all blogging tools use CMS. My friend Paolo Valdemarin has a system - that will provide a company with an eStore, web site, customer web site - all maintable by the end-user/client. check out www.eVectors.it

There are many "dynamic websites" that run on a scripting language plus database backend which perform "content management" functions.

My personal favourite is <a href="www.drupal.org">Drupal</a>. The site <a href="OpenSourceCMS</a>" title="www.opensourcecms.com/">OpenS...S</a>">www.opensourcecms.com/">OpenS...S</a> lets you "test drive" a bunch of different CMS systems, although this really isn't the same as actually installing and using some of the systems for a while. My best advice is to try and duplicate an existing site -- this will give you a good idea if the CMS fits your needs.

You can also use something like <a href="Macromedia" title="www.macromedia.com/contribu...acromedia">www.macromedia.com/contribu...acromedia Contribute</a> -- you install it for your client and they can then easily edit/update/add content to their site. This works best if you are using Dreamweaver templates to create the site in the first place.

I use web-based content management systems or web-based site management tools on just about every client project I work on. My company, Art + Logic Interactive, built our own tool using PHP and MySQL. We very rarely build static sites anymore because database driven sites using CMS tools are fairly affordable these days.

I've built my own using PHP/MySQL. I wasn't finding tools I liked out there, so I just developed the whole system for my own sites. I've got a basic info website up, although I'm working on a sample that visiters can log into and futz with!

My CMS is called ZuulTuul. <a href="www.zuultuul.com">Check it out!</a>

Jory

Web based CMS is just about the only way to go anymore. Your client would be silly to pay you to update it, although ideally they'd pay a more up front.

I use PostNuke on my site (a fork of the popular PHP Nuke) and I like it a lot even though it isn't perfect.

www.postnuke.com

I create my own web-based content management systems using ASP and Cold Fusion - both scripts are fairly easy to write. With them, you get the advantage of complete control and customization.

Not a content management system, but works for clients is Macromedia's Contribute. It restricts content editors from messing with code and design while allowing them to update content. Pretty sweet for small sites.

check out basecamp (currently in beta) by the good guys at 37signals:
www.37signals.com/basecamp/

I've heard good things about Zope <zope.org>

Mambo Server - Open Source CMS

Built on PHP4.x/MySQL

www.mamboserver.com

I am using a self built CMS. You can view it at www.rewaj.com and www.pakpromo.com

Scott,

First thing to ask here is to establish what your client's needs are, and these needs aren't just about technology - they're about corporate culture and infrastructure - after you've established the more fundamental question of how your client manages content and information, it then becomes a much easier task to decide what type of CMS system to use. Some sample questions to establish this would be:

- Will there be a need for corporate communications to approve content posting?
- If there's more than one department posting to one site, does each department have their own approver?
- What's the technology landscape at your company look like? Are they using more than one tool to publish now, and to what web presence are they publishing - is it one site, or a series of sites?

My basic Jist here is, it's best not to start with technology - start with conducting some contextual interviews with your client to investigate what the content/information process is there now because in the end, the most succesful CMS rollout will be one in which you won't have to force the corporation to re-invent the wheel, but the online process will closely emulate culture and infrastructure.

Most of the answers here are good, but in browsing them I found two things that are true.

1. Some, like 37 Signal's Basecamp, aren't what one would consider CMS tools to begin with.
2. Others are not enterprise level solutions being able to handle such issues as automated date archiving [finance and healthcare orgs require that each published version of a page be date stamped, and each iteration of that page, no matter how many, has to be in a place where it can be audited at any time - archival records have to date back years, not months], and many aren't built to with a technology that is so open standards that it can talk to legacy systems that automate data for B2B orgs...
3. And all answers start with the techonology, not requirements.

In conclusion, just bear in mind that one CMS system is not a one-size fits all. Put together a document that delineates exactly what/how your client intends to use the CMS system (how many admins, and to what kind of site[s]). Also document server/bandwidth capacities at your client's org, if there are any, as well as the budget your client has set aside.

Other CMS systems on the market

Teamsite
StoryServer
Microsoft CMS 2000
Stellent

I hear xoops is good - open source, php/mysql OOP, and there's tonnes of good external modules already written for it.

www.xoops.org

peace.
doktor J
www.doktorj.ca

What about search engines? If these tools put the content in a database, does that mean it won't get crawled?

Just posted an alpha version --
bytebrite.com/itsybitsy/cms/

Runs on my windows box. It would be interesting to see if it will do the same anywhere else. :)

Peace,
Denny

you know, for many years now i have abhored Content Management Systems. i always took the stance that i wanted to code the entire thing myself, and i wanted to know each and every line of my code in my websites so i knew exactly what was going on. to some degree, i still feel this way. if your client has the need for data security, you deffinately need to be writing your own CMS for them. but if not, honestly i'm beginning to come around and realize that CMS's aren't that bad.

it's more of a "blog" but check out WordPress (www.wordpress.org). i'm pretty happy with it and if i didn't know how to write my own code, this is what i'd be running. it's Standards-compliant which is easily what attracts me to it the most (since i code pretty much entirely in XHTML these days)

i've not installed, but have used PHP-Nuke and was not very impressed. perhaps i was jaded by years of hearing people on IRC bitch about how insecure it is...

all-in-all, it's better to DIY, but if you're going to go with a CMS, check a few out until you've got one you like, because, there _ARE_ some out there that are pretty decent.

here's a great website i came accross where they actually let you log in and check out a bunch of Open Source CMS's: www.opensourcecms.com/
(i'm an open souce guy, what can i say)

My favorites are joomla (formerly mambo open source), postnuke, and wordpress. I use Joomla for my business site, postnuke for my personal site, and wordpress for my 'geeklog'.

Wordpress is very easy to convert from a blog to a 'mini-cms', and is really excellent if a regular cms is overkill for your needs.

Joomla is by far the most end user friendly CMS i've come across, and it is what I use for my clients most often.

All of these have tons of add ons, and all are free, open source, and licensed under the GNU GPL.