Ready to drop CMS Made Simple

[ep2012]

Hi there,

So years ago someone recommended CMS Made Simple since it was W3C & that's a must for me.

Since money has been tight, I never upgraded as it wasn't a priority.

Once when I went onto the CMS Made Simple forum, one of the moderators didn't like what I said (I'm an entrepreneur, NOT a website coder) & months later I found out the blank hacked into one of my sites. Just goes to show you how nasty someone over there can be.

Anyway, I'm not ready to post his handle yet b/c I don't know if he will hack me again.

Now about 2 months ago someone upgraded my 3 main sites.

I thought the upgrade went well, so I deleted all the backups (actually I think my hosting company deleted one without my permission, but I can't be certain) - BIG MISTAKE.

It wasn't until weeks later I started to notice pages that were broken, the editor inside had problems & ever since I've been looking for someone to fix the pages for me, but I can't find anyone.

Some say it's the code on the page, others say the CSS file got renamed hence the missing gifs, NO ONE can fix anything & I'm really stressed about it.

I even went onto their forum to try & look for someone, & they barely have anyone there who even responds to hiring ads (I got 2-3 responses), plus they charge a fortune (like $75/hr. For a programmer I can understand that rate, but not for just a website coder).

Anyway, I'm beginning to think that maybe I should switch to Joomla, but I'm not sure if it's even W3C. When I suggested that once to a CMS Made Simple guy who was doing work for us last year, he claimed that he likes the plugins for CMSMS much better than Joomla. There's more of them or more variety, I can't remember exactly what he said.

I found that hard to believe since Joomla is so much more popular, but anyway, I was wondering if anyone has an opinion on this.

Should I stick it out with CMSMS or somehow slowly move over to Joomla? There's no way I can move everything over, as my main site is sort of large (medium sized).

I don't even know how to get these pages fixed.

Someone did say "why do you want to stay with a CMS that breaks your pages when you upgrade." In the CMS's defense, it was a upgrade 3 versions up I think, but still, why did it break the pages & editor. And when I did a quick search last night on the forum, others have had problems too.

Thanks for any help you can give me.


Michelle

[weegillis]

If all you're looking for are recommendations for Joomla over your existing CMS, you'll likely get plenty. But, if you're looking for recommendations for which CMS to migrate to, and why, the answers may be fewer, and better suited to your query.

You need to arm yourself with a 't-sheet': a sheet of paper with a horizontal line close to the top, and a vertical line splitting it in two. On the left top, write 'cons' and on the right, 'pros'. Keep one sheet for each system you review, including the one you're using now.

Make an inventory of the features in the CMS that you like, and wish to replicate upon migration. Include in the list those features that are absent, that you wish were there. This will help you when looking at others.

Make a complete inventory of your content, and back it up and/or create a clone of the site. Audit the clone for completeness. Be sure to allow the site copying program access to your site (may require allowing it in .htaccess or robots.txt). Hang on to those files! They'll be on your machine, so you can copy them to a stick or external drive.

Things have changed a lot over the past five years. An awful lot. JavaScript libraries have matured and become highly specialized. jQuery is one to have emerged as a front runner, with a huge following in the theme developer community. On the whole, this has had a huge effect on the fortunes of wordpress. It is no longer the little guy in the crowd.

There are some powerful frameworks out there for under a couple of hundred bucks for multiple site licensing. Find one with around 100 000 users and you can be confident of a knowledgeable user base. I can't name any, but 'Thesis' is one that comes to mind with a large user base.

Take every step you can to bolster up your state of preparedness, and in the meantime, study lots, read lots, and take everything with a grain of sand while you build your t-sheets. Wish I could offer more. Ciao!

[ep2012]

Thanks

While I thought about moving everything over to WP, I just don't know if it can handle large sites.

Again, my site isn't really THAT large, but it's not small either.

There's got to be at least (ok, just did a count) 281 pages give or take plus whatever can be trashed b/c it's old.

Where does one draw the line with WP, plus I have an application that runs on the site & I don't know if WP can handle that.

Thanks


Michelle

[a53mp]

Joomla is a pain. but some people like it. If you want an alternative to CMS Made Simple, maybe check out CushyCMS

[crossland]

As a big fan of CMS Made Simple, it really saddened me to read your post and somebody hacking your site is totally at odds with all the work that so many people have contributed.

Your experience of upgrading doesn't sound good. Did you follow the instructions in the readmes when you upgraded?

CMS Made Simple is an excellent product that is one of the easiest to use.

[deadhippo]

While I thought about moving everything over to WP, I just don't know if it can handle large sites.

