Planning to switch from AM to CMSB - interaction between CMSB and plugins

3 posts by 2 authors in: Forums > CMS Builder
Last Post: December 26, 2009 (RSS)

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By tribulatio - December 22, 2009

As I mentioned in two other posts, I am considering to switch from AM1 to CMSB - since I understand that AM2 will no longer be developed.

It seems - but correct me if I am wrong - that there is a major difference between AM and CMS Builder. AM was a fully integrated solution, I did never need any plugin. With CMS Builder, in order to do various things that were implemented in AM (e.g. my previous question on captions below images), it seems that one needs to add plugins - and moreover external ones, not plugins produced by InteractiveTools.

Not necessarily a problem - but what will happen if the system evolves and if the plugin does no longer work properly in ten years, is not longer compatible, no longer maintained? Does it mean than suddenly pages will cease to publish properly? Also, does it mean that I will need to update plugins regularly, thus creating additional work for somebody maintaning a news website without technical knowledge or technical support?

I must confess I have a concern here, and I would appreciate some clarifications. I see the advantages of CMSB for people who want to manage a website with its different sections. But I came to AM due to its amazing possibilities for managing a news section in a website, and I am wondering if CMSB really offers to me the same power for that very specific purpose, or if it should be seen as a completely different product - better no doubt for "generalistic" purposes, but less appropriate for the very specific purpose of creating and managing a news website?

I prefer to ask the question frankly before switching to CMSB. And if some users who have news-oriented website can share their experiences switching from one to another (preferably providing exemples of news websites they are running), this would be greatly appreciated.

Re: [tribulatio] Planning to switch from AM to CMSB - interaction between CMSB and plugins

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By Donna - December 22, 2009

Hi there,

Hmm, I'm not sure I would say that's the difference -- in the case of captions, for example, Article Manager & CMS Builder have exactly the same functionality, in that if you're using an upload field, your captions can automatically show up underneath (or wherever else you want them to appear.) However, CMS Builder goes one step further, and allows you to upload an image directly into the WYSIWYG editor itself. This isn't a feature that Article Manager actually has.

Lots of things with Article Manager have always required external plugins -- comments, for example. What it comes down to is that we hate to say "No, it can't do that", so we try to come up with a solution no matter what -- even if that solution is "here, try this script!"

That said, if you're happy using Article Manager, and it's doing everything you need it to... then there's no need to switch. I'm of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought. If you're looking for more functionality that CMS Builder offers, then by all means, upgrading is the right choice. But if your current solution is working great... don't mess with it. :)

Article Manager will never just "stop working", nor will any of our plugins. Even if something is no longer maintained, that doesn't make it stop. We discontinued some of our other programs (Page Publisher, Listings Manager, etc) years ago, and we still have people plugging along quite happily on these older programs with no problem whatsoever. :)

CMS Builder can definitely do a lot more than Article Manager. It does it in a very different way, and in some cases, can require a bit more work as it wasn't designed "out of the box" to be a news program. That said, there's very little I can think of that Article Manager can do that CMS Builder can't -- no plugins required, but some coding experience would definitely come in handy. :)

Donna

--
support@interactivetools.com

Re: [Donna] Planning to switch from AM to CMSB - interaction between CMSB and plugins

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By tribulatio - December 26, 2009

Thank you for the explanations, Donna! Probably I got confused by the fact that the demo did not include any upload field, but it is true that, when reading again the thread on "legend below an image", it tells that I do not need any plugin in the "real" CMS Builder. Your post was very useful, since it helped me to clarify the issue I had.

Based on what you are telling me, I think that I see the way ahead: I will buy right now a CMS Builder license, although I will probably install it on my website only after a few months (I assume that I can download the latest version then, in case there is an upgrade in the meantime). But I will keep the already existing articles in AM1, as they were.

You are right, AM1 could actually still do the job for some time, until I reach the upper limit for the number of articles. But since my website is already in two languages, and I am considering to add a third one (non-Latin script) at some point in 2010, probably CMS Builder will be much more appropriate for doing the job. Of course, there will be a period of adjustment, like it is for every new tool. But version 2 of CMS Builder seems to be a very robust and mature version, so it is probably the right time to switch.

A main reason for keeping old articles in AM1 is my commitment to permanent URLs: it will be much easier this way.

It is nice to be an Interactive Tools customer! And to see how consistent and friendly support is. I just checked: I bought my first AM1 license on Dec. 31, 2002! Subsequently, I bought in 2003 and 2004 three other AM1 licenses, and also three NM licenses. I skipped entirely AM2, and will thus go directly to CMS Builder.