And why shouldn’t it be? WordPress makes it incredibly simple to manage, produce, and distribute content on the Internet through your site. And at the heart of things, that’s really what the Web is all about, right? Here are some stats about what people do on wordpress:

Philosophical pander aside, though, there are a few things you’ll want to really look for in a web host when you’re shopping for WordPress compliance. In fact, if you don’t snag just the right features, you may find your CMS blog in high water before the ink is even dry on your contract. With that in mind, here are a few of the top features you want in a web host with WordPress in mind, as well as a few quality places to find WordPress hosting, beginning with:

In-House WordPress Transfers. Often times, we see webmasters start a blog on the traditional WordPress site, only to suddenly find their content inundated with fans and adoring readers. If you’re in a similar boat, and are looking to make the swap to a truly dedicated domain and website, you’ll want to be sure of a few things. First and foremost, you’ll want to be sure your new web host can directly transfer your domain from WordPress, establishing it as a proprietary DNS. From there, you’ll also want to ensure they can port most (if not all) of your content. You worked hard to create it, so why should you have to leave it behind on that old, stuffy WordPress blog? If your new web host can’t help you with your baggage, it’s time to shop more.

Speed and Performance. On a similar note, if you’re swapping your old WordPress account for a dedicated number—or even if you’re just starting from scratch—you’ll want to find a web host that offers totally comprehensive performance and top-notch hardware. WordPress is a lightweight web application, but you’re still running an additional software engine over the server’s operating system. This requires processing power, and if you go with an anemic web host, you may find your blog is no better off with a dedicated location than with your original WordPress spot. And besides, signing to a web host is like buying a new car. If you have the money, why not spring for that souped-up model that packs a real punch? Get the most bang for your dollar and look for speed in a web host.

Easy Installation. Lastly, you’ll want to be sure your web host can provide an easy WordPress installation for your site. A good web host makes this a one or two click process, max. If your web host instead wants you to do a long string of complicated terminal commands that may jeopardize the entire system, it’s time to move elsewhere and cancel the contract.

That’s by no means a survival guide for WordPress shopping where web hosts are concerned, but instead of talking about finding a web host until the cows come home, we thought we might instead offer up a few of our choice suggestions. Beginning with:

InMotion Web Hosting

Customer Ratings & Reviews

As an industry leading web hosting provider, InMotion Hosting provides all of the features we mentioned above and more. With the company your WordPress installation takes only a click, thanks to the brilliantly inventive, server-side gem Fantastico. Furthermore, InMotion also boasts secure suPHP, the latest versions of both MySQL 5 and PHP 5, as well as free domain transfer. If you’re looking to port over your old WordPress account, like we talked about earlier, InMotion also makes it a smooth process, bringing along your old content and name without any additional hassle on your part. All in all, InMotion is a brilliant (and cheap, clocking in at $5.95 a month) option for your WordPress-based site.

Visit www.inmotionhosting.com or read our Inmotion Hosting review.

HostGator

Customer Ratings & Reviews

Another industry veteran, HostGator offers even more features than InMotion, and at a lower price, to boot. Plans with the provider begin at only $3.96 a month, and come loaded with 100% WordPress compatibility, a one-click installation of the latest WordPress software, 99.9% up-time, and a full 45 day money back guarantee. Another feature unique to HostGator is its focus on unlimited features. With the provider, users can enjoy fully unlimited disc space and bandwidth, even at the lowest possible plan. And, of course, signing with the provider also earns you the latest versions of Apache, MySQL and PHP. Best of all, transferring your old WordPress site to the provider is easy-peasy using their ready made transfer service.

Visit www.hostgator.com or read our HostGator review.

