At the moment, there are a huge number of data management systems on the market, on the basis of which it is quite quick and easy to build an effective website that can solve serious problems. What tasks it will solve depends on several parameters. Each of which has its own characteristics that are useful in different cases.

The cost plays a big role in choosing an engine. The platforms may be commercial and may be freely available. Free ones are not always inferior in characteristics to paid ones.

A compromise option is ready-made commercial CMS, which have a standard set of tools suitable for any resource. Individuals and small firms pay attention to free CMS, a feature of which is the openness of the code.

Another important point is when choosing a system - compatibility with the hosting platform. Not all hosting platforms support different CMS.

And so, to date, several paid and free CMS have proven themselves and gained popularity. Let's consider them separately.6]

WordPress

One of the most famous among free engines. He is advised to those who decide to create a blog or news site. It is good for its ease of installation. To do this, you just need to download the distribution kit, upload it to the hosting and start the installation mode. For WordPress, there are a large number of different design templates and plugins that can actually be used not only for blogs, but also for any other projects.

This is another free system, easy to use and compatible with any PHP and MySQL hosting. Business card sites and information portals are often created on this platform. It also has a large number of templates and plugins. It is possible to add your own modules. Despite the fact that the system is open source, it is well protected from hacks. Any person can work with it, no matter what knowledge he possesses. It has the only drawback - the slow loading speed of pages with high traffic.

Also is free. It is convenient to create personal sites, forums, photo galleries, as well as social networks. Well suited for novice users, as it has an automated engine installation. Improved with a huge number of extensions.

Bitrix (1c-Bitrix)

Paid system, quite expensive. But it is very popular due to the fact that it is one of the most reliable and safe. Most often, it is chosen by corporate site owners, as it is synchronized with 1C databases. Improvements are also provided, but they cost some money. The disadvantage of the engine is the complexity of the settings and the load on the server.

2.6 Selecting a development tool

After analyzing the tasks and available technologies, the author decided to use the program - MODx Site Management in his development.

The main advantage of the program is its practicality. The system provides great opportunities for efficient and quick creation new sites.

Five Features of MODx Site Management:

    flexibility;

    security;

    efficiency;

    simplicity;

    traditionalism.

A feature of "MODx: Site Management" is the mechanism of information blocks. This allows you to quickly create custom content types.

The next feature of MODx is a powerful visual HTML editor, which makes it possible to place on the website not only HTML pages, PHP codes or JavaScript, but also the dynamic components of programs supported by the CMS.

The main concepts used by the content management system CMS UlterSuite are site, section and block. We will not write what a site is here, since you have come here, you probably have an idea about sites.

From the visitor's point of view, the site consists of pages, but from the system administrator's point of view, the site consists of sections. The system allows you to create sections, delete them and form a tree structure of the site from them. The content of the section and its title are used by the system to form the page or pages. The section is not a site page.

The content management system allows you to build a page that includes the content of several sections, and a page that contains only part of the content from the section. A typical example of the first case is start page a site that contains areas in which the content of the root section, the news section, the announcement section and one more text section is displayed.

There may be sections in the system, the content of which is never displayed on the pages of the site. The system supports working with several types of partitions that implement different functionality.

Sections in turn consist of blocks. A block is a data element that the site administrator operates in the process of filling and editing it, and the site management system in the process of generating pages. The system supports several types of blocks. Sections different types may contain different blocks. Some sections of blocks do not contain. In the vast majority of cases, working with blocks allows you to avoid working with a form. The administrator works only with content in text form. The design of the blocks, their appearance are regulated by the templates and style of the site.

Content Management System Functions

CMS UlterSuite(content management system) performs many different functions. The functions performed by CMS can be combined into several groups:

  • site content management;
  • online store management;
  • data presentation management;
  • access control;
  • management of mail subscriptions;
  • auxiliary functions of the CMS.

CMS 1. Site content management

Content Management System Sites CMS UlterSuite performs many functions necessary and sufficient to manage sites of various types:

  • CMS allows create, delete and hierarchically arrange the pages of the site;
  • CMS automatically generates comfortable site navigation tools(links, various menus, site map, page lists, path indicators, etc.);
  • CMS operates with sections various types (articles, news feeds, forums, bulletin boards, mail forms, polls, voting etc.);
  • CMS fills site pages with blocks of content of different types ( text, image, list, table etc.).

CMS 2. Online store management

Allows you to manage online store:

  • upload a product catalog (price list) to the store from the local computer of the store administrator using transport files in batch mode,
  • edit the product catalog online through the web interface,
  • upload a catalog of goods from the store to local computer administrator as an archived transport file,
  • download information about customers from the store,
  • upload order information from the store.

