Expression Engine

I’m looking for feedback from those of you who have practical hands-
on experience with some of the more robust CMS options out there like
EE, Joomla and Drupal. This has nothing to do with integrating it
into Freeway, btw. When suggesting a CMS for commercial sites (read:
large business/corporations) why would (should) someone opt to spend
$249 for a commercial EE license when there are other free and
capable alternatives? People in the market for a robust CMS are very
hip to Joomla and Drupal and question the EE license fee. Granted,
$249 is a small price but when there are free alternatives they do
question it so what does EE offer to justify the price? I do have
experience with EE Core but I don’t know the other players well
enough to offer an informed opinion.

Todd


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I have used Joomla and Drupal (and a bunch of others), but have never
tried EE or even pMachine. From what I’ve seen of screenshots, what
you are getting for your money is elegance and polish. My own
experience with Joomla is that it can do anything, and tries mightily
to do everything, but it suffers for everyday use as a result. There
are thousands of plug-ins available for it, each with their own idea
of interface and interaction design.

Drupal is very very good and quite polished, but it’s less flexible.
If you want to make a “Drupal site”, then it’s absolutely perfect,
and quite easy to use. But try to go a little bit off the trail, and
it’s a long crawl to do anything. Drupal also has a million plug-ins
and can be made to do most anything, but again, with every element
being added by a separate developer, it’s hard to keep your head
straight when using it.

Walter

On Jan 7, 2008, at 3:51 PM, Todd wrote:

I’m looking for feedback from those of you who have practical hands-
on experience with some of the more robust CMS options out there like
EE, Joomla and Drupal. This has nothing to do with integrating it
into Freeway, btw. When suggesting a CMS for commercial sites (read:
large business/corporations) why would (should) someone opt to spend
$249 for a commercial EE license when there are other free and
capable alternatives? People in the market for a robust CMS are very
hip to Joomla and Drupal and question the EE license fee. Granted,
$249 is a small price but when there are free alternatives they do
question it so what does EE offer to justify the price? I do have
experience with EE Core but I don’t know the other players well
enough to offer an informed opinion.

Todd


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Thanks Walter. I’ve poked around with Drupal and Joomla but I never
could get my head around either one; if you’re a new user then
finding the proper info was, for me, a brutal and inefficient
process. Next please. EE on the other hand clicked with my brain -
relatively speaking - it made more sense to me which I think is due
in large part to the very organized and well written docs. MODx also
seems easier to grasp than the other two though my experience with it
is limited.

I’m surprised that with so many free alternatives/competitors EE
feels confident charging for a commercial license. More power to them
I suppose.

Todd

On Jan 7, 2008, at 8:22 PM, Walter Lee Davis wrote:

I have used Joomla and Drupal (and a bunch of others), but have never
tried EE or even pMachine. From what I’ve seen of screenshots, what
you are getting for your money is elegance and polish. My own
experience with Joomla is that it can do anything, and tries mightily
to do everything, but it suffers for everyday use as a result. There
are thousands of plug-ins available for it, each with their own idea
of interface and interaction design.

Drupal is very very good and quite polished, but it’s less flexible.
If you want to make a “Drupal site”, then it’s absolutely perfect,
and quite easy to use. But try to go a little bit off the trail, and
it’s a long crawl to do anything. Drupal also has a million plug-ins
and can be made to do most anything, but again, with every element
being added by a separate developer, it’s hard to keep your head
straight when using it.


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I can’t say I’ve used many other CMS besides EE and the others I have made Actions for. I am blown away with how good EE is though, and the support is great as well. You can get answers on their forums from their people before you even know it. I think this is what you are really paying for.

Generally speaking, EE’s licensing is pretty liberal. You can do personal or non-profit sites for free or $100, and only have to step up to the $250 commercial version if the site is for a for-profit/commercial venture. The clients I have suggested this system for haven’t batted an eye at this price, though I know this can really push the limit for smaller “companies” (usually home-based side businesses, etc.).

Overall, I’ve been very happy with EE and I find myself using and recommending it on many projects.


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