WebHostingHub

Customer Ratings & Reviews

Last, though certainly not least, is WebHostingHub. The provider offers unparalleled support for the modern WordPress blogger, besting both HostGator and InMotion in our user review polls. First and foremost, those who choose to sign with the provider gain the full benefits of the latest software, including Apache, MySQL 5, and PHP5. And, of course, all of this technology comes ready loaded with a one-click WordPress installation that requires no additional effort on your part. Add to this about 1,000 unique and custom-made WordPress themes to choose from, as well as simple transfer of old WordPress materials, and you’re looking at a truly impressive offering. However, WebHostingHub is also notable for its unique dedication to hardware optimization. The provider has taken great pains to fully prepare its systems for WordPress, including a full PHP caching overhaul that maximizes available RAM, a reduction in overall I/O requests, and blazing fast base connectivity. All in all, if you’re looking for an incredible, simple, and efficient way to host your new WordPress site, there’s no better option than WebHostingHub.

Visit www.webhostinghub.com or read our WebHostingHub review.

Related posts:

• January 1, 2012 – Fastest WordPress Hosting in Town
• December 9, 2011 – WordPress vs. Blogger
• October 3, 2011 – WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
• September 21, 2011 – Drupal – An Essential Primer
• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• June 15, 2011 – Drupal 7 to Further Simplify Website Management
• May 6, 2011 – New Content Management System Released by TYPO 3
• January 17, 2011 – Understanding the Benefits of CMS

To begin with, we’re going to assume you’re using a WordPress based site. Why? Because if you aren’t, and your top priority is search engine optimization, you really should be. WordPress makes it quick, painless, and relatively cheap to SEO streamline your site. This is accomplished thorugh a variety of essential plug-ins which do such various tasks as change your URL codes, add meta-tags, create keyword line-ups for search engines to crawl, etc. It’s a brilliant way to go about maximizing your site’s potential, but if you’re looking to get the most out of your WordPress site, you should know it’s not all sunshine and chuckles. In fact, WordPress has one noticeable drawback, which we’ll be attending to with the rest of this article, so stay tuned!

Speed Demons in our Closets

You see, WordPress is what we in the business call a content management software. It takes all of the various articles, images, posts, etc. that you create, and displays it in a pre-set fashion that jives will with themes. This makes it blazingly fast and efficient to create new content, and all without having to write a single line of code. Obviously, this is a tremendous boon for the runoff the mill blogger, who would rather not learn a real skill like HTML coding.

However, there’s one downside to all this ease-of-creation stuff: WordPress is a real bandwidth hog. Sure, it makes it a breeze to add new media, but all of that coded forefront comes with a price tag. Typically, users will experience slightly more load time with a WordPress powered site than with a non-WordPress branded one. Why is this a problem? you might be asking. Usually, it’s not at all: We’re really talking a difference of perhaps half a second to maybe a full second. However, when it comes to search engine optimization, those bare few seconds could be all it takes to put your site in the tank. Don’t believe us? Consider this.

Search engines collect data using software “spiders.” These little critters are designed to do one thing, and do it well: Poll web pages and collect data about them. Typically, they accomplish this through peeping at site text, meta-tags, etc. to gather up a gist that can be used to create a ranking. However, speed is also very heavily considered in a site’s automatic rank. Spiders are busy little buggers, and if your site takes until Christmas to return the data they need, they’ll hike it up out of town and disappear. You heard us right: If your site is too slow, search engines are likely to skip it entirely, or at the very least, file it much further down the line than you’d like. You shouldn’t let this get you down, though. There are steps you can take to prevent this, especially if you’re using a WordPress-powered site—and they all begin with the hosting itself!

Top Hosting Providers for WordPress

To secure the best possible search engine ranking for your data, you’re going to need a good host. The hosting provider, after all, is the source of your bandwidth, disc space, and net presence. Without it, you’re sunk. If you’re looking for a speedy and efficient way to host your WordPress site, we’ve even got a few suggestions lined-up and ready to roll. Firstly, consider—

Web Hosting Hub

Customer Ratings & Reviews

We like these guys for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they’re a tremendous bang for your dollar, as all of their plans come with unlimited support for disk space, bandwidth, and websites. They also offer one of the best technical support services in the business, guaranteeing they’ll be able to solve any WordPress problems that may arise. On the subject of WordPress, they also offer such amenities as one-click transfer of existing WordPress data, a free domain name with a new WordPress plan, and a wealth of themes to choose from. All in all, they’re a solid option for the speed concerned WordPress blogger.