At the same time, an online store based on CMS UlterSuite automatically generates a showcase of goods, provides a search for goods according to different criteria. The shopping cart of an online store is a settlement node that calculates the cost of an order, places orders, and generates documents for accounting and warehouse accounting.

An online store from the CMS UlterSuite content management system integrates well with accounting and enterprise management systems on the platform of the software package 1C:Enterprise.

Transport files for loading and unloading the product catalog and other data can be formed in different formats: from simple text tables with tab-separated fields, electronic Excel tables before XML files and CommerceML including.

CMS 3. Managing the presentation of data on the site

Content management system CMS UlterSuite uses a system of templates to control the appearance of the site and the presentation of data on its pages. Templates are built on technology XML/XSLT. Thanks to XSLT, the same site can form its pages for display on a variety of devices:

Personal computer with one or another browser,

Printer,

Pocket Personal Computer PDA (PDA),

Smartphone,

Communicator

And other similar devices.

In this case, the site administrator deals with a single interface. Site content is independent of the output format.

Naturally, the images placed on the site must take into account the features of the output devices. You can either tailor them for the worst case, or have reduced-size duplicates that will be used to build pages for small screen devices.

CMS 4. Data access control

CMS UlterSuite allows you to manage the access rights of visitors to sections of the site. Part of the sections can be declared closed, then they will be available only to registered and authorized visitors, provided that they are members of a group that has access to the required section. Otherwise, the visitor will receive a page on his screen with a warning that the section is closed, that his access rights are not enough to view its content, and with a suggestion to log in or register.

The content management system provides collective management of the content of the site due to:

Separation of administrators' access to different parts of the site (sections and groups of sections),

Linking chains of performers,

Managing the publication of sections.

CMS 5. Manage email subscriptions

Content management system CMS UlterSuite allows:

  • create mailing lists,
  • lead subscriber lists,
  • create and edit letters,
  • send letters subscribers.

CMS 6. Manage headers and banners

AT content management system CMS UlterSuite there are options for managing impressions banners, image rotation.

CMS makes it easy to control the content of tags title and meta (keywords and description), which has a beneficial effect on the results of website promotion by search engine optimization methods.

Ease of content management and special tags to form titles different levels, which provides content management system, significantly reduces the cost of website promotion by legal methods ( search engine optimization, link ranking etc.).

CMS - admin guide

For those who already use the CMS UlterSuite site content management system in testing mode or in production mode, we have created a site that is a detailed description of the administrative interface of the CMS UlterSuite site content management system.

On that website the capabilities of the content management system are described in detail, methods of administering the pages of the site are considered, work with the administrative sections of the site is described, recommendations are given for filling the site with content.

An increasing number of people nowadays are acquiring Internet resources. Online stores, portfolio sites and just personal blogs. But not everyone wants to delve into the essence of site building, learn the basics of layout and programming languages. How to be? CMS - content management systems come to the rescue. Simple, functional and convenient interfaces, allowing you to make changes on the site without opening source.
But which ones are more convenient and which ones are more functional?

Not so long ago, iTrack provided independent rating content management systems compiled from information about real installations on sites. In total, about a million sites were checked.
Places were distributed as follows (as of July 2014):

Consider the most popular systems of this rating.

1. WordPress (Wordpress)

Free CMS, Last update dated 05/08/2014, site
WordPress is very popular in RuNet and the world of CMS, especially among beginners. Well Russified. Easy to install. The installation process takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish. Filling the site with content does not require any additional knowledge.
It allows you to create sites of various types, but still, when they talk about WordPress, they mean that this is, first of all, an engine for blogs. Therefore, if you need to easily and quickly create your own blog, or a simple information-type site, then it is WordPress - a good choice.
The disadvantages of WordPress are typical for popular CMS - the possibility of failures with high traffic and the periodic detection of certain vulnerabilities in the script.
Also, WordPress is hardly suitable for a complex site with great functionality, such as a portal or an online store, because. just doesn't have the required modules for it.

Interesting fact:
About 40 thousand new sites per day are created with using WordPress. That is, almost every two seconds a site is born on this CMS.

