Recommend a user-friendly cms?

[djuqa]

The closest i hAve come to anything decent was when i was using Mambo, which i believe Joomla is based upon......

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Joomla! 1.0.xx was forked from the mambo project several years ago
Mambo currently is stuck due to lack of developers, as most went to joomla!.

Neither Mambo or Joomla! 1.0.x IS recommended for new projects

Joomla! 1.5.x was a rewrite of joomla! 1.0.x incorporating some major improvements.
Joomla! 1.5.25 is the latest version of the Joomla! 1.5 thread

Joomla! 1.6.x was an interim transitional version between 1.5.x and 1.7.x
Joomla! 1.6.x is not recommended for new projects

Joomla! 1.7.x is the Latest thread and an almost total rewrite.
It incorporates an Object oriented framework that can be used to build any type of online application with a CMS frontend/backend .

Both Joomla! 1.5.25 and Joomla! 1.7.3 can be used for simple sites through to MAJOR websites.
Both can be easily installed using the Auto Installer scripts found on most hosting accounts.

WHERE MOST GO Wrong using joomla! is not getting a handle on the separation of the design elements (template) from the content .

It needs a minimal amount of learning and can be learned by most people in as lettle as 5 hours or less. I base that statement on the nearly 3 years I taught Joomla! at a college in NSW. in 10 hours ALL students went from Newbie to Joomla! User having learned installation, template modification, module and article creation.

I usually can create a basic Joomla! site in under 30 minutes and find most users can do one in 3 hours or less. I find Joomla! MORE flexible and Easier to use than Wordpress which (is basically a BLOGGING Platform with some CMS features). Joomla! is used by Several million sites using it Worldwide.


Anyone needing help, guidance and advice regarding Joomla! can contact me.

BTW Both Joomla! and Mambo are Aussie Based Scripts.

 

[johno69]

Keep in mind Joomla 1.8 is due for release in around 2 weeks.

They will be releasing a major version upgrade every 6 months. What a PITA.

 

[zhenjie]

Out of interest, ive just spent 3 months looking and trying to learn Joomla, Mambo, Drupal and one or two lesser known of the cms's.

Ive now gone back to WP. I concede my skills are low and try as hard as i can, i simply cant get my head around them and cant make a decent site. The closest ive come to anything decent was when i was using Mambo, which i believe Joomla is based upon......

Sadly, i think you either get it pretty fast or like me, you are just incapable of learning. Ive invested probably 60hrs reading, watching videos on you tube and other sites and gone the circle back to WP where i can make something half decent, from a template, in 30 mins.

Im very dissapointed after trying so hard

While I can do most Joomla/Wordpress/PHP work myself I just pay an Philipino dude $5 an hours to do Joomla work for me these days. time is money!

 

[neddy]

time is money!

And you've got plenty of one, and not much of the other.

On a serious note, I couldn't agree more with outsourcing. It frees you up to do what you are better at.

There is a little trial and error finding the right person, but once you have got someone, then life becomes a bit easier.

 

[findtim]

i've had experience creating joomla and wordpress websites and hands down wordpress is far easier.

studiopress genesis is worth every penny as opposed to just a free wordpress, i think you can pick up a theme for just $30? but i bought the whole lot.

there are soooo many plugins ( but try not to over use them ).

1 studiopress template, a few hours on youtube tutorials and you will never look back.