The Best CMS: Joomla 1.6 vs Drupal 7.0

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

Just a few days after the launch of the long-awaited Drupal 7.0 version, arch-rival Joomla launched its latest 1.6 release…

It’s interesting to note that, apart from some significant interface improvements, 1.6’s two main additions are specifically designed to meet Drupal head-on.

(more…)

Microsoft WebMatrix review: hands-on

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Microsoft is famous for developing new technologies only to abandon them later, leaving early adopters high and dry. WebMatrix is one of those rare exceptions to get a second life (or third, depending upon how you count them) after being dropped like a stone six years ago.

In a nutshell, WebMatrix provides a free web development environment for .NET and, to a lesser extent, PHP. The aim appears to be to provide a simple entry point to .NET web development for beginner coders – the hope being that once snared within the Microsoft development environment, programmers will upgrade to Visual Studio. The initial install includes the IIS Express web server, the SQL Server Compact Edition for databases and support for the new Razor mark-up syntax.

(more…)

Drupal 7.0 goes live

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

In case you missed the announcement, the latest 7.0 release of Drupal has finally come out of beta.

Of the big three open-source content management systems (along with WordPress and Joomla), Drupal is generally recognised to be the most powerful and, as it’s been a full three years since the launch of 6.0, expectations are naturally high.

(more…)

Dreamweaver CS5: back from the dead?

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

A year or so ago I created a mini-storm of controversy with my “I’m sorry but Dreamweaver is dying” blog in which I suggested that Dreamweaver’s dominance is fading and that web designers starting out today would do better getting to grips with a content management systems (CMS).

The post obviously hit home, as I realised when the Adobe evangelist demonstrating Dreamweaver CS5 at the press launch began his talk by referring to it and, when he discovered that I was in the audience, suggested that I might want to “eat crow”.

Well I’m delighted to say that he was right… largely.

(more…)

Mollom: What’s in a Name?

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Regular readers will know that I am a major fan of Belgian developer Dries Buytaert,  the man behind Drupal. Drupal is the most powerful open source content management system and IMHO deserves to replace Dreamweaver as the web designer’s tool of choice. In fact, as far I am concerned, the major factor holding it back from world domination, apart from its precipitous learning curve, is its name. Let’s face it “Drupal” (pronounced “droople”) sounds old, ugly, gloomy and deflating. It’s almost perversely uninspiring. “Dreamweaver” it ain’t.

Now I’ve come across a brand name that’s possibly even worse… (more…)

CMS and CSS: Problem Solved

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

A while back I wrote about my belief that the future for web authoring lies beyond static web pages with Web 2.0 and with the big three content management systems (CMS): Joomla, Wordpress and Drupal. I also wrote that one of the major stumbling blocks to this happening was the appalling state of CMS-based design.

I’m glad to say that I think I’ve come across a near-perfect solution…

(more…)

The Fantastico route to Web 2.0

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Recently I upset a lot of web designers by saying that Dreamweaver is reaching the end of its dominance and that the future for website production (complete with essential web 2.0 functionality such as in-built commenting, RSS feeds and end user content contribution) belongs to the big three content management systems (cms): WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. 

Admittedly I’m biased on this, but I couldn’t help feeling that the responses were divided into two camps: those who had actually tried both approaches who largely agreed and those who hadn’t, who didn’t and who felt threatened by the suggestion and who wanted to close down the debate. 

Between these two extremes I hope that there were plenty of more open-minded designers who were intrigued and ideally excited about the possibilities. After all, the cms approach doesn’t just offer more power, each of the cms solutions is open source and so free. That should mean that there’s nothing to stop you exploring both approaches and then making your mind up…

Unfortunately it’s not quite as simple as this. However, with a little help, it can be…

(more…)

A nice chat with Adobe about Dreamweaver

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Following my recent post, I’m Sorry but Dreamweaver is Dying and the ensuing online discussions/abuse, I was summoned for a chat with the headmaster – Devin Fernandez, senior product manager for the web products at Adobe.

Based on my core argument – that the future of web design lies with content management systems (cms) rather than Dreamweaver – I was expecting an uncomfortable time. Thankfully Devin is far too nice for that. More than that he seemed genuinely pleased to have had a debate opened up and a chance to hear what the community is thinking about Dreamweaver and the future of web design…

(more…)

I’m sorry but Dreamweaver is dying

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

I’ve received a number of very kind emails regarding my last digital design column, but I have to admit that a couple made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

These were the emails from designers thanking me for pointing them in the direction of Dreamweaver when they were making the transition from print to web design. It was a decision that they had come to appreciate greatly over the years, providing them with the best possible platform for their web design careers.

The problem is that Dreamweaver is dying…

(more…)