CMS suggestion request

[casa]

I'm looking at CMS systems for the website my son's school. I've written a lot of data entry interfaces myself using php/mysql. So far I've written interfaces for lunch menu, sports schedules/scores, sports roster, homework entry, homework retrieval, all of which, at least the way I've done them, don't lend themselves to the type of CMSes that I've looked at.

The staff is wanting to update certain semi-static pages, so I'm trying to figure something out. I've looked at and am really interested in HTMLeditBox (http://www.labs4.com/htmleditbox/2.0/index.php). I'm hoping that I can fairly easily write an interface for what I need without resorting to a big package like PHPwebsite.

Being the control freak that I am, I don't want computer illetrate teachers to indescrimately create pages. As large as this site already is, it could turn into a huge mess really quick if I did that.

On the other hand, I've been asked to be on the committee for a complete redesign of my church's web site. I think in that case some type of already written CMS would be okay. In this case, we're only talking about 5-6 people with access instead of 150 as with the school.

Any suggestions about CMS systems that you've had experience with would be greatly appreciated.

[GCT13]

I can't recommend any CMSes, however if you're wanting absolute control over the CMS, perhaps simply build it yourself? Sounds like you have the know-how and the requirements to get the job done. Because in all likelihood, you won't find exactly what you're looking for in an open-source package.

[MarkB]

www.mamboserver.com *might* be of interest... it's nice to work with, although it might be a little OTT for your needs.

[shim]

A CMS that is really flexible is www.pMachine.com. My Online Car Show site uses it.

They also have a list of site that use it.

Each department/teacher/student/etc. could have their own subdomain without 'messing things up' too

[casa]

Thanks for the input. I'll take a look at those when I get a chance. I was out sick yesterday, so looks like I'll be slammed at work for the rest of the week. Better than being bored

[MarkB]

Work is *never* better than being bored!

[cinemaeye]

I use pMachine for quite a few sites. They've recently released Expression Engine which does a lot more and I'm evaluating it right now.

yeah, ideally building your own CMS would be the way to go. I just don't have the knowledge or patience to do it. pMachine has a great group of supportive developers and I expect the same for Expression Engine.

[GCT13]

pMachine looks quite promising.

cinemaeye, had a chance to play with Expression Engine?

[cinemaeye]

I'm actually playing around with Expression Engine right now. I almost wish I hadn't learned pMachine because EE is quite different.

It is a lot more advanced and definitely can do what I need it to. It has a lot of functionality and I like the way it is build around plug ins and modules. There is still a lot for me to wrap my head around, but once i do it will greatly automate a lot of things that I currently spend a lot of time on.

[GCT13]

So Expression Engine and pMachine Pro are completely different? Did you have to pay for the EE evaluation?

[cinemaeye]

I'm just using the free trial download.

Yeah, they are very different. Expression Engine is definitely a CMS, whereas, pMachine is a sophisticated weblogging tool that can be tweaked into being a CMS.

I plan on switching Cinema Eye over to it by mid-March. I've been waiting to redesign because I knew Expression Engine was coming. Glad I waited...