Visit www.webhostinghub.com or read our WebHostingHub review.

InMotion Hosting

Customer Ratings & Reviews

These guys offer a similar bevy of features that we greatly appreciate, including a comparable amount of unlimited support for both bandwidth and disc space. They also offer a wealth of WordPress friendly features, including a similar one-click transfer and a solid mountain of support files to help get you up to speed on how to operate the CMS.

Visit www.inmotionhosting.com or read our Inmotion Hosting review.

HostGator

Customer Ratings & Reviews

If you haven’t heard of HostGator yet, we’re guessing you haven’t been in the business long. They’re legends in the field, and as such, the offer a near perfect storm of WordPress performance and features. With plans beginning under four dollars with an heap of benefits, they’re a tremendous value for anyone looking to quickly set-up and even more quickly manage a WordPress site.

Visit www.hostgator.com or read our HostGator review.

However, when it comes to WordPress, we really can’t recommend anyone higher than WebHostingHub WordPress Hosting. They’ve consistently ranked the highest in our user polls, and offer the most advanced level of WordPress support. This includes servers that run suPHP, which allows for speedier and more secure connections, PHP5, MySQL5, and PHP caching. All in all, they’re an unbelievably fast offering that’s guaranteed to up your website rankings!

Related posts:

• January 11, 2012 – WordPress Website and WordPress Hosting
• January 16, 2012 – Top 4 Ways to Optimize WordPress for Search Engines
• December 9, 2011 – WordPress vs. Blogger
• October 3, 2011 – WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
• September 15, 2011 – Add-Ons That Will Save Your Web Hosting Business
• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• June 15, 2011 – Drupal 7 to Further Simplify Website Management
• May 20, 2011 – Important Features of Content Management Systems

Main Features of Blogger and WordPress

WordPress

WordPress is a free platform that allows users to enjoy all of their blogging needs. WordPress was first introduced in 2003 and has increasingly gained popularity over the years. Aside from gaining popularity, there have also been many updates to WordPress so that it is up to date with what users want to have. The creator ensures that the features of WordPress are user friendly and very helpful with people who use the site for their blog. Some of the many features that WordPress comes with include:

• Various Themes
• 100% Free
• Tons of Accessible Plugins

With various themes, you will be able to change the look and feel of your WordPress website as much as you want. Themes are a necessity because they catch the eyes of the viewers who are visiting your website. Not to mention, you will be able to find an abundance of free themes for your WordPress website. Having access to free themes can come in handy because it is a way to spice up your page and make it unique without having to spend money. While there are free themes available, some advanced themes and special design themes may cost money but it is entirely your choice as to whether or not you want to spend any money on your WordPress theme.

It is also good that using WordPress is free. You do not have to pay to sign up or create a WordPress account. It is nice to be able to start a blog website without having to spend any money in the process. If you want your website on WordPress to be hosted, you may have to pay for web hosting but you will never have to pay to create a WordPress account or to use the website and create your very own blog.

Being able to use different plugins can come in handy for your WordPress website too. There are all tops of plugins that do different things for the website. For example, there is a plugin that, if used properly, will make your website run faster. This is important because people visiting your page will be irritated by slow loading times. Having a fast running website is very important and these plugins can do that for you. There is an extensive list of plugins that are compatible with WordPress. You can easily search for these Plugins online to find out more information about what types of plugins will help your website and its productivity.

