CMS: Develop or Use Existing?

[Mirkules]

Hello all,

 

I was recently tasked with creating a new website for a school district that includes heavy use of a Content Management System (CMS). The requirements are ease-of-use by non-technical people, polling, newsletters, archiving of old stories, minutes of meetings, ability for said users to create their own personal pages, and even the ability for each school under the district to create their own pages and sites. Point is, this is a lengthy, involved and professional project that will be under scrutiny by a lot of people.  The end result needs to be polished.  This is also my first project that requires the delivered software to be especially mature, and as such, I am trying to take precautions early to make sure that we deliver a good product.

 

My dilemma is whether I should use an already-existing CMS and attempt to integrate, or create one from scratch that I can fully customize.  If your answer is integrate, what CMS packages would you recommend and why? I read that Drupal was pretty good, but would it be able to offer me all those things above (and a little extra)?  In your opinion, what would be the difference between integration time and development time?

 

I took a class on Software Project Management and the book suggests that integration of 3rd party can cut time by 50-70%, provide less bugs, etc. But sometimes classes can be far removed from real life, hence the question. I also know the (textbook) benefits of using 3rd party software, such as less bugs, mature product, support (which can also be a downfall), cost, etc -- no need to delve into that aspect.

 

So, to all the seasoned Software Project Managers or Senior Developers out there, what would be your approach and why?

 

Thanks,

Mk

 

P.S. Keep in mind that if needed, I am willing to pay for a 3rd party solution as long as the price isn't outrageous (>$1000).

[bache]

To develop a CMS with rich functionality is not an easy work. You will need a lot of knowledge of programming, database design. And it will take you a lot of time.

 

The main benefits of using an already-existing CMS are that it is used by many people and it will be stable, you will save time, may be months, it is bug free (if there is a bug, they solve it). But if you want to add a functionality to it you can face up with difficulties because you should understand the code and how the whole system works. But this all depends on what functionality you will want to add, it may be something simple.

 

The best solution is to find a CMS which suits your needs, and if you can't you should estimate what changes you have to do. And if you think you won't use many of the features and you will need a lot of other features you can develop one by yourself

[PHP_PhREEEk]

If the CMS needs to be rolled out soon, go 3rd party. It would take a TEAM of coders to get a CMS going from scratch, especially if you want it secure, user-friendly, feature-rich, and reasonably able to be customized.

 

Setup a local test server and download MANY different CMS systems. Install them all with default setups and see which one seems to fit the best. Get the opinions of the people at the school system who will use it!! If they like it (and have input on the selection), it will go easier down the road. If they hate it, you'll hate waking up every day... hehe

 

PhREEEk

[Mirkules]

Thank you for your suggestions. I was pretty much leaning towards using a 3rd party solution, but I wanted to hear someone else's opinion as well.  @Bache, my technical expertise isn't lacking in programming or database design, and I'm certainly not afraid to tackle more complex issues. But, you answered my question of whether the time savings with using 3rd party would be significant enough to be "worth it," especially since this is about a 12-week project.

 

@PhREEEk, could you recommend any CMS systems, to start with?

 

Thanks!

mk

[revraz]

Not sure what your budget is, but there are some webhosts that charge like $7/mo and offer a ton of CMS apps already to install, you just press a button.

 

It may be worth a few bucks to get one, install them all and run tests on their system instead of your own.

[Mirkules]

Thanks. Do you have a link? (budget is not an issue)

[revraz]

I use POWWEB.com for my hosting, and they offer quite a few CMS packages (Free).

 

If you do sign up, mention my domain and I get a free month

 

(let me know if you really do and i'll PM you my domain name)

 

Here is their list of CMS apps ready to install:

 

Content Management

 

Joomla

Joomla! is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Joomla! is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable.

 

Mambo

Mambo is a full-featured content management system that can be used for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Features: a large and healthy user and developer community, content approval for registered users, online help, an advanced admin system, powerful templates, and more.

 

php-Nuke

PHP-Nuke is a Web Portal System, storytelling software, news system, online community or whatever you want to call it. Main features include: web based admin, surveys, top page, access stats page with counter, user customizable box, themes, friendly administration GUI, option to edit or delete stories, option to delete comments, moderation system, search, etc.

 

Drupal

Drupal is software that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a great variety of content on a website. Drupal includes features to enable content management systems, blogs, collaborative authoring environments, forums, newsletters, picture galleries, file uploads and download and much more.

 

PHP-Fusion

PHP-Fusion is a constantly evolving content management system (CMS) powered by PHP 4 and mySQL. It provides an easy to install system with a simple yet powerful set of administrative controls. This means you will have an easy to maintain interactive community website without requiring any knowledge.

 

e107

e107 is a content management system written in php and using the popular open source mySQL database system for content storage. It's completely free and totally customizable, and in constant development.

 

phpWebsite

phpWebSite provides a complete web site content management system. Web-based administration allows for easy maintenance of interactive, community-driven web sites. phpWebSite's growing number of modules allow for easy site customization without the need for unwanted or unused features.

 

[atticus]

Hey, I have worked with several different CMS and I prefer ModX.  It is free and very easy to customize.  It would be worth taking a look at.