Open Source CMS Packages
As online content has become “king” in the Information Age, managing that content has meant the difference between keeping your customers engaged or losing their attention to your competitors. Content management systems are tools that businesses can use to build and manage their business web site content as efficiently as possible. A content management system (CMS) runs on a remote server, and provides you with a full suite of editorial, statistical and analytical tools for managing your content. In addition to content creation, CMS packages enable you to build complete back-end solutions for your site, complete with member accounts, banner advertising systems, mailing lists and numerous other features. For the purposes of this article, we will look at some popular open source content management systems such as Mambo, PHP-nuke and PhpWebSite.
Mambo is one of the more popular CMS packages, and has won awards for its ease of use and overall effectiveness. It is getting the attention of the business world, but lacks the kind of professional support that businesses expect with their software. Nonetheless, numerous online forums, and adequate documentation, are available to make up for the slack. Mambo uses a mySQL database, one of the more popular open source databases available. It also uses PHP, a common open source programming for creating database-driven websites. To use Mambo (or any other CMS package), you will have to think in terms of organizing your content in some form of hierarchical structure. In the case of Mambo, that structure consists of higher level classifications called sections, sub-sets called categories, and items, which are the actual content that you create. Mambo allows you to define when your content goes live on your site, as well as when it is taken offline. When you are ready to publish your content, you can use Mambo’s templates to render the final look of your site. Mambo has an easy to use graphical interface and offers member account management, forum membership and banner advertising functions, among many more built-in modules that come with the package.
PHP-nuke is a CMS package that competes with Mambo and boasts its own following of dedicated loyalists. Creators of PHP Nuke like to point out that a large number of third-party developers have created add-ons for the product, which make it easy to integrate it with e-commerce, news agencies, e-learning systems, and a host of other adaptations. As with Mambo PHP-nuke typically works with mySQL databases and PHP. PHP-nuke is usually loaded on to a server running Apache web server, a popular open source server. Like Mambo, PHP Nuke has its own hierarchical structure for content management. PHP Administration allows you to create news content (called “stories”), and “blocks” which are items such as polls, news feeds, search, survey, and other items that appear in the top, bottom or sides of your site. The application has other features that make it popular, such as a form generator, a photo album, FAQ and bulletin board. PHP-nuke has been known to have certain security holes, so administrators would do well to stay current on any relevant patches or fixes.
PhpWebSite is another PHP-based content management system, one that boasts compliance with XHTML, a more tidy and structured version of HTML for web pages. PhpWebSite, however, is a relative newcomer to the CMS market and does not have nearly as many of the features that other CMS packages offer. The creators of PhpWebSite-- Appalachian State University—claim that this ostensible weakness is in fact one of the product’s strengths. It is not encumbered with “useless features” but is instead meant to be a leaner CMS. As an example, PhpWebSite does not have a WYSIWYG editor, such as is found in application like Mambo. Currently the documentation is still limited, but again, online forums exist which will allow users to get the answers that they need. The absence of features does not deter the users of PhpWebSite, many of whom swear by it. These users tend to be more technical types, and are more likely to write their own add-ons for any features they may need.
Which content management system is right for your business? As always, the answer begins by taking inventory of your current content management process, and determining what your needs will be. Each of these three open source CMS packages can ultimately perform the same functions, but some may require additional add-ons to do so, while others will have those functions built-in. Your current content manager’s ease and comfort with technology will be an important factor in determining which product you eventually choose.
Article by Futuretrend Web Team
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