In my two decades of developing and managing websites I’ve used quite a few different website content management systems (CMS). I thought I’d take a minute to document each of them, where I’ve used them and which I prefer.
Content Management Systems I’ve Used
These CMS’s I’ve either developed for, used on a production website or both. They’re listed alphabetically.
Big Medium
Used from 2006 – 2010.
This file-based CMS I used for smaller sites for several years until I realized the developer had essentially stopped working on it (this was in late 2008/early 2009). Soon after, he announced its end of life.
Documentum
Used from 2002 – 2006.
I used this while I worked at the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms. It was more than we needed and not easy to use. I stopped using it because I changed employers.
DotNetNuke
Used briefly in 2006.
When I left the Senate and started at my new full-time gig I inherited this CMS for our intranet. I immediately dumped it for flat HTML. The backend was clunky, creating templates was difficult and managing users was not intuitive.
ExpressionEngine
Used from 2009 – 2017.
I also absolutely loved ExpressionEngine. When I started using it in 2009 it was a cutting-edge CMS for both membership sites and for creating a website with a unique content model. The user and developer community were actively engaged and its creator, the developer community and the plugin development community were second-to-none for support. The product was rock solid. After several years, open-source and equally capable products like WordPress and Drupal drained interest in a product with a price tag. I ultimately stopped using ExpressionEngine because the plugin community dwindled, the product was slow to provide updates and it was becoming harder and harder to find developers who had used the product.
WordPress
Used from 2008 – present.
I absolutely love WordPress. The backend interface is gorgeous. Those who use it to publish websites find it incredibly easy to use. With the right plugins, it can power a very high-traffic, high profile website. The user community is massive. This is my “go to” CMS for just about every project.
