I list exactly 30 different content management systems at my site under the "CMS Focus" banner here at CMSReport.com. My list does not necessarily include the top CMS out there, but those CMS that I currently find of interest. A few of the applications I currently list have dropped off my radar scope and no longer impress me as a CMS I want to spend my time taking about. So I'm currently looking at replacing a few of the CMS I have listed with other applications.
If you had the power to add a CMS I currently don't have listed, which CMS would that be?
Now let's get real...I will consider your suggestion, but the CMS has to do impress me. What is the criteria I use for selecting a CMS to place under the CMS Focus list? First, the application has to add something I haven't seen in a CMS before. I really have no interest in replacing a CMS with a CMS that doesn't do more than the ones I currently have listed. Secondly, there has to be a good level of synergy in the development community and the user community supporting the CMS. The community doesn't have to be open source, but it usually does make my job easier to find the more interesting CMS communities out there.
Now that you know my criteria, perhaps you have a CMS in mind that would be of interest to me?





Comments
Big Medium: A less-is-more CMS
Bryan: First off, I really get a lot out of what you do at CMS Report. Thanks a million.
Your post seems like a good opportunity to mention Big Medium 2, currently approaching the end of its beta stint. Alas, I've been more preoccupied with coding Big Medium than evangelizing it, so the community is a small one, focused primarily on testing the app, and I'm not sure that it fits your community requirement. Whether or not it's appropriate for the CMS Focus section, I thought you'd be interested to know more about it.
Big Medium is my baby, and like any proud parent, I'm decidedly biased. But I do think it's a new and unusual offering.
It's different because it's simple. Big Medium is intended to be installed and configured by non-developers. The target audience is web designers who want a system that allows for extremely flexible designs but remains easy to set up. It's dead-easy to install, with a super-friendly setup wizard.
It's different because it's friendly. Its interface is attractive, clean, friendly... unthreatening to CMS newbies.
It's different because it does less. Big Medium is focused specifically on running traditional content sites: marketing sites, online 'zines, blogs, community newspapers, church sites. It provides a lightweight workflow and appropriate publishing tools aimed specifically at traditional sites. (But look elsewhere for e-commerce, forums or social-media sites.)
It's different because it's well documented. The 200-page guide to Big Medium is plain-spoken and easy to follow, starting with the basics and building to more sophisticated uses and configurations.
It's different because all you need is HTML. Big Medium's templates are plain old HTML with widget tags sprinkled throughout: To add a photo gallery, just add the <%gallery%> tag to the template.
It's different because you never see a configuration file. All of the configuration happens in the browser, with a user-friendly interface. (But yeah, it's pluggable if you want to hack your own custom behaviors and widgets.)
It's different because it's squeaky-clean. The generated markup is standards-compliant.
It's different because it installs anywhere, even the most modest shared hosting plan, which helps Big Medium fit the technical resources of small businesses and nonprofits. You don't even need a database (it's a flat-file system, but it works very much like a relational database and still scales nicely to very large sites).
Now, all of that said, Big Medium *is* less sophisticated than other offerings, both by design and, I'm sure, my own humble coding skills. It's arguably more of an article manager than a full-blooded, general-purpose CMS -- much more than a blog, much less than a drupal. That means it's not the right tool for every need. In fact, I've put together a page that describes the stuff that Big Medium is *not* good for, the cases where I recommend that people look elsewhere:.
Even so, I think Big Medium is a useful, friendly tool that fits the needs of a *lot* of organizations without overwhelming them with features they may never need. I invite you to take a look.
Thanks again,
Josh
So far I haven't received
lookluck on your project!Talk more about this one
For all the talking you do on CMS, you seem to have forgotten about one really big one. Microsoft's Sharepoint!
Sharepoint
Sharepoint is actually on my list to add....though I'm not sure it really can be considered a pure CMS (of course what is these days). One of the problems though with propriety CMS is that their communities are not as open. However, I think there is enough talk on the net about Sharepoint to put a little bit of focus on it.
-Bryan
Composite C1 - open source free CMS (before was commercial)
Dear Bryan,
I'd like to bring your attention to our CMS.. It was commercial before and company opened its source code just few week ago.
Only for your own demo purposes:
http://wrd.sample.composite.net
admin panel:
http://wrd.sample.composite.net/Composit...
username: admin
password: 123456
More information, screenshots and downloads here http://compositec1.codeplex.com/
Documentation - http://docs.composite.net/C1/Getting-sta...
What is special about it? Just few things to catch your attention, cause it's long story :) .. its .net 4.0, free, open source, not required sql server (xml based) - but you can purchase module to support sql, it's act as "software" - you can edit few pages, templates, xslt functions at same time - switch between tabs.. it's have MVC support.. company worked close with Micosoft (details here http://www.composite.net/C1/About_us/Com..., http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Cas...), it's like LEGO for web developers - nice, clean and very flexible. It's have number of free packages to extend functonality - Composite C1 package server, you can move created functionality and content to other systems via packages - few clicks to install Package creator.. you can create your own package server and distribute your own packages.. very nice multilanguage support, publishing, super flexible functions system with function calls (allows you get and work with _ANY_ data)
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Regards,
Volodymyr Muzyka
Manager Composite Ukraine
Public or Private?
Hi Volodymyr,
I'll take a look at Composite C1 when I get a chance.
All comments are public. I just want to make sure that you wanted this comment to be seen by the public. Is the demo for everyone or are you only wanted to have invited users take a look at it?
Cheers,
Bryan at CMSReport.com