CMS CRASH

COURSEAndy McIlwain @

Net Tuesday Toronto

July 8, 2014

Agenda

1. Introductions

2. What’s a CMS? Why should you care?

3. Choosing a CMS

4. Comparing Popular Platforms

5. Discussion

Who is this guy?

Andy McIlwain

• Content @ SIDEKICK (www.sidekick.pro)

• Organizer, WordCamp Toronto 2014

• Web “Generalist”

Connect

• The Twitter: @andymci

• Email: andy@sidekick.pro

What’s a CMS?

• Content Management System

• Layer between code and user.

• Manage sites without being a developer.

Website that

Visitors See

Underlying

Code & Technology

Your CMS

Why should you care?

• Reduce IT/developer involvement.

• Be responsive. Get things done faster.e.g. Breaking news and you need to update the site quickly.

• Easier training & onboarding.

Choosing a CMSShopping for a CMS is like shopping

for groceries. It’s better when you

have a list of what to look for.

Image Credit: Situ Herrera

Remember: Your CMS is a tool.

It’s just means to an end.

• Don’t get distracted by features.

• Some CMSes better suited to certain tasks.

• There’s always a learning curve.

Define your requirements first.

Image credit: Freepik

Functional Requirements

• What should users be able to do?

• E.g. Make a purchase, create an account,

submit a contact form, make a donation.

• Create a functional requirements list.

Design Requirements

• The “Look and Feel” of your site.

• Usually handled by CMS themes (a.k.a.

templates, styles, skins…)

• Create a design requirements list.

Content Requirements

• The type of content (written, media) that will

be managed by the CMS.

• Blogging? Press releases? Restricted

content?

• Create a sitemap that outlines all major

pages or sections of your site.

Time & Money Requirements

• What’s the timeline? What’re the

milestones?

• What needs to be done now vs. later?

• What’s the available budget?

– Encompasses setup, customization, training,

support, etc.

People / Stakeholders

Image Credit: Freepik

Who is leading the project?

• What’s their understanding of the project?

– Technical? Non-technical?

• What’s their experience with CMSes?

• Are they comfortable coordinating between

stakeholders?

– Developers, Administration, Executives,

Constituents, etc…

Who is implementing the CMS?

• Who’s putting the pieces together, and what

knowledge do they have?

– What’s their experience? Are they comfortable to

deliver on the requirements?

• In-house isn’t always the right solution.

• Look at your requirements, consider all the

options available.

Who will be working with the CMS?

• Primary, day-to-day users.

• Have they used a system like this before?

• Will they need additional support?

• Will you need to train people quickly?

Things To Investigate

Before You Commit

Image credit: Icomoon

Learning Curve

• How complex is the tool?

– Look for discussions and reviews.

• Are there lessons online?

• How usable is the software?

– Can you play with a demo?

– Useful site: http://www.opensourcecms.com/

Documentation

• What’s available from the vendor?

• What’s available from 3rd parties?

• Is it understandable? Up-to-date?

• How well-written is it? Any visual examples?

System Requirements

• Do you host yourself or with the vendor?

• Are there specific environment

requirements?

– E.g. PHP, Rails, Node, ASP.NET …

Licensing

• Open Source vs. Proprietary

– Are you “locked in” with a sole-source product?

• What’s the cost?

• What are your rights as a user?

Market

• Are there developers already?What’s their going rate?

– Less Popular = More Specialization = More Lock-In

– More Popular = Greater variance in rates, but also a variance in quality.

• Are extensions (plugins) or themes available? What’s the average cost?

– E.g. WordPress has 1000s of themes available, whereas Drupal does not.

Comparing CMS Options

Image Credit: Icons8

Pros

• Relatively easy to learn.

• Ample documentation.

• Works on vast majority of hosting providers.

• 100% GPL license.

• Large market of themes, plugins, and developers.

• Actively updated, lots of custom functionality through plugins.

Cons

• User experience geared

towards publishing

content. Experience is

lacking in other areas.

• Not well suited (IMO) to

more complex

functionality.

WordPress

Download @

www.WordPress.org

Drupal

Pros

• Free & open source.

• Works on most hosting providers.

• Built with complex sites in mind, e.g. whitehouse.gov

• Active community of developers.

• Good-sized market of themes and extensions.

• Very stable.

Cons

• Steep learning curve.

• More intensive hosting

requirements.

• Projects typically longer,

more expensive.

Download @

www.Drupal.org

Joomla!

Pros

• Free, open source.

• Works on majority of

hosting providers.

• Themes and extensions

available.

Cons

• Development is relatively

inactive compared to other

CMS platforms.

• Small market of

developers, extensions.

Download @

www.Joomla.org

Tendenci

Pros

• Catered specifically to non-

profit organizations.

• Free & open source. (Need

to use “Developers” link on

the home page.)

Cons

• Requires hosting provider

that supports Python.

• Smaller CMS means small

market of experts.

• Written in Python. Popular,

but less popular than PHP.

More information @

http://tendenci.com/

GetSimple CMS

Pros

• Free & Open Source

• Lightweight – Very small

installation, no database.

• Works on majority of

hosting providers.

Cons

• Limited plugins to add

more functionality.

• Limited support.

Download @

http://get-simple.info/

ExpressionEngine

Pros

• Free version available to

experiment with.

• Active community of

developers + backed by an

established company.

• Works with most hosting

providers.

Cons

• Costs!

• Per-Site License ($299++)

• Support ($49/mo++)

• No Refunds

Info/Purchase @

http://ellislab.com/expressionengine/

To Recap…

• Start with your requirements.

• Identify your stakeholders.

• Research each platform before you decide.

Thank You!

(Discussion)