Mar
29
2016
Why DotNetNuke: Choosing the Best Content Management System
Websites today have to be many things to many people: powerful and secure for admins, extensible and offer easy integrations for developers, and simple for content managers to use so they can keep high-quality multimedia content flowing on a daily basis. How do you pull all of those requirements together without breaking the bank? Consider DotNetNuke (DNN), known as Evoq™ Content in the Professional Edition, as your content management system. Empower even non-technical content contributors to add and edit via a standard web browser, with no support from your technology team. Create an approval workflow so your business owners are assured that nothing hits the public eye until it’s perfect, and allow your engineers to leverage the full extensibility of the API and third-party modules.
DNN is one of the most stable and secure content management systems (CMSs) available, with more than six million downloads to date. The basic framework is free and open source, with a community numbering in the tens of thousands. You can also find inexpensive or free add-on modules for nearly anything you want to do, but many types of functionality are included out of the box (so to speak) like Google Analytics integration which is activated simply through filling in a few fields in the admin section of your new website.
Native Integration
If you’re creating a blog site, chances are you’ll probably end up with WordPress, and that’s just fine. However, if you’re looking for a true CMS with in-page editing and more advanced functionality, DNN should be one of your top contenders for several reasons. The DNN platform is continually updated, with the overall organization making huge strides with each version as well as being natively integrated into the site. Not so with a CMS-crossover like WordPress that requires you to switch between edit, view, and layout modes. Simple marketing catalog-type pages that are only in use for a short period of time may find that WordPress is perfectly acceptable; however, for larger installations and sites that need to integrate with external applications via an API or other tools DNN solutions offer a wider array of options.
Customization
You don’t need to be a DotNetNuke programmer to fully utilize DNN, but if you do have some programming experience you will find it especially appealing. Creating and installing custom modules is quite efficient and can be accomplished with a minimal learning curve by following the extensive documentation available online for free or via one of the many community blogs.
Stability
There are many homegrown CMS options, plus WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and more. While several of these platforms have been around for a long time, DNN has already proven its longevity with version 1.0 released in 2003. Choosing a homegrown or vendor-specific CMS may feel as though you’re saving money in the short-run or offer you more control, but you may find that your propriety CMS vendor packs up shop one day and you’re out in the cold. Utilizing a platform like DNN allows you the peace of mind of knowing that even if your vendor is unable to fulfill long-term obligations, you should have no trouble finding someone else who can take up their work and continue it to your satisfaction. You can be confident that this platform will not disappear overnight or lose support.
Multi-Language Localization
In today’s global economy, it’s more important than ever to offer multi-language support, and this is something that DNN excels at and offers as a native option. Not only are users multi-language, but programmers can be as well – and anyone working within the platform can translate specific content into any language.
Ease of Installation
It would be difficult to make DotNetNuke much easier to install. With only a few clicks, you can have the framework up and operational, and the level of technical knowledge needed to do so is very low. The installation process is also incredibly well-documented.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to choose DotNetNuke as your content management system: from the ease of use for your technology team to your content managers, DNN is a solid platform that offers future-proofing that you can trust.
Sources:
http://www.aubrett.com/InformationTechnology/WebDevelopment/CMSPlatforms/DotNetNuke/WhyDotNetNuke.aspx
http://readwrite.com/2012/11/29/dotnetnuke-open-source-cms-for-microsoft-web-sites
http://www.clarity-ventures.com/resources/dotnetnuke-cms-resources/dotnetnuke-vs-other-cmss
http://www.manektech.com/blog/dot-net-nuke-take-your-content-management-system-to-the-next-level
http://www.cmsmatrix.org/matrix/cms-matrix/dnn-evoq-content-formerly-dotnetnuke-professional-edition-