I've just managed to organise my time to explore the outer reaches of the Web Content Management Systems (WCMS) world and write about my own experiences with them.

My interest is in Enterprise Level WCMS. I have worked on SDL Tridion which is the foremost leader according to the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Web Content Management Report of September 2012. But on the other end of the scale, I have worked on Umbraco which is an open source initiative on the Microsoft stack.

I would be writing both about Tridion and Umbraco in detail later on. But for now, my concentration would be on Squiz Matrix, an Enterprise level Open Source WCMS. Note that Squiz is also on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Web Content Management Report of September 2012. I will share how I get it up and running and my adventures with Squiz. It would definitely have comparisons to Tridion and Umbraco in ways it works or does not work.
So watch this space...

In the meanwhile you could learn more about my favourite WCMS by accessing the following resources:

SDL Tridion

• About SDL Tridion: A commercial offering from SDL Plc. You can learn more about the Tridion WCMS at http://www.sdl.com/products/tridion/.
• Try it out: Unfortunately, SDL does not offer developers an option to try out their products. But they would be more than willing to do a sales pitch if your organization approaches them.
• Developer Resources: A limited amount of free developer documentation for public consumption is available at SDL Tridion World. But for full access, you need to be either a Tridion Customer or a Partner. Commercial Training is available.
• Current Version: Tridion 2011 SP1

Umbraco

• About Umbraco: Finally they were able to get the domain name www.umbraco.com after bouncing on a few others. It is an open-source product with optional commercial backing.
• Try it out: Developers can download the latest version of Umbraco at codeplex and try it out. It's free. The best part is that you have access to the Source Code.
• Developer Resources: The Umbraco wiki, Free sample Video Tutorials and community forums makes this a superb place for newbies to begin on a WCMS. Commercial Training is available.
• Current Version: Umbraco 4.9.0

Squiz Matri

• About Squiz: An open-source product with the commercial backing of Squiz Pty Ltd, Australia. You can find out more info at http://www.squiz.com.au/products/squiz-matrix.
• Try it out: You can download the Virtual Machine (VM) and start now... http://matrix.squizsuite.net/download
• Developer Resources: A Quick Start Guide is available and will get you going along with the Squiz forums. I'm yet to explore them to find out how effective the resources are.
• Current Version: Squiz Matrix 4.10.2
• Notes: There is also a Squiz CMS which is worth exploring along with Squiz Matrix. Squiz CMS is described as "Open source CMS with WYSIWYG editing for non-technical users".

I just ran the Squiz Matrix VM on my machine using the VMWare Player. Looks promising!

My next post will be on how it all went...

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This article was originally written on Google's Blogger platform and ported to Hashnode on 17 Sep 2022.