Blogger

Blogger, like WordPress, is perfect for all of your blogging needs. Blogger was created more than five years ago and Google bought the website by 2003. As you can tell, the website has been around for quite some time and within the several years of its existence, it has changed for the better, so that the users would enjoy all of the features that come along with using Blogger for their blogging wants and needs. Some of the best features of Blogger include:

• 100% Free
• Simple Navigation System
• Free Space for Pictures

Blogger is completely free which is great for people who do not want to put out any extra money to blog on the website. Because creating a blog on Blogger is free, anyone can use it, without worrying about charges or hidden fees. The web hosting for Blogger is also free which is an additional bonus. The URL of your blog will be the domain name you choose along with blogspot.com.

The simple navigation system on Blogger makes creating a blog simple and easy for just about anyone who uses the site. Having a simple navigation system will allow you to spend less time figuring the site out and more time putting your blog together. The navigation system is easy to follow which will help you avoid the frustration of trying to figure out how to use the website.

Having free space for pictures is also important. You will not have to pay a cent to post up a certain amount of pictures on your blog. Pictures can really spice up your blog by adding a personal look and feel and also making it look more professional. You definitely need pictures on your blog and Blogger allows you to upload these pictures from Picasa for free.

Here are some stats of search volume from Google Trends:

In conclusion, both of these websites are great to use for your blogging needs and it can be hard to pick just one. They are two of the best websites for creating and developing your very own blog. If you are not sure which one of the websites you would like to use, you might want to give them both a try as a temporary solution. Some people prefer Blogger over WordPress because it is completely free, including the web hosting, which you would have to pay for if you were to use WordPress. Some people prefer to use WordPress instead because of the large amount of themes that you will have to choose from.

Ultimately, it depends on your personal preference which will help you make the decision as to which website you want to use for your blogging needs. Both of these websites continue to increase in popularity as millions of Internet users from all over the world flock to these sites to create their very own blogs.

Related posts:

• January 11, 2012 – WordPress Website and WordPress Hosting
• December 31, 2010 – Why a CMS is Essential for Doing Online Business in the 21st Century
• January 1, 2012 – Fastest WordPress Hosting in Town
• October 3, 2011 – WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• July 21, 2011 – Joomla Expansion Efforts
• June 15, 2011 – Drupal 7 to Further Simplify Website Management
• May 6, 2011 – New Content Management System Released by TYPO 3

While we talk about the advantages of the different content management systems frequently, their strength is far more determined by how you use them.  Each CMS has a world of plugins that programmers all over the world have created.  Some of them are powerful enough to negate any problems inherent in your CMS of choice, and add functionality to it that you may have never considered.

This is the first in a series of articles that will go over some of the best plugins we found out there for the most popular contention management systems.  We start today with the king of CMS’s, WordPress and WP Plugins.  Note that we are going to be focusing on for-pay plugins in this article.  Free plugins have their place, and we will cover those eventually as well.   This is for the webmaster who is willing to shell out a little cash for the best.

1) Events Calendar Pro

This sleek calendar system gives the webmaster an easy-to-use interface with which they can create professional-looking calendar and event pages.  Among the options available are the ability to integrate Google Maps into the event page, and using “Pretty URLs”.  The calendar of events can be displayed in a number of attractive, easy-to-read formats.

2) All in One Shortcodes Plugin

Much of what you’ll want to do with your WordPress site might benefit from some simple stylistic addition.  You may not want to pick up a book and spend a few hours learning the code necessary, though.  This $20 plugin lets you do these easily.   Buttons and text boxes of all different sizes and styles,  image and text sliders (meaning content that rotates through a limited set every few seconds), embedded video, and social bookmarking are all available.  It’s a veritable WordPress Swiss army knife.

3) Custom Widget Areas for WordPress

One of the most useful additions to a standard WordPress account is the ability to make customer sidebar sections, or widgets.  This inexpensive package allows you to do just that.  The webmaster is presented with an enormous variety of options for what to display where, and how.  Widgets can be included in main body text, and all pages down to 404 error code pages can be customized.

