Promise Media

Every content management system has different strengths and weaknesses. Choosing one depends as much on the organization that will use it as it does on the system itself.

I chose ExpressionEngine to rebuild the Web site of the Virginia Press Association, where I am on long-term assignment as an online media consultant, because the CMS has a distinct set of strengths:

1. Flexible templates ? it is easy to create custom pages.

2. Low cost ? $250 for a commercial license, plus $100 for the forum module.

3. Security ? a good way to tell the security level of a system is to look at the message boards of the vendor or open-source community to see how many postings are titled, ?I?ve been hacked!? EE has far fewer of them than some other notable systems.

4. Technical support ? EE employees are responsive within the message boards to questions and problems.

5. Easy updates ? once the site is built, staff can publish articles quickly and easily; they don?t need much training to get started.

6. Robust tool set ? including email newsletters, wikis, search, databasing, comments, blogging and message boards.

But anyone who wants to consider EE as a content platform needs to be aware of potential drawbacks:

1. It has a steep learning curve with its special approach to tagging and modules. A great many of the postings on the support forums at ExpressionEngine are ultimately related to the somewhat baffling approach to tagging.

2. The forum module has a complex and completely different set of templates and stylesheets from the main system. As a result, it demands much more labor.

3. Building a site requires numerous templates that take a long time to develop.

4. For newspapers, it lacks a viable classified module, although it is still possible to build classifieds within the platform and go outside for ecommerce and other extensions.

ExpressionEngine is a strong option for small and mid-sized dailies, TV stations and press associations. An operation with just one person who has moderate technical skills can launch a strong site with several weeks of concentrated effort.