Dotnetnuke CMS
The main reason for choosing Joomla or Drupal over DNN would be the licensing costs of Linux, Apache, MySql and PHP (together called LAMP which is free) vs A Windows Server OS and SQL Server (costly if you need to get a SQL Server enterprise license) if the application is to be hosted in house. Hosting costs are slightly higher if on a web hosting environment, however, still reasonable.
Joomla splits out admin much more from the client side application and it is a lot less intuitive than DNN. We use DNN, the development environment for module creation because it so much better, better IDE, RAD, and the skinning seems more flexible. Visual Studio as the IDE for DNN is almost a developer's dream. So why do not we use DNN more often than other CMS? Well, it all boils down to client's budget.
Why DNN?
DotNetNuke is very easy to use. End users can learn to post content to your web site in minutes. The simple yet powerful page editing tools let end users modify content without IT support.
The granular security model allows system administrators to precisely define web site access for end users at the site, page or module level. Users can access the right content for their contributions yet have no access to modify the rest of your web site. This provides end users with considerable freedom to modify content yet limited access to your overall web site.
DNN Pros
The main thing to keep in mind is that if you choose DNN, you're starting with a Framework (built for making web applications) which has CMS features. This means that a ton of stuff is done for you already. DotNetNuke is an open source project, with a very active team of developers, and a very large community of resources and users world wide. The core application is available for download for free, and there are many add-in modules for free or for purchase.
- DNN is super user friendly!
- Maintain portal content without any web page development applications.
- It is easy for anyone to update or maintain content. No technical skills required!
- Easy to add modules for content (see the long list of modules available!)
- Secure all or part of your Portal from public viewing.
- Create groups of users with different levels of access control
- Enable public or private conversations with such tools as forums or chat rooms
- Easily change the layout and colors of your Portal without changing content!
- “Skinning“ is independent from the content so if you decide to change the layout, there is no need to rebuild the site, just load a new “skin“.
- Implement an advanced dynamic web site in very little time.
- Launch and manage a Portal without the expense of custom IT development!
DNN Cons
Not too many cons to think of as this may be the best open source CMS out there. Yet, here are a few things to consider:
- If a module doesn't exist, it takes in-depth .NET knowledge to develop a custom module.
- Upgrading to newer versions can be difficult and time-consuming.
- DNN requires a Windows environment and an IIS web server.
DNN Performance
Typically DotnetNuke perform very well compared to the PHP counterparts. However, performance may be enhaced by optimizing SiteLog and EventLog tables. We would simply delete old and unnecessary records from these tables. Other performance enhancements could achieved by tweaking the server configuration a bit.
Bottomline
We like Dotnetnuke over any other open source CMS. It's fast and most user-friendly. As developers we love Microsoft's amazing creation of the IDE Visual Studio that we can use to work on Dotnetnuke codes. If you do not mind a slightly higher hosting fee, this would be the best way to go for your website but ultimately, decision will be yours.
