Cost: $99.95 / $149.95 /$299.95

Development: Commercial

Specialization: Blog, Forum, Gallery

Source: Closed Source

Hosting: Own Server, Subscription

License: Custom License

Programming: PHP, XML

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

ExpressionEngine is best for those that want a feature-rich (blog, dynamic content, static pages, etc.), but have a little programming knowledge. (Hence why designers often gravitate towards this system). While EE does not have a huge development community for modules, they do provide fantastic support through their forums.  Custom fields can be set up and controlled by very specifically by the designer. Another impressive thing is how they have implemented their templates (themes); it does not take a die hard programmer to build a custom theme.

The system can be frustrating at times in that there are menus buried in menus buried in menus. It can take awhile to find what you’re looking for. Once you hit that lightbulb moment though, you’re in for a treat.

Cost: Free

Development: Community Driven

Hosting: Own Server

Source: Open Source

License: BSD License

Language: PHP

Database: MySQL

Our Experience:

Textpattern strips out all the unnecessary stuff and leaves you with a very straightforward CMS. It functions like a blog, where you can write and edit articles, and then list them in a myriad of ways. Of course, it also has a plethora of great plugins that can extend its base functionality.

The textile syntax is easy to learn, but clients may not want to learn and may prefer a WYSIWYG editor instead. The layout seems a little dated and could use some modernization, new ability to use admin templates helps that though.

Cost: Free

Development: Community

Hosting: Own Server

Source: Open Source

License: LGPL

Language: PHP

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

Contao is everything we like about TYPO3 with a more modern interface, easier templating, and fewer options (in a good way). It was made to handle small to medium websites that use varying kinds of content. We really love the way it handles different “content elements” (like regular text, forms, filelinks, multimedia, etc.) and then you can tell it where to go on your site.

Contao still leaves a lot of “layout decisions” up to the editor, like changing where things are placed on a page and what styles they should use. Some designers may not be happy to give up this freedom.

Cost: Free

Development: Community Driven

Hosting: Own Server

Source: Open Source

License: MIT License

Language: PHP, XML, XSLT

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

The interface is beautifully clean and simple, which makes it easy to use and understand. The underlying structure is powerful and flexible, but might take a little while to learn the XSLT templating language. Like Expression Engine, you can customize what kind of custom fields each page uses.

The program recently underwent a major rewrite which users couldn’t upgrade from their previous versions. For a non-programmer, it might be complicated to learn and understand the various components of this CMS.

Cost: Free

Development: Commercial

Source: Open Source

Hosting: Your Server, Their Server

License: MIT License

Programming: PHP, Python, XML

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

Concrete5 is best for non-programmers that want a static website. In other words, a finite set of Web pages like: About, Contact, Services, etc. The initial setup is extremely easy and creating custom templates (themes) is nearly as simple as creating the HTML files. Its real attraction may be inline editing of pages. All you need to do is click some content and a popup allows you to change its contents. It handles links, images, and all sorts of different “blocks” of content wonderfully.

Concrete5 was built from the ground up as a commercial CMS for actual clients. It was only recently that they released an open source version, so the community and custom module developers are still light. There may also be some security issues that have been brought up.

Cost: Free

Development: Community

Source: Open Source

Hosting: Your Server

License: GNU GPL

Programming: PHP

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

e107 has a really helpful community of users that are active in their development for this system. The system itself boasts a lot of helpful features for enabling someone to create a community-driven site.

Logging into the system presents you with a pageful of settings mixed in with the content creation tools. Because of this, it can be hard to get a grasp on where your content is and what kind of hierarchy it has.

Cost: Free

Development: Community

Specialization: Lite CMS

Hosting: Own Server

Source: Open Source

License: GNU Affero GPL

Programming: PHP

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

Frog’s strength is in its simplicity. As soon as you log in you’re brought to the page listing, pages can be in any kind of hierarchy and they’re super easy to reorder and move. “Snippets” are little blocks that can be dropped anywhere in the website you need and give the system its flexibility. It has a small but active community that answers questions quickly and helpfully.

Frog was only made to do so much, and reqiuires plugins for anything other than its basic functionality. It has a file manager, but has no inherent ability to use images in your pages. Frog also opts for raw PHP instead of any kind of custom tags to call page listings or anything of the sort, which can be daunting for designers.

Frog’s development team lately has been mostly absent. Use a fork of Frog CMS called Wolf CMS.

Cost: Free

Development: Community

Specialization: Web Portal

Hosting: Own Server

Source: Open Source

License: GNU GPL

Programming: PHP

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

Because of Drupal’s vastness, it can be made to run almost any kind of website. There is a large community, so finding help or modules should not be a problem. In short order, one can have a very feature-rich site up and running. Drupal also makes it very easy to keep custom modules, themes, and the core Drupal files up-to-date which is a huge bonus. Almost every menu and sidebar and little configuration can be changed without changing the theme. It has thousands of modules that can add on to its functionality.

Drupal can be intimidating to just logon to the system as an administrator. There are so many options and configurations and strange names like taxonomy that you don’t know where to start. Theming Drupal can be a large challenge if you are not a programmer.

Cost: Free

Development: Community

Hosting: Own Server

Source: Open Source

License: GNU GPL

Programming: PHP

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

MODx is feature-rich, it’s built to use all sorts of the newest technologies (like AJAX) and a lot of developers love it for that. The system is easy to navigate and find your way around with the left side menu that pops open with pages. It can manage files, weblinks, and pages with ease along with nice features like a site backup.

As a new user it can be a little overwhelming because every new page you create has a hundred boxes that could be filled out or checked. At times, raw code shows up in the backend that may also be confusing if you aren’t a programmer.

Cost: Free

Development: Community

Hosting: Own Server

Source: Open Source

License: GNU GPL

Programming: PHP

Database: MySQL

Our Impressions:

CMS Made Simple is kinda like the lighter version of Joomla CMS system. It has all of the basic stuff you want and need in a CMS system without getting too complicated. It has a nice news feature to allow you to keep an updated blog or news section at your website without problems.

CMS Made Simple has come a long way as far as layout and ease of use, but its not fully there yet. It can still feel a little clunky at times, and could use some polish in the design and layout areas.