This post has been a long time coming. Whether on Twitter or in the blogosphere, the question often arises, and I have been asked numerous times for my opinion on the ExpressionEngine vs. WordPress debate, and why one would choose one content management system (CMS) over the other.
My usual answer is that they cannot be compared. While WordPress had made huge strides in usability, for anything other than a blog it is an apple.
ExpressionEngine, with the release of version 2.0, makes for a lovely platform that is, as we will see, an orange.
His main point was (and I agree) that it’s an apples and oranges comparison. I do disagree, however, that WordPress is for tinkerers and EE is for designers or non-programmers. It’s a generalization that is true sometimes but hardly true all of the time.
Chad Crowell is a web developer who runs web marketing agency Encaffeinated by day and develops ExpressionEngine add-ons by night. His add-on credits include Direct to Structure and Friendlee Date, both popular and useful add-ons. He’s also so edgy that we had to blur sections of his spotlight images and it’s rumored that he stunt doubles for Kiefer Sutherland.
CodeIgniter fanatic (in a good way) Noah Stokes penned an article taking web designers to task on the good, the bad and the ugly of the web design professional’s world. He doesn’t waste any time calling it like he sees it:
First, stop thinking your client is stupid. Your client is not stupid. I don’t care if they want an all Flash site sized at 800x600 with a dancing unicorn for the navigation. You may laugh at them behind their back, just remember, they laugh at you when OMG, your precious Tweeter is down. We are in the services industry. Get used to it. Your client is your lifeline. Show them the respect they deserve, even if they don’t deserve it.
So, basically, be a professional. If you think a client’s decision to have a dancing unicorn for the navigation is a bad idea, tell them why it is a bad idea. Give the client real reasons like: “User testing has shown that having unicorns dancing in your navigation negatively impacts your readers ability to actually navigate the site and find content.” Or you could just complain on Twitter (which I regard as a mark of unprofessionalism) that your client wants a dancing unicorn instead of a Home button.
By explaining the problem with dancing unicorns (and there are, I’m sure, many) you may find out some information about your client and the project that will help you deliver a better website. Every crazy idea is an opportunity to learn.
I don’t think anyone is perfect at this. I would venture to guess that even the most seasoned professionals struggle with off-the-wall client ideas and how to constructively respond.
As a developer, it’s easy for me to dismiss an idea as silly or too involved to be worth the costs to develop it. Sure, I could just blow it off and think they’re crazy for wanting such a thing. Or I could ask why they want that feature or piece of functionality and maybe help them solve it in a way that won’t break their bank or cause development to lose focus and momentum.
And that brings me to another one of Noah’s points:
Educate your clients. Sure, you can educate them about their antiquated browsers, but do it in a respectful way, remember, your client is not stupid. Sit down with your client, explain your processes, walk them through the steps you take to build their site. Help them to realize that there is more that goes into building a site than a Frontpage template and some Ajax. Tell them about Information Architecture, A/B Testing, Accessibility, UX, Project Management, SEO, Web Standards. Educate them.
Act like an advisor. They hired you because they seek your expertise; share it with them!
If you’re a designer wondering which CMS to use and are considering ExpressionEngine, Jonathan is very convincing. After watching this, if you’re convinced, learn how to use it.*
I don’t remember how or where I came across this, but SlickMap CSS is a handy way to create visually-pleasing sitemaps from an HTML unordered list.
SlickMap CSS is a simple stylesheet for displaying finished sitemaps directly from HTML unordered list navigation. It’s suitable for most web sites – accommodating up to three levels of page navigation and additional utility links – and can easily be customized to meet your own individual needs, branding, or style preferences.
The one-day conference in Seattle WA this October, EE Roadshow, opened up submissions for talks. If you have something you want to share with a group of EE users, write it up and apply.
We’ve got a venue (Seattle, WA) and a date (October 2, 2009). Now we’re looking for volunteers to speak on panels, moderate sessions or give presentations. Help us make this year’s conference the best it can be.
It’s inevitable. We all run into problems with ExpressionEngine or third party add-ons. Maybe there’s a bug or maybe you’re implementing something incorrectly or in a way that is not supported.