4) uPricing – Pricing Table for WordPress

This one is a bit specialized, but the right user will really appreciate having it.  This little package lets the user make a business-quality pricing table.  Tables are often one of the first things a new HTML editor learns how to make.  They soon learn thereafter how much worse a bad-looking table can make your web site appear.

5) Twitter Ultimate-WordPress Plugin

Finally, no article about improving your website would be complete without somehow working modern social networking into it.  Of the available packages we looked at for the most popular social hangouts, Twitter Ultimate-WordPress Plugin seemed to provide the best functionality for the least cost ($8 as of this writing).  It allows the user all sorts of controls over whose tweets are displayed when, and how often.

There are even more good plugins, and we’ll go into them when we later cover some of the free ones available for WordPress.  For now, this should give the WordPress webmaster looking for some very nice enhancements to their site an excellent starting point.

Related posts:

• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• March 31, 2010 – Wordpress and Search Engine Optimization – Facts to Consider
• January 11, 2012 – WordPress Website and WordPress Hosting
• January 1, 2012 – Fastest WordPress Hosting in Town
• December 9, 2011 – WordPress vs. Blogger
• October 7, 2011 – The 13 Best Free WordPress Plugins
• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 4, 2011 – Joomla: For You, For Me, For Everybody
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• September 1, 2011 – SharePoint’s Affect on Information Management

A brief history of Drupal

Drupal began as a message board, and like many web success stories, rocketed in popularity when in 2001 it went open source.  A user community quickly formed around the software package, one which grew past “global village” to start approaching “global small country.”.

The numbers for its support are amazing.  Since 2005 there have been multiple “DrupalCons” held each year, with smaller events scattered throughout the world.  It displays contents in more than 180 languages, and is used, purporetedly, in over 200.  Its rabid fan base has used its open-source freedom to create for it more than 11,000 add-ons.  Looked at from any angle, Drupal is rock star.  As a side note, it also ranked second in a list of most secure content management software packages.

Sounds fantastic.  Is there a catch?

First the good news – Lots of it

Well yes, there is, but custom dictates that we list the advantages first.  The main advantage to Drupal is just how many advantages there are.  This is an extremely powerful, flexible piece of software that offers just about any option that a webmaster could want out of a content management software package.  The standard release contains support for RSS feeds, user account registration, page layout specifications, video, polls, and podcasts just to start.

More importantly is that it has the programming capabilities to handle much more.  Drupal lets the webmaster program in a module-like setting that makes it easy for a user to develop a gorgeous web site from the ground up in little time: and again, if the software package itself somehow doesn’t contain what you need out of it, the many thousands of add-ons from the user community almost definitely will.

Now the bad news – Too much of a good thing?

If the avalanche of features above seemed intimidating to you, then you have an idea of what the primary drawback for Drupal is.  This is not the most beginner-friendly content management software out there.  It is generally considered that if all you want is a simple site that you can use Drupal no problem, but that if you want more than that, you need to commit to a little bit of self-education.

Part and parcel to that problem is that Drupal is generally considered to be among the bigger and slower of these systems.  To be fair, there is some debate on this topic: one study showed Drupal to outperform Joomla, one of its main rivals.  Nevertheless the impression persists.  All things considered, if you are just looking for a very simple web site with little in the way of frills, your likely to get a lot of people tell you that Drupal is not the best place to start.

A positive balance?

Those drawbacks don’t seem to be getting in the way of Drupal’s continued popularity.  And since many of the sites that use Drupal are high profile sites, such as Whitehouse.gov, London.gov.uk, Rutgers.edu,  Economist.com and MTV.co.uk, the new user has a lot of examples to look it.

One thing is certain: if you ask the Drupal user community, they are sure to tell you to jump right in. That’s a hard endorsement to ignore. Also, most of the web hosting companies support the Drupal CMS.

