Hi all,

I'm really getting stressed with this dilema.

I've been using DW for the last 3+ yrs. I'm not a WD, but rather a biz person.

I learned the basics of DW & can create new pages from a template, know about editable regions etc.

In the last year b/c a Programmer decided to create pages with .phtml, I've been having nothing but problems w/ DW.

I can't see the design view or the files when I click "open".

About 3 wks. ago I had a programmer create .php pages & then redirect them, so that solved the problem in the interim.

Now, onto CMSs.

I've been hearing about them lately from a few people & I had a WD create a new template for me which I was going to just use in DW, but then she wanted me to start using a CMS (typo3) & she was going to train me on it.

Well typo3 ended up being a hog, so she searched around for another CMS. She found textpattern.

She gave me a very quick run-through & I started creating pages not knowing what I was really doing, but it was never really used. Turns out it infected my template anyway & put code in it even though it shouldn't have.

This WD ended up not helping me to learn it any further, so I figured I'd go back to DW (since I already know that program well enough).

I hired someone to get the template set up in DW which took him 3 minutes to do.

I also had him create a 2nd template that was to look exactly the same w/ the exception of one pic.

When I got the template & opened it in DW, it didn't look like anything like the first template

At this point I'm soooo frustrated.

Then last week I came across a programmer who couldn't stop talking about Mambo (another CMS) & had me sort of convinced I should switch to that CMS entirely.

Unfortunately I don't think we are all that suited to work together (she doesn't understand a lot of what I say), so now I'm in a quandry about whether I should just stick with DW (it's hard finding someone to hire to help me with the changes I need) or totally switch to this new CMS (Mambo) which is a pain to set up on the server, as my hosting company hasn't really dealt with CMSs b4.

Also I'd have to be trained, but my VA would also be in on the call to help.

Any suggestions or comments are much appreciated b/c obviously once I switch over, there's no switching back & that means ALL of my future sites will have to be developed on Mambo.

On the flip side, DW is starting to be more of a headache then a help.

Thanks so much & sorry for the long post.

Have a great night !


Michelle

The backend features of Mambo are very extensive, have you checked out the demos? Frontend Demo, Backend Demo, login using, Username : admin Password : admin. Depending on the content of your website, it could work for you. If you need features like article ratings, user comments, it has it, some features require modules to be installed to function, and they can be downloaded at various Mambo resource sites. It is fairly easy to use, it might take some time getting used to it, how to add/delete/edit and move content pages. I've switched back and forth a couple of times between XOOPS and Mambo, and some others. I'm using it right now on some sites with various articles. The current version is 4.5.2 and can be downloaded from here. Template demos are here.

The following sites let your test out other CMS out there besides Mambo.

http://www.opensourcecms.com/ (running Mambo)

Compare different CMS
http://www.cmsmatrix.org/
http://www.cmsreview.com/

Hi there,

Well unfortunately I decided to go w/ Mambo & it's been hell.

I need to get my web site up & running fast & it's just not happening

Now I'm contenmplating whether I should just go back to DW.

The guy who was working on it said he had to redo almost the entire template & he got most of it done, but then he slowed down towards the end of the week & now he's sick & I've been waiting & waiting & waiting.

There are problems w/ the editor & other things, so I started looking for someone else to hire, but no one responded, sooooo, I will figure out by today if I'm going to try & find someone who can do this in DW.

Thanks & I hope you had a great wknd.


Michelle