Expression Engine, for the not so Typical Website
If we go back and remember the early days of blogging, web logs were primarily considered as online journals which we could share with our friends. It has come a long way today, but it has essentially retained the classic layout that still fits the original purpose – sequential posts with the most recent on top in a wide column, and a narrower column or two for navigation. Of course, this simple layout will not work with all types of content, and if your needs are more specialized than what the typical blogging platform can offer, you may want to consider using Expression Engine.
The one great thing about Expression Engine is the amount of customization it offers. You can create a template for each of the pages on your website, or create custom fields to fit your content. For example, if you plan to make a site that features vegetarian recipes, you can make a text field for the recipe name, estimated time to prepare, ingredients, and procedure. In short, the platform adapts to your needs, instead of you bending over backwards to make a platform work in your favor – all without having to code in PHP!
Aside from the flexibility, EE also has a good reputation in terms of security, and long-time users have are generally satisfied with the fast and responsive support they provide. Other features include direct database query capability, a photo gallery, built-in mailing lists, a wiki module, email-a-friend, search tools and user-notifications of comments.
One downside to Expression Engine, though is the lack of an integrated WYSIWYG editor. That’s pretty basic to miss out on and while I personally can live with that, it may be unacceptable to people not used to seeing code. It’s also easy to get lost inside the Control Panel, but there are helpful manuals to get you going and some short video tutorials for the not-so-patient among us (I’m raising my hand).
You can try Expression Engine for free with their downloadable Core version, but it will not come with some of the advanced features. For the full feature set, there’s a Personal and Commercial license available for $99.95 and $249.95, respectively, and they also come with technical support. Is it worth it? That all depends on what you’ll use it for.