2. Joomla! (Jumla)

Free CMS, last updated 06/11/2014, site
Somewhat more difficult to master than WordPress, but it also has a larger scope. It will take some effort to install this CMS. Filling the site will become a fairly easy process for you after you understand the structure of Joomla elements.
A huge number of modules have been developed for Joomla, including forums, chats, blogs, and online stores. Joomla allows you to create a variety of sites, both simple and complex, it is a fairly versatile CMS. There are also a huge number of templates for Joomla.
But there are also disadvantages. Vulnerabilities in the code also occur from time to time, so it is necessary to update the system periodically.

Interesting fact:
Joomla supports 64 different languages.


3. 1C-Bitrix

Paid CMS, last updated 04/16/2014, site
Before installing Bitrix, you may have to think about choosing a hosting. If you plan to place an extensive catalog of goods, ads, etc. on the site, then you will need to choose a special hosting tariff (more powerful), only then the system will work normally. But this is the only difficulty in the installation.
The most important advantage of Bitrix is ​​its versatility. Developers offer not only batch assemblies, but also ready-made solutions. During installation, you can choose a ready-made site (on one of the standard templates), for example, immediately create a ready-made online store (with a customized shopping cart, order form, delivery and payment methods, with personal account user). Also a definite plus - high reliability, security, stable update. Security updates will always be available to the customer absolutely free of charge.
Content management in this system is significantly different from other CMS. In principle, if you get used to it, then you can easily change the information on the site.
The first disadvantage of Bitrix is ​​its price. Yes, the price is really high, but it is justified by the power of the system - however, in order to use this power, most likely, you will need a programmer specially trained for Bitrix. Thus, CMS is suitable either for those who do not mind the money to get a ready-made working template site, or for serious projects (large portals and online stores).

Interesting fact:
The Eldorado website (www.eldorado.ru) is powered by Bitrix.

4. Data Life Engine(DLE)

Paid CMS, last updated 04/01/2014, site dle-news.ru
The description of the DLE system should start with the fact that it is paid. Many believe that this is its main disadvantage. Like any product, DLE also has a free demo version. But since it is distributed free of charge, it has a number of disadvantages, such as, for example, a limit in the number of news - 100, comments - 200. At the same time, many additional modules for DLE are free.

Working with the content of the site is not at all difficult, since there are only two types of content in DLE - news and static pages. But the system does not have the concept of Menu and Blocks, and these are very convenient and necessary solutions. Therefore, such a simplification of the structure makes the system not flexible enough and does not allow you to easily change the appearance of the site.

In the next article, we will continue our review of content management systems and try to give recommendations on which CMS is more suitable for a particular site.

The best free CMS are theirs a brief description of - 3.3 out of 5 based on 3 votes

This article will look at three popular free CMS and give their brief characteristics.

Now there is a gate for a person who is going to make a website in pure HTML and CSS. Almost everyone uses one or another content management system - CMS - (Content Management System) or (site engine) to create a site.

A person who is going to create a website is faced with the task of choosing the best CMS that is most suitable for his project. Its success, the possibility of rapid development depends on it. The content management system should provide a rapid increase in the functionality of the site.

For example, adding functions that did not previously exist on the project, such as a forum, photo and video gallery, easy addition of new materials, the ability to build various social functions. The main points to which you need to pay attention are the following:

  • The complexity of creating a site on this CMS
  • Ease of administration of a ready-made project
  • Universality of the system and the possibility of increasing the functionality
  • System Disadvantages

In describing and characterizing each of the systems, I will rely on these main points.

- undoubtedly the most popular, free CMS both in the CIS and in the world as a whole. Its main purpose is to create blogs.

CMS WordPress is very easy to install, literally in two clicks. There are many themes to customize the look of your blog. Creating a project on this CMS does not cause big problems and does not require much additional knowledge, it is ideal for beginners.

This engine has an intuitive clear interface admin panel, for adding materials there is visual editor, so updating the site will not be difficult even for a person not familiar with HTML.

The main purpose of this CMS is the creation and maintenance of blogs, although it is possible to create various magazines, article directories, shops, websites, etc. on this engine. Functional enhancement is possible thanks to thousands of plugins written for this CMS and designed to expand the capabilities.

The disadvantage of this system can be considered that, nevertheless, it is a specialized engine for creating and maintaining blogs, and creating sites with other functionality on its basis may turn out to be more difficult. challenging task compared to more versatile systems.

If your task is to create a blog, then this CMS is exactly what you need.

Joomla is a very popular, advanced and flexible free CMS. On its basis, both small and huge projects with great functionality are built.

Installation of the system is automated and uncomplicated. There are many themes that are installed from the admin panel. All necessary settings are executed from the admin panel, which has an intuitive interface. This CMS has many extensions that are installed using the installer from the admin panel. However, to create a quality site based on this system, you will need some knowledge in and.

