CMS Conversion

[vmontero]

We are contemplating switching from a custom php/mysql site to a CMS one. Drupal would be the package of choice.

Some benefits I have gathered about going the CMS route include ease of administration of your content, having a strong structure which could mean being friendly to search engines. I am a fan of packaged solutions bc typically they come with some level of support and new features/bug fixes with new versions.

Has anyone out there gone through the conversion and were you happy you did it, displeased with the outcome, neutral about the benefits? Is there anything I am overseeing in terms of expected advantages? Any words of advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
www.ontheroadtravel.com

PS: please direct me to the correct forum if this isn’t the place to pose this question.

[iany]

Ahhh not again. We discussed this in enormous depth last week. I have cleaned out my inbox so cannot direct you to relevant thread. Perhaps someone sles could point you in direction.

Ian[/wiki]

[CAD]

Sure, you can download a free cms from Mambo or Drupal or a few other sources, but if you are looking for an advantage to the thousands of other pages out there that look like this...

http://www.somedomain.com/index.php?...d=16&Itemid=27

Then I would be more than happy to show you our php and mysql based CMS that we developed in house that has a naming convention like...

http://www.cadwebsitedesign.com/cms/...iendly-cms.php

[ambassador]

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Sep 19, 2006

Regarding your request for "Any words of advice on this topic ...," if you have not already done so, visit "http://cmsmatrix.org" and compare the many CMS products listed there.

If search-engine-friendly is a must-have feature of the CMS for which you are looking, be aware that there is more than just pretty URLs that need to be considered.

Ambassador
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[vmontero]

Thanks for the advice.

I am looking more for first-hand opinions on whether converting your site to a CMS was a good way to go and what are the reasons that you would recommend doing so, if any.

[ksawatzk]

Originally Posted by vmontero

Thanks for the advice.

I am looking more for first-hand opinions on whether converting your site to a CMS was a good way to go and what are the reasons that you would recommend doing so, if any.

Well, one disadvantage would be the lack of static pages, depending on how you set things up. An advantage (if you have multiple people that would be putting up info) is the extra relevant content.

I switched a site (www.GoFigureBand.com) over to Dragonfly about a year ago. It's even running in a frameset off two different servers, but it appears that search engines are visiting more frequently than before.

I've added several "static" page URLs with one of the add-on modules and that seems to help too.

I wouldn't say that any of this is THE answer for you, depending on your goal, but it wouldn't be difficult to set up a section of a site that runs on a CMS for ease of management while keeping the rest of your content static for search engines, if you really need a nationwide-type web site.

[iany]

Originally Posted by CAD

Sure, you can download a free cms from Mambo or Drupal or a few other sources, but if you are looking for an advantage to the thousands of other pages out there that look like this...

http://www.somedomain.com/index.php?...d=16&Itemid=27

Then I would be more than happy to show you our php and mysql based CMS that we developed in house that has a naming convention like...
..................

No need to compicate matters. Joomla/Mambo have components which can be added very easily which will give you "SE friendly" URLs. There are a number of extensions that will do what you want. eg Open-SEF, www.open-sef.org is dead easy to install and configure. Now, instead of non-readable URLs such as:
http://www.mysite.com/component/opti...page/Itemid,1/

You can have addresses such as:
http://www.mysite.com/welcome.html
http://www.mysite.com/NewCars/2005/CorvetteC6.html

for more info on Joomla/Mambo Drupa etc best to go visit their forums for more info from folks who are dedicated followers of their particular CMS.

Good luck.

Ian

[pdstein]

In addition to the issue of non-search-engine-friendly URLs, another issue to check into before deciding on a CMS is whether you can optimize the site. Some CMS's do not give you the ability to create a different title tag, keywords, and description for each page. Some CMS's do not use h tags. Some CMS's do not allow you you to set the alt tags for images.

[ksawatzk]

I'm sure that this has been mentioned in other threads, but a great place to try before you install a CMS is:

http://www.opensourcecms.com/

They have a large selection of the current cms's that you can log in as admin, kick the tires, floor the engine, customize, etc. It resets the system(s) every 2 hrs.

I spent many hrs. playing with different cms's before I picked Dragonfly (CPGNuke, I believe)

Have some fun and it might save you some regets later on if you think you made the wrong choice. Every cms seems to have it's own strengths and weaknesses, I chose what gave me the best balance for what I needed.