Looking for a solution you post to the developer’s forums, send an email or post to the EE forums. Of course you can’t just say “this add-on doesn’t work,” you have to be more specific, do a little homework and make sure the question hasn’t already been answered. Not only is it courteous but it also increases the chances of finding a solution to your problem.
Brandon Kelly, the developer behind popular add-ons Playa 2 and FieldFrame has written up an informative article on his site called: The Perfect Support Request. Brandon walks through a real support request he received where the customer did all of the right things along the way, like checking whether or not this issue came up before:
I can’t tell you how many times people ask me something that I’ve already answered time after time on Get Satisfaction. Very frustrating at first, but I’ve come to expect it. To see that Mahalie has actually taken the time to see if anyone else has had a similar issue, and logically deduced that hers is unique, is nothing short of fascinating.
It’s a worth a read to make sure you can be effective when reporting issues to EllisLab or add-on developers.
It’s always nice to see how other people work with ExpressionEngine and Chad Crowell of Web Inception offered up a large list of the EE add-ons he uses to get started with a project.
Chad doesn’t enable every extension or module, but finds it useful to have the add-on files in the project already in case they’re needed.
I start each ExpressionEngine site with a much larger bank of add-ons than most (if not all) of the blog posts you have read along this topic. My point of view is that it doesn’t hurt to have them in place in the file system of a website, and if I need them, it’s much quicker to just enable them and get back to work.
It’s a great list and you’ll probably come across add-ons that you haven’t seen before.
User “nek4life” wrote up some clear instructions on what you need to do to get up and running with the Multiple Site Manager. Essentially, you need to disable a couple of PHP options to get things working.
Hopefully anyone that is a customer of MediaTemple and runs EE MSM will find this helpful at some point.
While we may not be one of the 10 largest sites, we’re glad to see some huge online properties powered by ExpressionEngine.
Travis Smith of Hop Studios has put together a spreadsheet of the The 10 Largest ExpressionEngine sites. There are probably a lot of them that you hadn’t heard of before. I’m guessing that there are even more large sites that run EE that we don’t know about (I know of at least one very large media site). Not everyone company or organization wants to make public what platform they use to power their web presence.
The impetus behind this article was to give you, the EE designer and developer, the ability to show your potential clients why choosing EE is not a risky decision and that it has a proven track record of handing massive amounts of traffic.
Thanks to Hop Studios for putting together this helpful resource.
New England-based webshop, Slim Kiwi, posted a list of reasons that they prefer to use ExpressionEngine for content management.
They also have a good attitude when it comes to evaluating a project and picking a necessary CMS:
ExpressionEngine’s our recommendation. If a client or prospect comes to us with another platform as a requirement and we think we’re equipped to make that project a success, we’re not ideologues who will rule that out. We build custom applications and platforms where appropriate as well. If you’re looking for our choice on a robust platform that can be tailored to your needs with a modest amount of effort, EE’s our answer.
Their No. 5 reason for using EE is my favorite: Community.
SXSW Interactive gets underway this weekend in Austin, TX and I know that many EE designers and developers will be in town for the annual tech conference. EllisLab will also be there, hosting their 3rd annual gathering for the EE community.
The EE Insider Guide to SXSWi is here to help you find your way and plan your time in Austin. First, I want to share with you some tips on getting the most out of SXSW and then highlight some panels and events that may be of interest to ExpressionEngine developers and designers.
SXSW EE Insider Tips
Some advice for SXSWi attendees:
Bring business cards. Old school, yes, but also very practical.
Leave your laptop in your hotel room and bring a notebook and pen instead. This will allow you to listen to the sessions and not be distracted. Plus, who wants to lug around a big bag all day long?
Go to at least one session that is about something you know absolutely nothing about. You might be surprised.
Pass on the large, official evening parties and instead find a small group of people to have drinks or dinner with. You will get much more out of a small dinner with than you will during a screaming conversation at the Frog Design party.
EE Insider Picks of the Panels
I went through the SXSW schedule and picked out some sessions that I thought would be of interest to the EE community.
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