...that is the question.

I'm rolling out a massive, but strictly personal website with lots of sub-domains, topics, etc. I'm going back and forth over the pros and cons of using packages such as PHP Nuke, and Mambo to sticking with sites that I design from the graphics on up. The content managers sure make things look fun and easy. But I am not a coder, I'm horrible at installing PHP or CGI scripts-even if I know over times I'd figure things out. And I value being able to archive and move my sites around.

It seems to me that the content managers are a short-cut of sorts. They do provide tools and features quickly, but ultimately your putting new frosting on somebody else's cookie.

What are the pros and cons people see in using these things? Is it becoming too common, is there more value to sratch built sites than quickies stamped out with these tools?

Originally Posted by NWLB.net

It seems to me that the content managers are a short-cut of sorts. They do provide tools and features quickly, but ultimately your putting new frosting on somebody else's cookie.

if you use something as cookie cutter as PHPNuke, then your site won't be much different than any other nuke user, not to mention it can be hacked in about 3 seconds...

the few CMS' i've used allowed for a header/footer system, meaning they were completely customizable and looked exactly how i wanted. Also i can edit my site from any computer with internet access quickly and easily, without having to fire up dreamweaver/golive/whatever editor, edit the page(s), connect to the server, ftp the changes, etc. Currently i'm using lucidcms and while it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of nuke, i have total control over mulitple stylesheets, templates, and all my pages in a simple UI.


if you cruise around http://www.opensourcecms.com you should be able to find a better option than PHPnuke or an easier one than Mambo.

Or you could just pay someone to set it all up for ya

yeh, i think php nuke is A LAUGH. like i hacked it in a few minutes. only cos of slow internet LOL.

mambo isnt that great, AND A PAIN TO SET UP. but i reckon the most annyoing thing to set up on a bad host is IkonBoard. on netfirms, it took 3 hours to configure.

try googleing for CMS's