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What blog software to use?

C

Cubytus

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 2, 2007
1,436
18
Hello all,

I am currently looking for a blog engine that would:
  1. support multi-user for writing bills. We will be at least two to write bills.
  2. easy to use for non-technical users, so as to easily format as code, insert images. BB-like syntax would be very good.
  3. clean, OS X-inspired looks for the reader. Clean themes are a big plus.
  4. Be available in French and Spanish
  5. Open-source, ideally based upon MySQL and PHP. Avoid Java as it slows down end-user experience. W3C strict compliance
  6. automated install script highly preferred. Since I don't have access to the command line of the server, it is rather painful to upload hundreds of separate files only to discover it doesn't offer required features.
  7. A way for it to add a link from Del.icio.us, or support a Twitter feed for when there's no point in writing a bill but an editor wants to publish a link to an interesting page.
  8. In-line media player, Flash-free. Embedding is good, but having a locally-available copy is even better.
  9. I know it has no link, but interfacing with ownCloud would be interesting.

Previously, dotClear fitted these requirements pretty well, but with its future now uncertain, I am looking for another one. Which one would fit the bill?
 
GoCubsGo

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
Another vote for WordPress. You can be completely clueless about this stuff or quite knowledgeable and still manage to run a Word Press blog. I like how they cater to both.
 
C

Cubytus

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 2, 2007
1,436
18
Well, others must have their advantages, otherwise they wouldn't exist, would they?

Specifically, why not Spip, Joomla or Drupal?
 
0dev

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
Cubytus said:
Well, others must have their advantages, otherwise they wouldn't exist, would they?

Specifically, why not Spip, Joomla or Drupal?
Click to expand...

Never heard of Spip but Joomla and Drupal are geared more towards being CMSs than blogging systems, they merely have blogging as a feature. Plus they are far more difficult to work with. Trying to set that **** up gives me a headache. WordPress is a piece of piss and just does what you want it to do. It's the most popular for a reason.
 
J

jsm4182

macrumors 6502
Apr 3, 2006
346
12
Beacon, NY
Cubytus said:
Specifically, why not Spip, Joomla or Drupal?
Click to expand...

If you are a developer, or are hiring a developer to build this site for you, a deeper look into your needs and long term goals may suggest a more robust/scalable CMS to build the site on.

If you are not a developer and building the site yourself, Wordpress is the best choice, it has a lot of features, lots of themes available, and is fairly easy to customize for someone without too much technical knowledge.
 
960design

960design

macrumors 68040
Apr 17, 2012
3,699
1,566
Destin, FL
+1 for Wordpress

Drupal and Joomla would both work perfectly, except for #2. Wordpress is famous for its 5 minute install. Wordpress has a much larger Theme library to choose from.

I have several years experience with both Drupal and Joomla, I actually refused to use Wordpress for about 3 years because I thought it was for the wannabee coders. Finally I HAD to do it, because that is what a paying client wanted. I fell in love with wordpress. And now use it as my main CMS.
 
C

Cubytus

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 2, 2007
1,436
18
Considering the very wide shape of websites built with SPIP, flexibility is surely one of its strengths. But is it usable, from an editor point of view?
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
I cast another vote for WordPress.org. I run several sites with it and it works great.

The front page of MacRumors is run with WordPress and even CNN.com uses WordPress.
 
TonyK

TonyK

macrumors 65816
May 24, 2009
1,032
148
I run WordPress on a self-hosted site and have no issues with it. Issues with my hosting provider sure, but not with WP.

If you really want to customize it be sure to pick up some PHP skills. :) But PHP is not required and you can do a lot with themes and there are apps available to help customize the themes even.
 
C

Cubytus

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 2, 2007
1,436
18
Update on that question, it seems that SPIP has a pretty crappy community support. I found out early, luckily, because the simple operation of applying a theme didn't succeed.

It seems that Drupal would be a good choice. There's an "informal skills level" to allow users to compare with others, so I believe it would be easier to find support from people more skilled than me.
It is organized in very distinct modules so as to allow for different people to manage different aspects of the website without having to know how other parts work.
Plus, it is reputed to have an excellent, integrated antispam mechanism.
And finally, it was voted as being the best CMS, in front of WordPress and Joomla!.

Any return on Drupal here?
 
0dev

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
As I said above, I used Drupal many times before, it's decent for features but it's a massive pain the ass to set up and maintain. It's also not great for blogging.

Is there anything in particular you have against WordPress? You seem almost desperate to avoid it.
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
I tried Drupal about 7 months ago and found it to be a huge pain in the butt to set up, just as 0dev mentions. I decided to dump Drupal and go with WordPress.org and I couldn't be happier. Its easy to setup, easy to use and easy to maintain and there are tons of plugins and themes to choose from.
 
clukas

clukas

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2010
990
401
WordPress for me too ;).

