thewillistree Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 From May this year I'll be upgrading my package with my Host (x9internet) and will be increasing my MySQL database allowance from 3 to 25.Having already used my current allowance on TNG, MediaWiki and Gallery2.3 I'm keen to move to some version of a CMS. I could do with some recommendations here as my Host offers a choice of:Joomla CMS 1.0Joomla CMS 1.5Mambo CMSDrupal CMSI'm looking for something which a non-techie can set up and manage fairly easily, and also something which I can use to integrate my TNG, MediaWiki and Gallery2.3.Any suggestions as to which of the above list would be most suitable for my purposes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svoght Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 From May this year I'll be upgrading my package with my Host (x9internet) and will be increasing my MySQL database allowance from 3 to 25.Having already used my current allowance on TNG, MediaWiki and Gallery2.3 I'm keen to move to some version of a CMS. I could do with some recommendations here as my Host offers a choice of:Joomla CMS 1.0Joomla CMS 1.5Mambo CMSDrupal CMSI'm looking for something which a non-techie can set up and manage fairly easily, and also something which I can use to integrate my TNG, MediaWiki and Gallery2.3.Any suggestions as to which of the above list would be most suitable for my purposes?No one seems to be biting on this, so here's my quick assessment. (for the record, I use e107 and haven't fiddled with the others, so take my advice at whatever value it's worth!)The Drupal plugin is buggy and apparently not being actively maintained or worked on, based on comments on the Drupal forum. Drupal's also got a somewhat steep initial learning curve because it starts out very bare-bones and requires a lot of user customization. This is mostly because it's by far the most extensible of the above-listed systems, and provides a lot of power and flexibility at the cost of requiring more knowledge of the code itself.I don't know anything about Mambo, but I also don't see much discussion of it on this forum which makes me dubious about using it.Joomla, meanwhile, has a very active TNG community in the sub-forum above, and if your host provides that as a cPanel-based installation, then I would suggest using that. As for which version to use, you will have to ask people in that forum for their recommendations and advice on how to proceed with the integration, and also probably check the Joomla forums for plugins to integrate the other portions of your site into the unified structure.Bear in mind that regardless of which CMS you pick, you will need to make some customizations to the TNG code (and styles), so take careful notes on what changes you made and to which files, so that you can easily replicate them in any future TNG updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Goodstadt Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I shall suggest another option, Wordpress. Depending on the level and type of use you desire this is more than adequate. Blogging software is a slightly less ambitious but far more user-friendly system for managing content ie. a CMS. The uses and plugins which are now available for Wordpress have elevated it beyond being a mere personal newsheet. You and any contibutors you create can have great looking articles in a couple of hours and with very simple steps you can have the look of Wordpress and TNG synchronised. With an advanced CMS like Joomla this all takes much more time and effort - and expertise or experience. Themes need to be hacked and plugins carefully edited to work with what you are implementing. Have to see to my kid... will applify this a bit later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reverendspam Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'm looking for something which a non-techie can set up and manage fairly easily, and also something which I can use to integrate my TNG, MediaWiki and Gallery2.3.Any suggestions as to which of the above list would be most suitable for my purposes?Not meaning to discourage, but you may want to hire someone to integrate those packages together unless you have the time and patience to learn how to do it yourself.There is no true easy way to integrate these components together since they all operate as stand alone components from each other and are built upon different frameworks.To me and others it is fun as well as challenging to hack these things together and some folks have done a beautiful job of it. You would be better off to learn to do this yourself so you can later upgrade the packages to help protect against "crackers" who will eventually break into your site or spam your site due to outdated software. This is the way of the world wide web and the more you know the inner workings of your software the better off you are to protect your site.-joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewillistree Posted March 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 I take your point, reverendspam - though does sound a bit like 'Leave it to the big boys, kid!' - anyhow, my intention is to take it slow and do it myself, over time!I'm okay with my site as it is at the moment, but in the long-term am looking towards integrating my three 'mini-sites' under one umbrella.I'm aware I've been concentrating on the structure of my TNG for a while, at the expense of the genealogical content - so I'll leave the CMS stuff til later.Thanks for your advice - seriously, I do take your point that its a challenge even to those techies like yourself!Regards,PaulNot meaning to discourage, but you may want to hire someone to integrate those packages together unless you have the time and patience to learn how to do it yourself.There is no true easy way to integrate these components together since they all operate as stand alone components from each other and are built upon different frameworks.To me and others it is fun as well as challenging to hack these things together and some folks have done a beautiful job of it. You would be better off to learn to do this yourself so you can later upgrade the packages to help protect against "crackers" who will eventually break into your site or spam your site due to outdated software. This is the way of the world wide web and the more you know the inner workings of your software the better off you are to protect your site.-joeHi Mike,I'll have a look at using WordPress - it may be less technical to put in place than the CMS software I mentioned (see reverendspam's comment).I shall suggest another option, Wordpress. Depending on the level and type of use you desire this is more than adequate. Blogging software is a slightly less ambitious but far more user-friendly system for managing content ie. a CMS. The uses and plugins which are now available for Wordpress have elevated it beyond being a mere personal newsheet. You and any contibutors you create can have great looking articles in a couple of hours and with very simple steps you can have the look of Wordpress and TNG synchronised. With an advanced CMS like Joomla this all takes much more time and effort - and expertise or experience. Themes need to be hacked and plugins carefully edited to work with what you are implementing. Have to see to my kid... will applify this a bit later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Goodstadt Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 At the start I did set up a Joomla site with Joe's bridging plugin and that worked fine. However what ate into my time was the integration and maintenance of the site. I have switched to Wordpress and now spend more time on research. Security is no joke given the very personal nature of family history sites. So having a simple update process is at the core of a good site design. Hence I run TNG seperate and in an (almost) vanilla install. The subsequent aim is having a great looking site which is a joy to use. This is difficult given the website code which TNG produces which has hardcoded style. However I have now a template which produces a clean modern vanilla layout which I will share soon. I have a little testing to do but you can see it running on my site side-by-side with Wordpress using the Tarski theme. Please visit and look around. If you need help I will happy to give it.All the best,Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reverendspam Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I take your point, reverendspam - though does sound a bit like 'Leave it to the big boys, kid!' - anyhow, my intention is to take it slow and do it myself, over time!Sorry if it came off that way as it was not my intent. I am no means one of the "big boys". That made me chuckle, thanks. I know some serious programmers and physicists who eat this stuff for breakfast and I will never get there in my lifetime. My synapses don't fire that way. I'm lucky if I can get both eyelids to open in the morning.Some folks come in for a quick fix expecting miracles, get frustrated, then disappear. I've gone through a few years of frustration and hacking myself... I'm still a kid myself in that respect Glad to see you are ready to dive in head first. Welcome and you will find most folks helpful here in whichever flavor you decide to go with .. through the fears, tears, and joys. I'd say through rain, sleet, or snow but the USPS has that market cornered.-joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Rowe Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Just to add further to this thread. I previouslay had a Joomla! 1.0/TNG installation on a Windows based server. I recently decided to move to a Linux based server and, at the same time, upgrade both Joomla! and TNG (to 1.5 and from 6.7 respectively). So, in effect, a new Joomla!/TNG installation was needed with some importing of old data.I now have Joomla! 1.5 and TNG 7.0.3 running together quite nicely - in all spent 3 days off and on installing, setting up AND transferring data from the old site to the new installation (in fact, at present, I currently have both Joomla! 1.0 and 1.5 running with 1.0 to be removed once I get everything else installed on the 1.5 CMS). Things to copy were all original users complete with passwords - this was my biggest concern.But - the transfers aside - setting up 1.5, TNG and then the Joomla!-TNG bridge were really a piece of cake once I had decided what template I wanted and adjusted the layout to my liking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Inglis Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 At the start I did set up a Joomla site with Joe's bridging plugin and that worked fine. However what ate into my time was the integration and maintenance of the site. I have switched to Wordpress and now spend more time on research.Mike:Loved the easy way your site switches between wordpress and tng -- and the ability to "blog" about family, history, genealogy and technique with a logical index at the side. Conceptually, this is what I am looking for. Now that you've lived with this for a while, any further qualms or tips?Thanks, Alexander (Swerdfeger) Inglis In Toronto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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