Heavyweight CMS

On small sites I usually like to use my own CMS (ContentSeed), because it’s so simple.  In fact it’s so simple that I hesitate to call it a content management system.  I actually like to think of it as a content maintenance system or a content editing system.  There’s no database at all and virtually anyone can deploy it in about 10 minutes.

But, not all sites are simple and there’s never a case where one tool works for all situations.

When something in the “Heavy-Duty” CMS category is required there’s only one choice I can think of: InsiteCreation 2007.

It doesn’t hurt that the guy who made it is a 100% stand-up dude, it doesn’t hurt that they’ve got great support either.

This CMS runs on ASP.NET 2.0 and uses master pages and all the various .net 2.0 features.  The templates are easy to edit.  It’s a little tricky at first figuring out how to get the “Channels” to result in the navigation that you want but once you get it, you’re good. 

There’s virtually no chance that this CMS won’t fit the needs of even the most complicated organizational or institutional client.

Do yourself a favor and take 10 minutes to look at Insite Creation and bookmark it.  Next time you need to do a complex CMS system you’ll be one step ahead.

The only thing I don’t like about it is that it requires SQL Server (not the free one, the MS one).  I wish there was a way to make anything run against an Access database just for testing or light use.  Face it if it weren’t for stored procs most sites don’t need the oomph of an MS SQL Server DB.  Regardless, I found a place with good deals on ASP.NET 2.0 hosting and get this;
They’ve got a special package for developers that has ASP.NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005 for…$2.95/mo.  Granted the traffic isn’t huge but it’s really intended for testing stuff out and I suppose it’d suffice for a low traffic site that just happens to need a SQL Server DB.  I was stunned by the deal when I found it.  Visit CrystalTech and check it out.