- Forms and Interactive Scripts
- WordPress, Drupal, Joomla & Other CMS's
- Custom PHP/MySQL Database Systems
WordPress, Drupal, and Other Website Content Management Systems (CMS's)
If you want a website that you can update without knowing how to write code, WordPress is exceptionally easy to install and use, and there are hundreds of contributed themes which can be used as-is or customized to give your website its own look and feel. They aren’t kidding when they talk about their famous 5-minute installation - the basic package really is that easy for most people who already know how to connect to their web server and upload files to get up and running. But the basic package doesn’t create a very nice looking site; most people will want to install or create a custom theme and intall plugins to do specific things.
If you want a website that lots of other users can add content to, Drupal or Joomla may be a better choice, but they do have a steeper learning curves and require more ongoing maintenance. The basic packages are more complicated to install than WordPress and add-on modules can be bewildering (install them incorrectly, or install one that conflicts with others and your site may go down completely). However, this complexity lets you add more features than you can with a WordPress site, and may provide more control over contributers.
PioneerValley.info was a Drupal-based site for most of 2008 and 2009 but I converted it to WordPress in December 2009. I found the overhead required to properly maintain a Drupal-based site was more than I had time for, and the bells and whistles I could add with WordPress were more than enough.
WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are all open-source, have good track records, and are in wide use. I can integrate WordPress and a core set of plugins into a new or existing site and provide custom themes and plugins. I do not provide support at this time for Drupal or Joomla.
