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Content Management Recommendations That Pull No Punches

You can barely take two steps on the Web these days without tripping over another "picking the best Web content management system" article, but I came across one published earlier this week on Webdesigner Depot that was particularly informative, funny, and certain to stir some mild controversy.

In How To Choose The Right CMS, author Derek Brown offers some genuinely good advice on pitfalls to avoid and things to look for in a CMS, while gleefully taking shots at the Joomla open source CMS, categorizing it as "evil."

He clearly hit a nerve. The comment section (up over 100 comments, last I looked) was packed with people not afraid to take sides. While some commenters took the opportunity to give a shout-out to their own favorite CMS, the lion's share of the rest are people either staunchly defending Joomla or joining Brown in damning it. Who knew content management systems could be so divisive?

Other than ruffling these feathers, the article actually has quite a bit to say. He starts off by calling out some mistakes to avoid, including choosing a CMS based on its "geek friendliness," assuming that more popular = better and allowing IT to make the decisions when it comes to choosing a CMS. While I can't say I agree with everything that he says -- IT certainly needs a seat at the CMS-selection table, for example -- these are generally pretty good guidelines.

From there he takes a closer look at some of his favorite up-and-coming (Frog CMS, Concrete5 CMS, iWeb) and established (Drupal, WordPress, Radiant CMS, Magento, SilverStripe) content management systems, with a helpful overview of the benefits of each.

The article is definitely worth the read, as long as you take it with a grain of salt. I agree that Joomla has its quirks, but come on ... evil? And don't skip the comments, as you may discover a content management system or two you haven't heard of before.

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