Related posts:

• January 11, 2012 – WordPress Website and WordPress Hosting
• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• June 15, 2011 – Drupal 7 to Further Simplify Website Management
• December 31, 2010 – Why a CMS is Essential for Doing Online Business in the 21st Century
• October 12, 2010 – Content Management Systems for Multi-User Blogs
• June 17, 2010 – Under 35: The Top Five CMS Executives
• May 28, 2010 – Content Management Systems and Site Design
• October 6, 2009 – Drupal Hosting: Not Just for Techies

Geeklog

We know Geeklog may not look the prettiest, but this CMS is every bit as functional as WordPress and then some. Popular sites like Mac OS X hints have been using it for years, in case you need a reference. Geeklog is a ninja when it comes to mySQL, PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL, as well as content syndication, mass user deletion, forums, and multi-language support. Not to mention the word “geek” is in the title, which tickles our pickle five ways to Sunday.

concrete5

This CMS has been garnering an immense amount of attention for its ease of use and feature-rich editing. The system allows users to edit pages directly from the management software without having to go through any kind of complex administrative filter. Even images can be mangled straight from the source, making it easier than ever to manipulate your media. Not to mention that concrete5 is completely free and open-source, meaning you’re free to soak your hands in its code any day you’re feeling particularly daring.

Drupal

Ah, Drupal! It’s been reported that this CMS is being used by one in every 66 sites around the world, including some heavyweight, multi-national government institutions. It’s a weighty offering, and one that’s every bit as feature-rich as WordPress. It works with every kind of database server you can think of, and is also compatible with every operating system known to man. Not to mention its huge list of features, including multi-user file editing, multiple sites, and massively useful security restrictions. Drupal also supports one of the best user communities around (a fact touted by the developer often) making it accessible and and functional, especially when issues arrive.

That’s all we’ve got for you today! If you’re still suckling the WordPress source, maybe you’ll look into a few of our other favorites for future projects. No matter where you go, though, quality CMS isn’t hard to find. Whether open-source code, a massive user community, or a gorgeous user interface is your kick, you can always find something to match.

Feel free to post a comment if we left any killer WordPress alternatives out!

Related posts:

• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• June 15, 2011 – Drupal 7 to Further Simplify Website Management
• December 31, 2010 – Why a CMS is Essential for Doing Online Business in the 21st Century
• October 12, 2010 – Content Management Systems for Multi-User Blogs
• May 28, 2010 – Content Management Systems and Site Design
• April 22, 2009 – Is WordPress Really a CMS?
• April 1, 2009 – Introducing the phpWebSite CMS
• May 6, 2011 – New Content Management System Released by TYPO 3
• January 17, 2011 – Understanding the Benefits of CMS

Geeklog

www.geeklog.net

One of the most popular of the WordPress alternatives, Geeklog is a feature-full CMS that can use mySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL server for its databases.  It includes among its features content syndication, forums, calendars, polls multi-language support and mass user deletion.  If you need help, it actually uses a wiki for its official documentation.  Popular sites Groklaw and Mac OS X Hints have used it for years.

concrete5

www.concrete5.org

Open-source CMS concrete5 has attracted attention for its ease of use.  Not only is there easy editing of individual pages without having to go through an administrative interface of some kind, but even images can be edited from directly within its interface.  It includes among its features search engine optimization, a tracker to check for latest software revisions, and a page history so that you can revert to any previous version of any page on your site.  It’s among the newer CMSs so 3^rd party content and themes are still catching up, but it appears that this is happening quickly.

Drupal

www.drupal.org

Drupal might be the largest and most far-reaching CMS outside of WordPress. In fact, one estimate has one in 66 web sites using it, including the governmental web sites for both the US and the UK.  It has about as much compatibility as any software out there, running on any operating system using PHP and working with just about every main database software in existence.  Among its arm-length long list of features are multi-user file editing, multiple security restriction methods, support for multiple sites, and support from communities in multiple languages (“multiple” seems to be the central word here). The gigantic community, in fact, seems one of Drupal’s main selling points: the Drupal web site lists more than 11,000 user-created modules.

