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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Developer Center > Any Opnions on Mambo or CMM or Other CMM?

Any Opnions on Mambo or CMM or Other CMM?
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KeyLimePi
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Feb 3, 2006, 05:09 PM
 
I've produced some simple, mostly static sites for friends in Dreamweaver, and usually advise them to get a copy of Contribute to manage their content. And that generally works. I know next to nothing about PHP and MySQL, but I've been able to add photo galleries, calendars, blogs. etc., to sites that work well and are easy to manage without any software.

So recently I was approached about doing another site for a church, and they say they want to have lots of dynamic content, updated several times a week. I signed them up with a GoDaddy account (don't worry, they've never seen the ads) and I noticed that GoDaddy offers free Mambo, PostNuke, and some other CMM scripts. I think I could probably get a site like this up and running, but my question is this. How hard is it to maintain a CMM site, particularly, for a novice? Once you set up a template, is there much flexibility in layout?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
     
bluedog
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Feb 3, 2006, 06:01 PM
 
If you're good with your coding, you can customize the look sigificantly with most. You may have to learn their quirks in each particular layout engine (the CMS uses to build a page).

Many CMS systems have the ability to adjust their layout a little by using 'building blocks' type adjustments.

But the customization of the layouts to something not based on a template is by no means something a novice could do. Well, swapping out some graphics maybe.

I haven't used Mambo before (recently heard there is a split with the Mambo developers), but their split seems to be an active community.

Postnuke is used all over the place, there are lots of modules you can add to it that will give you some really great flexible additions such as calendar applications, email notifications and such. I'd look at this option first for someone who hasn't used a CMS before. There's a large community that can help you out with any issues.

Just my 2cents
     
zwiebel_
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Feb 3, 2006, 07:58 PM
 
I'ven been using Mambo, now Joomla, for the past 2 1/2 years and have been very happy with it. Both communities are extremely active and very helpfull.

One thing you should do is try out the demo versions of different CMSs. A good place to start is http://www.opensourcecms.com/ . The demo's are for admins (or, wanna be admins) and users alike. Give it a twirl and read the comments.

Direct links to:
Joomla test
http://opensourcecms.com/index.php?o...097&Itemid=159

Postnuke
http://opensourcecms.com/index.php?o...130&Itemid=159

Good luck

Oh, now there is a Mac specific site for Joomla/Mac admins at http://www.macjoomla.com/
     
m a d r a
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Feb 4, 2006, 11:41 AM
 
my "brief and to the point" observation:

PHPnuke - looks like sh*t. easy to customise
mambo - looks very polished. a b*stard to customise.
     
bluedog
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Feb 4, 2006, 03:09 PM
 
Originally Posted by m a d r a
my "brief and to the point" observation:

PHPnuke - looks like sh*t. easy to customise
mambo - looks very polished. a b*stard to customise.
Great point. Agree on the asthetics for those two. These are the two with what appear to have the greatest userbase. There are others, but the purpose or usage is usually more community-based rather than site developed (such as the slashdot code).

If you can see from the two which you feel most comfortable with customizing, that's probably the one I'd go with. I assume you're volunteering your services, which means your time is worth something to you. You may not wish to spend it on the learning side of things but rather the completing the task at hand which is a functional site.

Good luck, great posts to fill in the info on CMS systems with the links.
     
besson3c
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Feb 4, 2006, 03:31 PM
 
Lots of choices for CMSes. Checkout Wordpress too, it can be used to build static/non-blog pages.

Checkout Gallery for awesome photo gallery software. These can be embedded into existing sites and adopt the existing look and feel of a site with a plug. For instance, there is a Wordpress plug that I use. It works very well.
     
m a d r a
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Feb 4, 2006, 05:09 PM
 
[this] is a pretty good resource for comparing various CMS, blog and portal softwares in a 'live' setup.
     
inkhead
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Feb 4, 2006, 05:34 PM
 
two words, "SECURITY NIGHTMARE"


worst security ever. Shell out some money for ExpressionEngine, it is by far the best solution. Trust me I've ran every single possible one you can think of.
     
KeyLimePi  (op)
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Feb 6, 2006, 10:13 AM
 
Thank you guys for all the feedback. I'll check out the links you posted. I think I might try a Mambo/Joomla site....mostly just to see if I can do it. If my friends don't like it...we'll, it's back to straight HTML.
     
himself
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Feb 13, 2006, 09:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by inkhead
two words, "SECURITY NIGHTMARE"


worst security ever. Shell out some money for ExpressionEngine, it is by far the best solution. Trust me I've ran every single possible one you can think of.
Mambo or Postnuke? I've heard about security holes with Postnuke, but I've heard nothing but good things about Mambo/Joombla.
"Bill Gates can't guarantee Windows... how can you guarantee my safety?"
-John Crichton
     
TheIceMan
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Mar 20, 2006, 08:25 PM
 
From the Joomla website:
The basic Joomla package is designed to be easy to install, even for non-programmers. Most people have no trouble getting our software up and running, and there is plenty of support available for newbies.

Once Joomla is installed and running, it is simple for even non-technical users to add or edit content, update images, and to manage the critical data that makes your company or organization go. Anybody with basic word processing skills can easily learn to manage a Joomla site.
Ok, now I'm tempted to try Joomla and found 3 great guides: Joomla Beginner's Guide and Anna's Joomla Tips and Installing Joomla on Your Mac

But, it is STILL quite an undertaking. And not as simple as they make it out to be. If anyone else has anything easier please let me know.
     
besson3c
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Mar 21, 2006, 12:42 AM
 
The easiest CMS-like tool I have ever used is WordPress. It has an excellent interface and is just a joy to use. Not only is it the best blogging software, IMHO, but also includes a great WYSIWYG and HTMl editor for creating static pages based on templates.

Check it out, very easy to install and get going. I'm happy to help.
     
TheIceMan
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Mar 21, 2006, 06:29 AM
 
Thanks besson3c, yeah I think Joomla is way too much work for someone like me (no tech experience). I thought MySQL was a song! Kidding of course, but not really. PHP, what's that? So I think WordPress might be a big step already. Might give it a try. Thanks.
     
   
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