Need a good CMS

[jason]

I am going to be redesigning a website for the Speech and Language Department at work. The site is going to have content that changes somewhat regularly, so I was thinking about recommending some sort of CMS so that the department could make updates witout having to come back to me and my department all the time. I've never really used CMS, but I know a lot of you have, so I was hoping to get some suggestions.

Here's the specs:

* It will be run on a Windows-based dedicated server, so I can install anything I need on it without a problem.
* I have access to an MS SQL Server
* I'm open to using any language to run the thing (ASP, PHP, Perl, etc.)
* Some of the content will include streammed video clips (either Real or Quicktime, I'm not sure yet) wich will probably run in a popup window
* There is some money available for a commercial app, although I'm taking anything (commercial, open source, etc.) into consideration.

What's everyone think? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

--Jason

[Still Shady]

http://www.asp.net/Default.aspx?tabindex=9&tabid=47

try above it's .NET so you need the framework installed on your server.

Use MSDE it's cheaper!

[G.Bloke]

ASP!? *shudder*

[mattsiegman]

The only CMS that will ever fit your needs is the one you write.

CMSes in general suck for anything specialized, they take away a lot of your power as the web master.

[Still Shady]

Originally posted by G.Bloke
ASP!? *shudder*

ASP.NET

[najr]

If you're gonna be using a CMS, use e107. It's one of the simplest out there, so you can code out some plugins or make some themes for yourself easily. More info. at e107.org

[jgary]

I use Article Manager, it is cheap, easy to install, has server side forms so multiple folks can add to the site, and it has a host of add-ons. Alot of CMS for a little program at interactivetools.com.

--Jay Gary, see it in operation at: http://www.presence.tv

[CeleronXL]

postnuke is kind of nice.. I've been looking at it lately, but not really anything serious. http://www.postnuke.org

[DViper01]

Hi,

personally I once evaluated several CMS-systems and found ZOPE (http://www.zope.org) with its CMF (Content Management Framework) to be the best open-source solution for our needs. It's extremely flexible by design, has a big user community, runs on nearly every OS and can be extended in several programming languages (it favors Python).

Have a look at it - I think it's worth the time.

regards,
David

[jason]

Thanks everyone for your input. The needs for this project have changed, and now I don't think that we will have a need for CMS to achieve what my client now wants. Still, I plan to take a look at some or all of the packages suggested for future reference. Personally, I'm the type of person who likes to design and code everything by hand so I know exactly what is going on, but sometimes, given project timelines, this isn't possible. I think I will eventually end up in a situation where CMS will be helpful.

Thanks again.

--Jason

[Vin DSL]

Originally posted by jason
... Personally, I'm the type of person who likes to design and code everything by hand so I know exactly what is going on, but sometimes, given project timelines, this isn't possible. I think I will eventually end up in a situation where CMS will be helpful...

When you say you like to "code everything by hand" do you mean in markup languages like HTML and so forth?

I started doing this stuff in 1984, using ASCII. Then, I bought my first canned BB software in 1986 --- Mustang BBS to be exact. Lots of coding still had to be done by hand --- porting games to it et cetera. Then, in 1994 I moved to HTML, which was quite a steep learning curve, but I saw the handwriting on the wall. In 1998 it was PERL/CGI, which was another steep learning curve. Now it's PHP, which for the life of me looks like a 'fork' of PERL.

One of the reasons I moved to JagPC was I wanted to try CMS/BLOG, and it was just too painful on W2K servers --- at least at the host I was using. They didn't even offer MySQL --- period. I have been V happy with PHP-Nuke so far. The installation and updates have been relatively painless, and there is PLENTY of opportunity to "code everything by hand" if I would so wish. I could do my own theme, for instance, design/code blocks, modules, yada, yada, yada.

I don't mean this as a flame, so don't take it wrong, but I think you have the wrong impression of what CMS entails. There is plenty of room for improvements in it, believe me. I find PHP-Nuke to be on the cutting edge, if you would, of design/code. I suppose others would say it is on the lunatic fringe, but it is as raw, at this point, as ASCII was in 1984 or HTML was in 1994.

My recommendation is to dive in. The water's fine!

[jason]

Originally posted by Vin DSL
When you say you like to "code everything by hand" do you mean in markup languages like HTML and so forth?

No, I mean starting from the ground up, creating the database tables, writing the code to connect to and query them, and so on and so forth. I've designed several full-scale web (and Windows) applications that way, starting out well before CMS beacme a buzz word. I'm comfortable doing things that way because I've been doing it for so long. I haven't had any experience with the various CMS systems, and when in a pinch, I tend to stay with what I know, even though I'm sure someone has already written something that could keep me from reinventing the wheel. That's why I want to check out some of the systems out there now, while I have some time to do it.

--Jason

[clio]

Jason, try http://developer.ez.no it's a program called EzPublish, the most powerful and versitile CMS I know of.