CMS Made Simple 1.10.3

Its probably not a good idea to take the name of this CMS at face value. I have been using it for nearly 7 years, and it is ANYTHING but simple. If all goes well during setup, you will be fine - but dont expect much in the way of an easy template system. Written in Smarty, even if you know some simple PHP, as I do, you wont get anywhere.

This is NOT a website platform for people who dont want to deal with frequent upgrades, which is not automated like it is with WordPress; it doesnt have the support that the behemoth WP does, and some of the developers can be snobbish. Ask a question without the information they want, and you may suffer their ire with threats of deletion.

Basically, unless your somewhat techy, you will not be happy with this platform, as it is very rigid unless you know Smarty, and beware of modules, which can stop your entire site from working, which happened to me and I ended up having to pay a developer to fix it.

There are so many other problems I have had with this CMS over the years, that time doesnt permit me to elaborate. Down time because of this or that module not working is the biggest issue, the inability to add simple things such as social signal buttons without coding will drive you nuts.

My suggestion, if you are not "Smarty ready" yourself, stay away. WP works better, faster, and has fewer problems. The common complaint that WP is a blogging platform only, doesnt hold water anymore. You can add pages, and are no longer required to utilize it as a blog, there are amazing tools that are simple to work with and sooo much more. I develop many site and I assure, you this. You want a system that is easy to get up and running quickly, has many options (that dont need modifying) and looks slick.

If that's what you are looking for - CMS Made simple isn't it.

Great CMS, but documentation is very poorly done--both for the CMS itself and for modules. It's self-defeating really, because if more people had access to good documentation a lot more folks would be using this wonderful CMS. It really is quite capable and friendly!

It is, at its heart, what its name implies. It's simple in basic content management. Doing advanced things often requires some tinkering because you can't find documentation or get help. Still, it is great for those who like to code their own sites and prefer a simple way to integrate snippets of custom code into their sites.

Despite its shortcomings, I'm getting ready to launch one site (possibly more, we'll see) with it as soon as I can get the CGBlog module doing what I need it to do. The lack of URL integration with site navigation menu functions for static pages (by the CGBlog module) and breadcrumbs means I've got to do a lot more digging in code than I want or have time to. Still, compared to many CMS out there which restrict your workflow into very narrow paradigms, it is refreshing. The hardest obstacle is the amount of time scouring the web looking for information on how to do things, figuring out where to look to discover what functions are handling what.

Still, I decided that if I were going to invest time learning yet another CMS, it wasn't going to be MODx which I once liked, but has now become convoluted. I'm working on creating my own notion of a CMS using Bonfire & CodeIgniter MVC framework anyway, but CMSMS is just easier than most to build a reasonably complicated site while not having to spend excessive time or money learning the system. Smarty templating is a huge plus for CMSMS, and putting in some time familiarizing yourself with it is helpful, if not mandatory.

If modules were kept up to date (quality control) and if the documentation for the project and modules as a whole had more usage examples, this CMS would really take off. It's come far from the last time I checked it out a couple years ago. Despite it's shortcomings, part of the reason I'm going to deploy a site with it and ride it out for a while is that, in the end, it is simple--elements in the management panel are easy to figure out, locate and make use of. I hope to write a few basic tutorials down the road to share what I learned and experienced on the way in getting the site I'm working on up and running.

At some point, I'm hoping I can find a few users willing to work towards a common set of improvements and workflow ideas to be able to document and explain in detail, in one place, what is needed (and how) to get a basic responsive site up and running with options for various applications....ecommerce, blogging, publishing, and other uses such as economic development/tourism marketing. Once I can sit back and see how my current project goes, I may even consider toying with deploying an SaaS project with CMSMS. Pre-populated CMSMS installs for various functions/applications would do far more for usability than the default kitchen-sink inclusion of code and documentation which is poorly done and only serves to make it harder to find help via search engines--which always seem to return some fresh install on a domain in development. I'm sure someone thought that was a smart marketing idea, but it only adds to user frustration and means that searching can turn up documentation that is erroneous or not up to date. Probably does as much to harm the CMSMS brand as unfriendly/unhelpful forums do.

I think CMSMS is a great piece of software with tons of potential. Having used probably 100+ different CMS in last 12-14 years, I put it in the top handful. It's so pleasant to get away from WordPress (which is glorified blogware in any case, not exactly suited for wide spectrum of applications) and its bloat. MODx is great but has become far too complicated and tedious...great for programmers, but no so much anyone else (I have no interest in establishing individually every resources relationship to moons orbiting distant planets, you know what I mean?).