PHP-Fusion

www.php-fusion.co.uk

For something with a lot of miles on it but still simple and lightweight there is PHP-Fusion.  It comes with most of the basic features like themes, forums, picture gallery support, spam protection and an in-site search, and it has support sites in 20 countries.  It is considered one of the most stable and reliable CMSs out there.

Joomla!

www.joomla.org

Also, with strong community support is the open-source Joomla!  Using object-oriented programming, Joomla!’s features include RSS feeds, polls, search capability, and language internationalization.

WordPress’s reputation is well-earned, but don’t fear the alternatives.  One of the advantages of the information era is that there’s almost always more than one right way.  If your web host uses them, take a closer look.  You’ll find a lot of them to be of a high enough quality to make you not miss the biggest names.

Related posts:

• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• December 31, 2010 – Why a CMS is Essential for Doing Online Business in the 21st Century
• May 28, 2010 – Content Management Systems and Site Design
• April 22, 2009 – Is WordPress Really a CMS?
• April 1, 2009 – Introducing the phpWebSite CMS
• February 11, 2009 – Top 7 Reasons to Drupal
• January 21, 2009 – 5 Tips for Choosing a CMS
• October 3, 2011 – WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
• September 4, 2011 – Joomla: For You, For Me, For Everybody

Choosing the best CMS requires one to ascertain as to whether he/she would be able to work with the system effectively and efficiently. Even the top three content management systems, WordPress, Drupal and Joomla, differ to a great extent.  All of these CMS’ have their scoring points, and maybe some flaws as well. However, deciding on your suited CMS may become a lot easier after reading this article.

When in Doubt, go Joomla!

It seems like bringing everybody on board was always the idea of the Joomla developers. The makers of this CMS believe that people need to enjoy working on a solid CMS, and this is one of the primary goals of Jooma.

Joomla, by definition, actually means ‘everyone together’ in Swahili and this points to the inherent idea of using the CMS which Joomla has been developed. New entrants in web site development face torrid times when they are made to work with a CMS that makes their tasks difficult, due to complex menus and thousands of options. Making one’s way past all the unknown features and getting onto the right ones takes a lot of time and this is where Joomla scores heavily over its competitors. With the intuitive and easy to master tools, newbies find it extremely easy to use and make rapid leaps into launching their website. Having your way with Joomla is as easy as it comes. There are so many customization options that users find it almost tailor made for them to be basing their websites on.

Joomla gets past a very fierce competitor in the form of WordPress, and it does so by letting the users exercise full control over the appearance and outlook of their website projects. No wonders, the most attractive looking websites these days happen to be made with Joomla. Thus, jut in case you are considering making your own website to take the Internet world by storm, make sure that you do not forget to get a hang of this amazing CMS called Joomla.

Technical Requirements for Joomla 1.7.x and 1.6.x

PHP 5.2.4+
MySQL 5.0.4+
Apache (with mod_mysql, mod_xml, and mod_zlib) 2.x+
Microsoft IIS 7

More information can found at the Joomla official website: http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla.html

You can install Joomla with just a few clicks with any web hosting provider from our Top 10 Hosting List.

Related posts:

• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• May 22, 2009 – How to Find a Host for Your CMS
• October 3, 2011 – WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
• September 23, 2011 – Say it with me – Joomla!
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• September 1, 2011 – SharePoint’s Affect on Information Management
• July 21, 2011 – Joomla Expansion Efforts
• June 7, 2011 – The Venetian’s New Web Standard
• May 20, 2011 – Important Features of Content Management Systems
• May 6, 2011 – New Content Management System Released by TYPO 3

Appearance Differences

When a website is developed in individual pieces by different departments, the result is different appearances in different areas of the site. This can lead to clients and partners questioning the validity of the site. It is critical to always provide a seamless transition between one area of the website and another. This is another clear indication of the need for a CMS.

