Content Management System Showcase

The Internet has become a readily available tool for businesses to use. One of the ways that businesses are able to use the Internet is through the use of Content Management Systems or CMS. Online, web-based CMS allow anyone with access to the Internet and to the CMS to collaborate on documents, network with other users, and develop projects with others. This showcase will examine three popular CMS: Alfresco (http://www.alfresco.com/)), Joomla! (http://www.joomla.org/), and WebGUI (http://www.plainblack.com/webgui). The areas for evaluation will be: Platform Requirements, Ease of Use, Security, and Flexibility/Extensibility.

Alfresco

Platform Requirements

Alfresco runs on most J2EE Application Servers and is the only product of the series that has a paid option with support and maintenance done by the creators. Alfresco also has the largest variety of support for database and web server. It is licensed under GPL + FLOSS Exception.

Ease of Use

Alfresco includes features for email discussions, WYSIWYG editing, and spell checking (with an add-on). The layout and functionality of the site work very well both in Firefox and Safari; however, some of the features that I find I would use more are buried in the navigation rather than in an easy-to-find location. This could be fixed since the project is open source. For screenshots of the web-based platform, click here.

Security

Alfresco has some security features, although not as many as the other CMS. Alfresco keeps logs of user logins, allows content approvals, audit trails, and many different types of authentication. The major draw back to the security features of Alfresco is the lack of robust SSL compatibility. It has basic compatibility but does not allow for SSL logins or SSL pages.

Flexibility and Extensibility

Alfresco is the least flexible of the three CMS discussed in this showcase. It does allow for extensible user profiles and multi-user support, but it does not allow for blogging, chatting, or contact management within the system. This is the biggest drawback to the system. The features it lacks makes it less useful in a corporate environment.

Use

Alfresco is developed for use in a corporate environment and as such is very good at allowing corporations to develop documents and research items collaboratively. The only major drawback to Alfresco is the lack of community around the project, which means that there are very few add-ons and extensible add-ons available for it. This would seem to indicate that it is used in corporations as a closed-system rather than an open-system.

Joomla

Platform Requirements

Joomla is free software that runs on any system that supports PHP; however, the developers recommend the use of Apache. The only limitation to Joomla is that it is currently bound to the use of MySQL, but because MySQL is popular, it allows for the greatest user base use. It is licensed under GPL.

Ease of Use

Joomla is very easy to use and has a navigation and user interface structure that will be useful to anyone. Some of the major drawbacks to Joomla’s ease of use are the lack of style customizability, spell checking, zip archives, and drag-n-drop of content. The features that seemed to be the most important that was missing was the ability to spell check. That seems to be something that they should be developing at this point. The software can be evaluated in a sandbox environment on Joomla’s homepage for free at http://demo.joomla.org/ (registration required). This demo allows the user to access the frontend and backend of the software in order to use it’s features “in the wild.”

Security

Joomla’s security is about equal to the other CMS listed. It allows for SSL logins and pages, captcha (through an addon), and keeps very good records. The only place where Joomla isn’t effective is in the authentication. It doesn’t have the variety of authentication that Alfresco does.

Flexibility and Extensibility

Joomla! has the largest community of users of the three being evaluated. Many of these users have written add-ons for different things that they needed to do with Joomla! which means that there thousands of add-ons available on the site for download and use with the system! Joomla has add-on files for multiple language use and has many language files available on their website.

Use

Joomla! is one of the most easy to install and easy to use CMS available at the time. It is widely written about and widely used so the resources available to users on the web for help in addition to the good help section on the site makes it a good solution for school, businesses, and univerisities. Joomla! is also wrriten in PHP which means that it is easy to write your own add-ons in addition to the thousands it has available ot it's webpage and across the web. Joomla!'s only major drawback is the lack of authentication, which is really used in large corporations. Joomla! is better suited for small companies or school and universities, although some larger corporations have used it according to Joomla's website.

WebGUI

Platform Requirements

WebGUI is free software that runs on mod_perl and uses Perl. It is license through GNU/GPL and uses MySQL for database activity.

Ease of Use

WebGUI is the second easiest to use of the CMS listed here. This may be because of personal preference in site design and functionality. The major drawback of it’s ease of use is the use of Perl. Outside of that, WebGUI is the easiest to use of the set with the most features of any presented here. It includes, spell checking, style wizards, and zip archive functionality. All of these are available “out of the box” without installing anything in addition to the software! Many screenshots and an interactive demo of the software are available on the WebGUI site here.

Security

WebGUI is right on cue with many of the security features of Joomla! nearly matching them point by point. The only additions it makes are problem notification and a sandbox.

Flexibility and Extensibility

WebGUI has the best flexibility and functionality “out of the box.” Many of the features that have to be installed as add-ons in the other two CMS are available out of the box with WebGUI. It by far has the most functionality out of any of the three, but the only place it lacks competiveness is in document management.

Use

WebGUI is probably the most usable out of the three CMS listed here. It gives the most support and functionality out of the box and allows users to begin working right away without the addition of add-ons. The only drawback for WebGUI is the installation process. The process is harder and more complex than the other two. The use of Perl as the programming language also makes it less accessible because it doesn’t use a common web programming language, such as Java or PHP.