CMSMS is worth a look, worth the effort to learn. Getting a blog integrated into a site is not just a happy click-fest, however. If your site will be primarily or focus heavily on a blog, you might look elsewhere for a CMS solution unless you intend to dedicate time to learning a platform and spending time tweaking it. I can't fault CMSMS for this however--that basic functionality seems absent natively or woefully inadequate in virtually every CMS out there, which is a shame since a blog is nothing more than content published with time-focused management/interface. Getting a blog up and running in CMSMS is not difficult, but you will spend time tweaking it to get the functionality working the way you want if you intend anything more than basic 'news' updates. If you only need a basic update/news function for blogging as an integrated part of a highly functional site that is the focus of your online presence, CMSMS is much more pleasant, useful and less restricting than WordPress, in my opinion.

I'm not a programmer, but an eBusiness major with a background in systems support, as a pc tech, I've authored an IT column for a newspaper, have military training in technical intelligence and communications....so while not a code jockey, I like to think I'm fairly capable and somewhat techy. That's the focus I bring as a reviewer--more user/content manager, business/marketer focus, just in case that helps assess my review.

Bottom line, try it out. I think for folks in the middle of the usage spectrum, those who aren't the extremes of programmer or WYSIWYG fanatics, it might be a welcome surprise.

Have been using CMS Made simple for some time now and it is a good system to work with. I have developed over 40 commercial web sites using this system. Very very easy to create custom html templates. New versions are frequent and bug fixes are quick to be released, there is a good level of functionality. Back end control panel is very easy to use for the end user.

There are hundreds of modules available but you do need to test them first. Some are old, don't work with newer versions or don't do what you hoped, but most are very good.

Some people mention that the support forums are unfriendly. I have to say that yes I have experienced this, but on the whole the support has been quick and easy to obtain - most people don't get help from the forums because they don't describe their problem very well.

They also have annual get together with the development team so you can learn from them, raise issues, attend workshops etc. They rotate them between England, USA and Mainland Europe. The lead developer is in Canada but most of the other developers are European based.

Highly recommend you give it a good try.

> The trouble is their dev team. Most of them are quite arrogant.

I agree...being banned from IRC...although Ted is nice guy.
However, thanks to that, I was brought to Concrete5, so I'm thankful to them. :-)

CMS is nice and I would probably stay with it in PHP world, but community is also something that counts, not code only.

Really nice CMS. I like it.
The trouble is their dev team. Most of them are quite arrogant.
This is what you get to feel when you have a question or problem and post in the forums or the forge.
You must not post code in the forum ... do that in the forge. But it will be disregarded or deleted anyway. Mostly you get answers like 'it works for me' or ' we develop on linux so if you have a windows prob ... your fault'. A well ... better to find a system with a friendly community.

PS.: The German forum is really great -- and friendly!

Can someone please help - how do I add the comment field in my main page?

In my opinion CMS Made Simple is the best and easiest CMS. Granted that there is the Smarty learning curve, but that is the only thing that could be considered to be "not simple". In Wordpress you have to know php to make custom designs, there aren't a lot of "themes" that can be downloaded for CMSMS because it is just too easy to make your own.

good work

simply great!

excellent

CMSMS is simple if you need it to be but has the capability to be extremely flexible and so can be used for many types of website. Want search on your site? Put {search} in your template or page and you're most of the way there.

There is a great forum too. Lots of useful modules and the core code is being actively improved all the time. Yes, documentation could be better. I have been using CMSMS for about 3 years and will continue to do so.

how you get Facebook like link code into CMS made net pages..?

Realy now - Why did the developers actually have the audacity to say that this CMS is simple? Oh sure, if you are a developer or know the Smarty Template Language. But if you are someone that just wants to set up the program and run a few modules, be prepared for endless frustrations. This is NOT a CMS for even someone with average CMS experience. I have used several myself and none gave me the grief that this one has. No, I am not super programmer, but I have successfully modified and developed templates for Web Site Baker, and to a lesser extent, Word Press. I think I should be able to set up a CMS that claims to be "simple:". Difficult to set up forms, migration becomes tedious, etc... I have had a site up with this CMS for about 4 years and I can tell you - I sincerely regret it. I recently PAID to have the upgrade done because it is so convoluted.

IF you are not someone with PHP experience and Smarty Templates, STAY AWAY. Use Website Baker, or find a theme for WP if you have a simpler site. Much easier, Much better worldwide support, etc.

CMS Made Simple is what the name says it is. Very simple and easy to understand content management system.

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