Reviewing CMS Options

However, it is not necessary to begin a CMS development project on your own without looking at the various options of CMS software. Most deliver a variety of templates to ensure consistency across the entire site. Also, they allow for the creation of easy forms and methods of managing content and users viewing that content.

Alfresco

One popular CMS is Alfresco which is an enterprise-grade CMS. The software delivers a system for document management, website management, records management, collaboration between users and a standardized content platform to ensure data is presented consistently and accurately. Also, Alfresco is an open-source project similar to WordPress, Joomla and Drupal which provides extensive support through a loyal community following.

Hidden Costs

However, just because it is open-source does not mean it is free. All open-source CMS’ require the training of staff, learning, buying support and managing correct server configurations. Money will be saved on the software but spent on the training cycle of the program.

Small Business

However, for small businesses that only have one server, the implementation of an open-source CMS is simple. For small businesses, many experts recommend the Joomla CMS because of its low technical requirement and high level of flexibility.

CMS’ have whipped many businesses of all sizes in all industries into shape by allowing for the organization and management of extensive content. Since most major businesses are migrating into some type of content management system, it is critical to know when your website has become too large or disorganized and it is time for a change.

Related posts:

• December 31, 2010 – Why a CMS is Essential for Doing Online Business in the 21st Century
• May 28, 2010 – Content Management Systems and Site Design
• April 22, 2009 – Is WordPress Really a CMS?
• April 1, 2009 – Introducing the phpWebSite CMS
• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• June 15, 2011 – Drupal 7 to Further Simplify Website Management
• May 6, 2011 – New Content Management System Released by TYPO 3
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Although SharePoint will not solve all of a firm’s problems because it is only a resource, the content management system has enough features that can provide increased business value over the previous method. On the other hand, many established vendors have additional features that Microsoft must compete with.

On that note, is primarily used for file sharing and the distribution of information across many departments. Due to its popularity, the system has grown and become extremely critical for many groups within an organization. In its simplest form, SharePoint is a transparent records management system that archives data from today, last week or a year ago. Many other content management systems offer the same task with plenty of other features.

However, where SharePoint shines is that the system is an excellent starting point for any initiative. Although it can be replaced by a more feature rich system, the platform answers the true needs of its users. For instance, there are several advantages to the system including:

• Records management
• Process automation
• Invoice processing

In many organizations records management is a priority. Therefore, Microsoft SharePoint was designed to enhance the existing architecture of any system without the user being aware of the change. Users can create, delete, edit and perform many tasks common to records management.

Also, when developing the system, Microsoft determined that many processes needed to be automated. Therefore, a simple analysis determined that 87 percent of processes can be implemented into SharePoint with minimal effort. The remaining processes only impact a small amount of the work force.

At any organization, there are thousands of invoices processed every year. Therefore, procurement departments can easily manage all of them within the SharePoint environment. Therefore, the system can managed these documents regardless of size, file type and fax type. As a result, organizations do not need to purchase a separate software license for a program to manage the files and integrate them into SharePoint.

Microsoft SharePoint has been an extremely successful content management system that has been implemented into many major organizations across the globe. Although it may not have many of the other features found in its competitors, the system relies on simplicity for the average user.

Related posts:

• October 3, 2011 – WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• September 4, 2011 – Joomla: For You, For Me, For Everybody
• June 7, 2011 – The Venetian’s New Web Standard
• May 20, 2011 – Important Features of Content Management Systems
• February 11, 2011 – Helpful Content Management Tools
• February 7, 2011 – CMS’s Programs Worthy of Your Consideration
• November 24, 2010 – Reasons to Choose Open Source CMS Software
• July 30, 2010 – Content Management Systems and Business Collaborations
• June 17, 2010 – Under 35: The Top Five CMS Executives