Project administration does not cause big problems. All necessary actions are performed from the admin panel. To add materials, there is a visual editor and image loader.

The system is very flexible thanks to a large number of extensions. With it, you can create news portals, photo and video galleries, shops, real estate catalogs, multilingual sites, bulletin boards, social networks, etc. It is possible to create a site with almost any functionality.

The disadvantages of this system is that despite all the conveniences, when creating a project, you will need knowledge of CSS and HTML. It is necessary to be very careful in choosing extensions and give preference to the most popular, high-quality and giving the least load on the server.

An ideal option for those who want to quickly get a site with great functionality.

On this site you can find, as well as those that will help you create a site based on this CMS.

Drupal is a popular, portal system that is gaining momentum.

Installation of this system does not cause big problems. However, beginners will need some time to get used to and deal with this CMS. To integrate templates, you will need some basic programming knowledge.

Administration of the system does not cause great difficulties, but requires certain knowledge. To add materials, you can use a visual editor. Inserting images in the basic package of this CMS is not provided, but this problem is solved with the help of additional components.

Drupal is a very flexible system with a large number of plugins that allow you to create sites of various types, such as social networks, forums, galleries, news sites.

The disadvantage of this system is that not everyone, especially a beginner, will be able to quickly master it. Therefore, I do not recommend using it if you want to create your first website quickly.

In addition to these systems, there are also some other free and shareware CMS. However, at present these three free systems received the greatest development and distribution in the CIS. For them, there is a lot of translated documentation, literature and various lessons. As well as many extensions and plug-ins translated into Russian and developed thematic communities, which you can contact if you encounter difficulties during the creation of the site. These moments are very important.

As for shareware CMS, I do not consider them here. After a certain time of using these systems, you will need to pay money for this or refuse to use them. The paid system does not mean its superiority over the free one. Therefore, I do not see the point in using them when there are good free counterparts.

Developers from all over the world took part in the development of Joomla, today there are more than 400,000 of them.

This situation allows developers to improve the system, and users to quickly resolve issues that have arisen. Joomla is constantly being improved, all program updates are available for free download.

CMS Joomla appeared in 2005 and instantly became very popular all over the world. With its help, you can create projects of any complexity - from creating simple sites to huge Internet portals.

Also for Joomla, there are about 5000 free and paid extensions that allow you to give the site any functionality. Every day, several new extensions are created for Joomla, and all of them with detailed description available on the official website of the system!

There are millions of sites on the Internet running on Joomla, and the number of such sites is growing rapidly.

Benefits of CMS Joomla

Despite the presence of many other CMS on the market, Joomla remains the most sought after, the most popular and the most extensive open source system.

This CMS is used not only by individuals, but also by large corporations, private organizations. The reason for this popularity is the ease of use and maintenance of the site. In addition, Joomla has almost unlimited possibilities for creating a site of any complexity thanks to the numerous extensions that are developed every day by individuals, developers and well-known companies.

With these extensions, you can create a forum, a gallery of pictures or photos, an online store, an auction, a chat, and much more on the site. But the main advantage of CMS Joomla is still its free and easy to manage. Even a novice user (customer), who encounters CMS for the first time, will be able to understand the management and independently maintain the site.

Characteristics of CMS Joomla

A simple and intuitive interface that allows any user to work with the control system without special technical knowledge or programming skills Content management through a built-in visual editor similar to text editor MS Word It is possible to work with texts in HTML code Creation of understandable, static addresses (URL) of pages Management of page indexing by search engines Ability to create various menus, multi-level menus, which differ not only in appearance, but also in terms of functionality Ability to use texts in any language on the site pages Support for multilingual sites (creation of independent versions of the site in different languages) Fully database based engine using PHP/MySQL Fully customizable layouts Forum/Polls/Polls/Newsfeeds/Social bookmarking Works under Linux, FreeBSD, MacOSX, Solaris, AIX, SCO, WINDOWS Ability to create an unlimited number of pages Clear organization site structure Manage page meta tags - for each dynamic page you can create your own description keywords in order to improve the rating in search engines The beginning or end of the publication of any materials can be programmed according to the calendar The ability to restrict access to certain sections of the site only for registered users Fully customizable layouts of elements in 5 areas, which allows you to make original design Various modules such as last news, hit counter, detailed visit statistics, polls, guestbook, forum, etc. Newsletter manager - choose from more than 360 newsletter services around the world Ability to print or email any article from the site to a friend Save space on the server for account using MYSQL database