gossymer

it helps to think about what kind of content you'll be posting and how you want that information organized.

I wanted to do two to three things with my site:

1) Have an off-lj fandom section with rec lists and my pimpingposts for certain fandom stuff (which does not include uh, less legal stuff)

2) A completely separate area not connected where I can have a gallery for my layouts, individual layout info posts (with comment options), a single updates/home page and perhaps a contact/feedback form. The layout previews would be stored in a database most likely.

3) I was toying with the idea of doing a subsite for hd_holidays in future (fall most likely) - might not happen, but I'm not sure what CMS would do well with 50+ fics as well as a blog type interface for updates which people can comment to.

Three different things and I'm not sure which CMS options would work. I was thinking of using joomla for recs/fandom and wordpress for a blog + layout gallery (like lillymon.net) . But those are what's 'popular' and I wanted to see if other options would fit better for my needs. Especially since using any of these systems means really taking the time and learning how they work.

Yeah, the issue with using something like joomla is that it would only allow for one installation while drupal, can be used to run several sites. It's a grey area I haven't looked into yet but it was one of the things that had me stop. Joomla is supposed to be the easier of the two for newbies but if drupal proves to be more useful in the longterm, I might as well focus on that.

Those were the main two I was looking at but I haven't a clue about the other CMS in action - hence the post XD

THEY ALL DIED. And they found out they were brother and sister while dying!

That is a very compelling argument for spoilers actually 0.o

I've had several experiences with Joomla, a handful of months.

It was not user friendly for me at all. I used Joomla for almost a year, tried to customize it and figure it out--and it just wasn't for me. I'm willing to admit that it's probably because I am not big on complicated things.

Serendipity was a blog platform I used for six months. I had the same issue with it as I did with Joomla. It wasn't to my taste and I found it too steep a learning curve for me.

As for WordPress, I used to think that it was going to be as difficult as Joomla, but that's changed. The installation is actually the most difficult thing--after that, the user interface on the admin side was really, really easy for me to adjust to. Plug ins can be installed via FTP and maintained easily through the admin center. There are even plug ins out there to make keeping your WordPress versions up to date for you.

I'd recommend going with what you're familiar with and most comfortable!

YI have a feeling that those systems with a wider user base are going to have more options and in general it seems joomla is easier than drupal when it comes to the learning curve but most peeps still tend to go with wordpress. The ease of set up may come into play there.

If there's a CMS system that really does what I need I don't mind plugging the extra hours in to figure it out. I just want something that *will* work. Finding out mid way that it doesn't fit my needs isn't something I want to deal with.

I would suggest then, if you have the space and the website to try all of them as a test! That's what I do when interested in trying something new. The worst that happens is that I don't like it and I delete it :D

*headdesk* Yeah, I should do some tests. My god, I've had webspace for half a year and not bothered really using it, argh.

I ask around at CMS forums and then do some tests and play around. After I've got a better idea, I'll make a choice.

Hrm, have used drupal (or tried to). Customizing was a bitch with drupal, half because I was lazy and didn't know what I was doing, and half because drupal is complex, powerful and hard to get off the ground with.

I second the multiple installations thing. Some CMSes allow you to work with multiple sites-- drupal is one, and expression engine is another. But the ease of setting that up, and the degree of separation you can achieve between your sites varies with the CMS. If I were you, I would poke at the forums of each CMS you're considering to see what common problems people have with the things you're looking to do on your site. If you see an issue coming up over and over again, it's a sign that the CMS may fall short in that area.

Yeah that's my fear about drupal - if I don't *need* the power, then I might as well stick with joomla or another CMS that might be easier. But then if I need multiple uses of it...*sigh*

Will check out expression engine too!

The forums are a good idea, thanks! The userbase would be able to tell if they might match my needs ^^

I've used WordPress and it definitely has its merits, but it all depends on your CMS's purpose and who'll be using it.

b2evolution works a lot better for me than WordPress because I needed to give many people tiered access and privileges to more than one page of blogs. You can do this in WordPress, sorta, but it takes a lot of plug-ins and it's tedious. In b2evolution, it's almost all there already.

Oooh, I didn't think of b2evolution at all. If I end up doing a subsite with more than one person updating content, that might prove pretty useful.

Still the only CMS I'm seeing on sites for fiction is EFiction - I would have figured there'd be more options out there...

Stay away from Drupal and Joomla IMO; they're both hideous systems.

I'm all over WordPress but it's really mostly written to be a blog and its CMS-style functions aren't as developed. From your three requirements above, it should cover #1 and #2 fairly well (perhaps with a few plug-ins). Re: #3, I've never been particularly keen on WP as a fic library. I would suggest looking into a different script for that part of your site, but I don't know of a decent one to recommend; I ended up writing something custom for my fic site.

That's your third option, of course; find someone who can hack something like PHP or Ruby, and write something from scratch. Or even do it yourself (which is how I wrote my blog/CMS system back in '01 when such things didn't exist *waves cane like old timer*).

I noticed that Expression Engine or Efiction might make good options for storage of fics (need #3) but I'm not sure if its possible to use multiple Wordpress blog installations >_>

What stops me from using wordpress for both #1 and #2 is that its primary fuction is a blog. I just feel there's got to be a CMS that allows for comments but also doesn't default to the blog format. I really like aarinfantasy's site and something like that for fandom stuff would be nifty.

I'm not sure if its possible to use multiple Wordpress blog installations

Oh, yeah it certainly is. You either put them in a separate database, or in the same database but using different table prefixes. It's pretty straightforward.

They'll have different admin panels is all.

I just feel there's got to be a CMS that allows for comments but also doesn't default to the blog format.

Yeah, you'd think so. The main problem I've always found is that the code and admin functionality in most of the CMSes I've looked at is hideous. I always keep coming back to WP because at least it's structurally "neat" and the admin doesn't make me want to rip my hair out. ^^"

I'm not sure how I feel about MF but omg JR is so amazing ahhhhhhhhhhhhh