Capable and easy alternatives to Joomla?

[Moccasin]

I have been trying to build a blog/website on and off for a while now using Joomla but am now finding it frustrating and avoiding developing the website because I can't develop it in the way I want, which is:
- writing about a variety of topics that take my interest
- including travel diaries which can be formatted chronologically or reverse-chronologically
- adding in pictures
-allowing commenting

I have tried a number of blogging platforms but found them limiting but Joomla is just frustrating me. I had a look at iWeb but think it is probably too simplistic .. I want a platform that will allow me to do what I want, yet not take my time searching for Joomla extensions that allow me to do relatively simple things.

Any recommendations? Is rapidweaver worth trying? I really don't want to have to rebuild all my content yet again and, if I do, I want this to be the last time otherwise I'll probably give up.

 

[dangerfish]

Wordpress?
Drupal Gardens?

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

I would go with Wordpress if I were you. It is capable of doing everything you want, and much more.

If you don't mind spending some money on a CMS, you can check out Harmony. I've not used it myself but I've read some great things.

 

[celticpride678]

WordPress is probably going to be the best solution for you.

 

[Nikh]

I was happy to found Drupal, it is very powerful and customizable, and actually not that hard in configuration - there are modules for almost all features you may need.

 

[Moccasin]

Thanks all - am trying Wordpress first as it allows me to import my Joomla content... if i can get that to work!

 

[digitalField]

im giving another vote for Wordpress.

Tons of plugins to get it to do just about anything with ease.
Tons of potentially to hack it to do whatever if you have coding experience.
Solid, relatively intuitive interface for those new to the platform.


M

 

[Eclipse278]

I've enjoyed ExpressionEngine on my blog as an alternative to the standard wordpress theme you see everywhere now. The free version is quite capable, however I run the full version.

 

[Ride9650]

I've enjoyed ExpressionEngine on my blog as an alternative to the standard wordpress theme you see everywhere now. The free version is quite capable, however I run the full version.

Thought I should point out, there isn't a free version anymore.

 

[ZenAmateur]

Hire a developer

One of the things that you aren't pursuing is hiring someone to set this up for you, create your template and install the appropriate extensions and then give you training on how to use the system to do what you want. There are no 'easy' alternatives, each platform has it's own quirks and has to be set up just so to give you what you want.

Yes, you can do this yourself, but you don't seem to want to put the time into it, and if that is the case then you need to ask a pro to help you out. Yes, I am biased as I get paid develop on Joomla, but having worked with Wordpress and Drupal installations, I can assure you that there are no shortcuts with any CMS. If you really want to just get busy creating content get someone to do the heavy lifting of setting it up and configuring it, then do your thing.

 

[MACza]

Try Concrete5 as well - much easier than Joomla and Drupal. Cool thing is that it is easy to convert a pure HTML site into a Concrete5 site. The layout in Joomla and Drupal can be very limiting in my experience.

Or Wordpress for basic blog functionality should work fine.