Selecting a Content Management System

IT Connect > Web > Publishing > Choosing a CMS

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Introduction
Wordpress
Drupal
MediaWiki

Introduction

The great thing about Uniform Access web publishing is that you have the freedom to do almost anything you want with your website. You can use a pre-made Content Management System, hand-code your HTML, or customize a solution to meet your own needs.

Like most users, you probably don't want to re-invent the wheel if you don't have to. Luckily, there are a wide array of free and open-source applications available for you to use and customize. This page will discuss a few of the Content Management Systems (called CMS for short) used on campus: Wordpress, Drupal, and MediaWiki.

You can choose to install all three if you'd like in order to compare what they have to offer.

Wordpress

Chances are, you visit Wordpress-powered sites every day and not even realize it. This easy to set up blogging system has a gentle learning curve, detailed documentation, and a friendly and helpful support community.

Wordpress has features that appeal to those who are new to web publishing, and it is customizable through the power of plugins. The administrative interface is easy to understand and puts the power in your hands while saving you time trying to learn how to do things. Help is offered on every page, and getting your blog up and running takes no time at all.

If you want a blogging solution that is easy to use and maintain, Wordpress is the CMS for you. The downside to Wordpress is that it cannot easily be changed into a non-blogging format, and its flexibility pales in comparison to Drupal.

Pros

Easy to install and upgrade.
Excellent documentation.
User-friendly administrative interface.
Wide array of plugins.

Cons

Limited flexibility.
Not well-suited for those who want to extend beyond blogging.

Best Suited For

Personal, Course, and Development websites.
Users seeking a publishing platform without investing multiple hours learning a new system.

Learn More

You can learn more about Wordpress at their official website:
http://wordpress.org/

Their primary documentation repository is located at:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page

Install It
Instructions for Installing Wordpress

Drupal

If you want complete control over every aspect of their site, and plan to do quite a bit of customization of their underlying code, Drupal is the CMS for you. Widely used by departments throughout campus, Drupal is the go-to choice for websites that need more than just blogging capabilities.

With the ability to create endless amounts of custom content, pages, and views, Drupal allows the developer the freedom to make their vision a reality without needing to re-invent the framework supporting it.

Drupal is not for those who want an out-of-the-box solution. The administrative interface is confusing and out of the box it doesn't support much, but in the right hands Drupal can automate virtually every aspect of your site: generating views and automatically importing content and information from other sources so you don't have to.

Pros

Extremely customizable.
Well-suited for a multi-user environment.
Plugin repository is outstanding.

Cons

Not for beginners.
Requires a medium to large amount of effort to get a site running the way you want it to.

Best Suited For

Academic departments, labs, and units.
Web maintainers who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

Learn More
The official Drupal site is located here:
http://drupal.org/

Their "Getting Started" page is a useful primer:
http://drupal.org/start

Install It
Instructions for Installing Drupal

MediaWiki

Initially developed for use on Wikipedia, MediaWiki is the most used wiki software in the world. With MediaWiki you have a platform that is ideally suited for collaborative projects, documentation, or for a site where you want users who are not web savvy to edit your site.

With version tracking and user accounts, you can easily keep an eye on recent changes and what was last edited. MediaWiki is often used on campus as an internal departmental website, holding documentation, or for meeting minutes.

Installing MediaWiki and getting a basic (yet functional) version is fairly simple. Extensive modification requires manually editing the configuration file.

Pros