I think wordpress will be able to handle anything you throw at it. Take a look at the the bottom right corner of their homepage to see who is using. I think even the New York Times uses it. I have a site with over 5000 posts and haven't seen a problem yet.

http://www.wpbeginner.com/showcase/2...ing-wordpress/

[ep2012]

As a big fan of CMS Made Simple, it really saddened me to read your post and somebody hacking your site is totally at odds with all the work that so many people have contributed.

Your experience of upgrading doesn't sound good. Did you follow the instructions in the readmes when you upgraded?

CMS Made Simple is an excellent product that is one of the easiest to use.

Hi there,

I didn't do the upgrade, I'm an entrepreneur, not a website coder.

I felt the kid knew enough that I felt it was safe to let him do the upgrade & there were no issues until I just happened upon pages that were broken, but it's not just those pages, even the editor is all screwed up.

I'd love to stay with them, but you know, why did it break in the first place?

Plus I've put ads out twice on their forum looking for someone on the forum to fix these things for me.

I got like 2-3 responses. One couldn't get my e-mails for some reason & didn't care enough to investigate why. The other who tried to help disappeared when I wanted a price & really, I can't afford to pay $75/hr. I don't understand why they are sooo expensive just b/c they know CMSMS. I'm not looking for programming, just someone to fix the bloody pages & do changes for us every once in a while.

If I was on Joomla or WP, they'd be crashing down my door.


Michelle
P.S. Well the guy who hacked is a moderator there, that I'm sure of. He didn't like what I said b/c he thinks I SHOULD learn how to do these things myself. I told him point blank I'm an entrepreneur. I'm NOT a geek/techie & I won't ever be one so NO, I'm not going to play around with code, I don't care if it's one line. He's a complete blank who clearly doesn't understand things very well.

I stick to what I know best & so should everyone else. I really dislike people online who think everyone should do every task in the world. It's clear they don't know how to run a business.

If my refusal to touch code & tell him that I'm NOT going to even try is reason enough to hack a member's site, then gawd knows what he will do if he sees this thread. I don't trust anyone on there anymore after that.

I'm afraid to even ask a question for fear I'll be told what to do as if HE is my boss & I'm his lacky or something, or I'll be hacked. Who does he think he his anyway? Arrogance like that doesn't bode well with me.

I think wordpress will be able to handle anything you throw at it. Take a look at the the bottom right corner of their homepage to see who is using. I think even the New York Times uses it. I have a site with over 5000 posts and haven't seen a problem yet.

http://www.wpbeginner.com/showcase/2...ing-wordpress/

Yes, but what about DBs. I have applications running on my site, not just a lot of pages.

Thanks for at least reassuring me about page size.


Michelle
P.S. Is the code W3C?

Joomla is a pain. but some people like it. If you want an alternative to CMS Made Simple, maybe check out CushyCMS

Thank you


Michelle

Joomla is a pain. but some people like it. If you want an alternative to CMS Made Simple, maybe check out CushyCMS

Don't want to have to pay, especially per month.

Thanks


Michelle

[jhannawin]

I'm an entrepreneur. I'm NOT a geek/techie & I won't ever be one so NO, I'm not going to play around with code

Don't want to have to pay, especially per month.

As an entrepreneur I'm sure that you can recognise that the geeks, techies and service providers you need to use are also entrepreneurs. They need paying. I suggest that you tweak you business model so that you can pay them.

[Tiggerito]

W3C compliance depends a lot on the template and developer you use. A Modern CMS like wordpress or Joomla tend to do well out of the box, but it your wanting 100% compliance, your developer will probably mess it up in about 5 minutes!

Saying that, why are you so stuck on full compliance?

I personally gave up when I switched to html5 and found it impossible to be fully complaint while still using the latest semantic mark-up options, something that is more important than compliance in my world (SEO).

And I hand code my own website!

I'd suggest you focus on features like html5, schema.org semantic markup, and the ability to support features like rss, xml sitemaps, Google shopping feeds and social stuff. A CMS like wordpress can do most of that with a few plugins.

When W3C catches up and html5 gets sorted, I'll be complaint again

[ep2012]

W3C compliance depends a lot on the template and developer you use. A Modern CMS like wordpress or Joomla tend to do well out of the box, but it your wanting 100% compliance, your developer will probably mess it up in about 5 minutes!

Saying that, why are you so stuck on full compliance?

I personally gave up when I switched to html5 and found it impossible to be fully complaint while still using the latest semantic mark-up options, something that is more important than compliance in my world (SEO).

And I hand code my own website!

I'd suggest you focus on features like html5, schema.org semantic markup, and the ability to support features like rss, xml sitemaps, Google shopping feeds and social stuff. A CMS like wordpress can do most of that with a few plugins.

When W3C catches up and html5 gets sorted, I'll be complaint again

What's the difference between W3C & semantic markup?

You didn't mention anything about running applications on WP.

Thanks


Michelle