WordPress all the way for me too lol. Tried other alternatives like drupal, but always ended up going back. Once you learn how to use it properly, it becomes very powerful and I never looked back.
 
zioxide

zioxide

macrumors 603
Dec 11, 2006
5,737
3,726
Like everyone else, I also recommend wordpress. Someone else said it but I'll repeat it because it's true: wordpress is the most popular for a reason. Easy to use, easy to install, easy to customize, tons of themes and plugins available. It's used by CNN, MSNBC, BBC America, and countless other websites.
 
C

Cubytus

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 2, 2007
1,436
18
I wouldn't say "desperate" to avoid it, but my experience showed that the most popular isn't always the best one, and must I say, rarely is.
So was the case when Hotmail was the number 1 email provider back in 1996, AOL as first ISP, Windows as first OS, or Google as a search engine and email provider nowadays. There are other examples of course, but the sore lack of diversity in the answers here is a bit worrying. I would expect so many posts to show some variations, but they're not.

Having a CMS used by many reputable source doesn't make it objectively better for my needs. Spip is used by different and extremely reputable newspapers online, as Drupal is used by millions of websites. I read that WP is a real dog when it comes to managing images and video in posts, notably.

On the other hand, it is of interest to know that Drupal was voted best CMS in front of WP and Joomla! That surely means something.
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
Cubytus said:
I wouldn't say "desperate" to avoid it, but my experience showed that the most popular isn't always the best one, and must I say, rarely is.
So was the case when Hotmail was the number 1 email provider back in 1996, AOL as first ISP, Windows as first OS, or Google as a search engine and email provider nowadays. There are other examples of course, but the sore lack of diversity in the answers here is a bit worrying. I would expect so many posts to show some variations, but they're not.

Having a CMS used by many reputable source doesn't make it objectively better for my needs. Spip is used by different and extremely reputable newspapers online, as Drupal is used by millions of websites. I read that WP is a real dog when it comes to managing images and video in posts, notably.

On the other hand, it is of interest to know that Drupal was voted best CMS in front of WP and Joomla! That surely means something.
Click to expand...

Who voted Drupal the best? If I were the one voting, WordPress would be number one, then Drupal #2 and Joomla #3. I've used all three and I really dislike Drupal and Joomla a lot.

There are lot's of votes for WordPress here, but you have to use what works best for you and no one is going to convince you otherwise.

As for WordPress and video/images handling, it seems to do well for me as I've not encountered any problems.
 
0dev

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
The market for open source CMSs isn't driven by the same things email and ISPs are. Those are consumer orientated. I think if you aim a software suite specifically at geeks, they will cut through the BS and just choose what's best.

Regardless of the reasoning behind it, in this particular case, the most popular is the best. WordPress is a brilliant platform that will do everything you need. It'll be far easier to set up and maintain than the others you're looking at, it'll have more themes and plugins, more documentation, more tutorials, and it has an awesome community.

I really can't give it more of a recommendation than that, just go and install WordPress and see what we mean, it's not like you'd be wasting money if you don't like it :p
 
J

jsm4182

macrumors 6502
Apr 3, 2006
346
12
Beacon, NY
Whats with all the drupal hate?

I've been working with Wordpress and Drupal full time for the the last 5 years. Wordpress is great for simple blogs, but once you get into more complex sites Drupal is far better. I've even found Drupal to be great for blogs that don't need as many features as Wordpress has, you can easily create a simple blog without all the extra features getting in the way.

Wordpress is the Windows of Content Management Systems. It has the largest user base, but its interface makes the least sense and it has more security issues.
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
Any CMS or any website will have security issues - none are perfect. I use the plugin Better WP Security which is fantastic and plugs or prevents a whole lot of vulnerabilities in WordPress, including the the 'admin' attack.

Additionally, I use the Yubikey plugin for WordPress for advanced authentication for my sites - adding yet another layer of security.
 
MacDawg

MacDawg

Moderator emeritus
Mar 20, 2004
19,823
4,503
"Between the Hedges"
Wordpress "just works" for me and I have found it simple to use and effective for all my blogging needs

It is surprisingly customizable without any real "knowledge" of how it works

I am a completely satisfied user with no complaints
 
J

jsm4182

macrumors 6502
Apr 3, 2006
346
12
Beacon, NY
SandboxGeneral said:
Any CMS or any website will have security issues - none are perfect. I use the plugin Better WP Security which is fantastic and plugs or prevents a whole lot of vulnerabilities in WordPress, including the the 'admin' attack.

Additionally, I use the Yubikey plugin for WordPress for advanced authentication for my sites - adding yet another layer of security.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying Drupal or any other CMS have no security issues, just Wordpress has more issues. Keeping with the Windows analogy, as you have pointed out you use, it requires more user intervention to keep it secure. Its also more prone to attacks, as evidenced by the major server outages a few months ago from a Wordpress exploit or the numerous page not found errors on my Drupal logs of people trying to run Wordpress exploits.
 
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