you usually have to provide documentation and instructions for clients to be able to use it correctly. Drupal may be powerful, but it is also complex. The key is overcoming its steep initial learning curve. Most casual users are willing to sacrifice features for ease of use making Drupal less popular than systems such as WordPress which offer point and click extensibility and great user interface.

Expression Engine – a large multi-functional CMS

The Good

Expression Engine is easily one of the largest and most sophisticated Content Management Systems out there, but the beauty of the system is simplicity. You don’t have to know PHP syntax to understand this system, and for those that do you get an added bonus as future releases will be built on the CodeIgnitor framework. Top it all off with built in modules from blogging to forums and page making, the only thing you won’t get out of the box with this system is a shopping cart.

The Not-so-Bad

While Expression Engine is amazing in many ways, it does come with a price tag. The price is very reasonable, however, and if you were try to match this system with an open source alternative, you wouldn’t get anywhere close without buying premium modules or plugins anyways, so shrug it off and try it out. They do have a free version to get started with!

Frog CMS – a really basic page-based CMS

Overview of Frog CMS

I haven’t used Frog CMS yet, but have heard wonderful things about the system. From what I do know, Frog is based on a very lightweight and simple Ruby on Rails systems called Radiant. Featuring drag-and-drop layout and ordering and amazingly fast setup times, this system has been getting a lot of praise as a great generic page-based CMS. You’ll probably want to play around with it before using it on any client website, but from my research, I’d say this CMS is perfect for really low-budget, really basic websites like a simple photographer or other small business website.

Joomla – a very large, very difficult, but very powerful CMS

The Good

Joomla will blow your mind when you google any question you can think of for the system. Since the system began as a fork of Mambo it has had the time to grow and extend to do just about anything. There are over 4000 plugins for Joomla to date, and the largest community and support group of any CMS. If you’re a master programmer, or a large business, this system is perfect for you.

The Bad

Like all mammoths, large and old systems eventually die out. This system, while powerful and amazing, takes far too much time to learn. If you didn’t grow up with the system or use it in a corporate setting, then don’t both with it now. Joomla is on it’s way out, being replace by slimmer, faster, and easier systems like Expression Engine and Modx.

Modx – content management at it’s finest

Overview of Modx

Modx is the closest you’ll get to an application that looks and behaves like a desktop application, supporting right-clicks to edit properties, drag-and-drop arrangement and functionality, as well as CTRL+S to save pages! This is a medium sized Content Management System, offering a wide range of functions, but mostly specializing in simple page and template management. Modx is easy to learn, easy to work with, and easy to customize. I really believe this is one of the best systems you’ll find and I have yet to find any major drawback to using Modx over other systems, aside from the lack of blogging or forums in its core (though this adds to the value of the system for many as well since it stays lighter without unneeded functionality). Oh, and did I mention that this works on almost ANY major web server and features a web based installer that tells you what works, what doesn’t and how to fix it!?!? Don’t just take my word for it, read more praise about Modx

Night Royale

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Simply Ornate

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Several3

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Zeke 1.0

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Night Transition

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JS Box

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Brilliance

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PocketT

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Overstand

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