Two things I must point out before I start.
1) If you haven’t figured it out before now, there are 2 different versions of WordPress. There is WordPress.COM which is the fake type free blog, that doesn’t give you a lot of freedom.
Next there is WordPress.ORG is a FREE Content Management System used to build REAL websites.
2) Do NOT, under any circumstances, ever install the “auto-install” versions of Drupal, WordPress, or Joomla, provided by any hosting company. The auto-install versions that hosting companies provide are buggy. If you have a problem with an auto-installed CMS you are on you own and many times the ONLY solution is to Take Down (delete) your entire website and start again from scratch using the downloadable version offered by Drupal, WordPress, or Joomla.
[If all you need is your CMS installed on your server, I’ll do it for $10.00.]
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Drupal, WordPress, and Joomla are the leading Content Management Systems (CMS) online today. They are the platform from which many different types of websites are built.
They can become blogs, online stores, forums, just about anything you can imagine.
And people like myself use these programs to fulfill our clients hearts desires.
These programs are free to use and are far more stable than many CMS which can be purchased.
Drupal
Drupal was created with the idiot in mind. The program is more stable than any military tank ever conceived. If Drupal was Jurassic Park, the movie would have had a much different outcome.
To paraphrase Foxworthy: If you felt Blogger was difficult, Drupal is for you.
If technical assistance ever asked “What version of Windows are you using?” and you answered “AOL” Drupal is for you.
If your family tree does not fork ….. you get the idea.
You can-not be to stupid for Drupal.
However, you can be to smart for Drupal.
If you’ve always felt that you have no aptitude for the web, but you find Drupal difficult, you may be more web-intelligent than you think. People who write real code, who build websites from scratch, find Drupal difficult.
Several times I found myself re-writing the programs core code just to make the program smarter to use.
There is a little bit of a learning curve, but there is plenty of documentation on the web and a great 24/7 support community from around the world.
WordPress
WordPress is …… just right.
It’s not to hard, but not to stupid.
Everything you need is literally no further then a click or 2 away.
Think you need a new theme? Go to Appearance > Themes and describe what you want – Presto! It appears.
Want to post content to your sidebar, using one category, from the front end of your site, from your phone? There’s a plugin for that and it’s in Plugins > Add New (No joke, its called Sideblog WordPress Plugin)
Want to know exactly how many people are on your website right this second including their IP’s?
Plugins > Add New search for “Visitor Maps and Who’s Online ”
Want to turn WordPress into an online store? eShop!
Need an e-theme to go with that eShop? Go back to Appearance > Themes
The program is free. The themes are free. The Help is free. The plugins are free.
Yes, you can pay for premium versions of themes, help and plugins, but for most of my clients, once I setup their site, they’re happy and on their way. I usually get Christmas cards.
Joomla
Joomla was developed for the sole purpose of keeping web development professions gainfully employed.
If your IT/Web Development department has suggest Joomla, most likely it is because they are looking for job security and Joomla will secure it.
Joomla is the most difficult, asinine, utterly ridiculous, waist of code there has ever been.
There are 84 steps for every process. Want to post something? It will take a day and a half.
There is absolutely no excuse for the excessiveness of Joomla.
Their forums are filled with questions like “I just want to post something – how?”
When I first stared coding, I read that Joomla was the best of the best! And wanting to be the best of the best, I downloaded and installed it – then spent the next month questioning if I had chose the correct profession.
I was getting straight A’s in programming, never missed a question, passed every assignment, but Joomla was some kind of curse on the web. I couldn’t create a single post without looking at my notes and guessing my way through it, hoping against all hope that this time something would appear on the home page.
The straw that broke the camels back was when my website was on the evening news and several minutes after the broadcast my site went down! Hundreds of people where flocking to my website and there was nothing that could be done – Joomla had failed.
I can’t tell you if Joomla is secure, but I can tell you it is nearly impossible.
And for a free CMS platform it is a huge money maker for those of us who can implement it.
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