Concrete5 CMS Review and Commentary

With the amount of attention that Concrete5 has been getting of late, we decided to take it for a test run and see what this open source CMS is all about.

One look at the interface of the Concrete 5 content management system and you’ll understand why it’s so popular.  Once logged in, administrative access to add and edit pages as well as the dashboard itself, is made simple by a top navigation bar.  The appeal of Concrete 5 is no secret.  It’s slick, intuitive, and simple.

The Installation

To install the Concrete 5 content management system, you will need to create yourself a MySQL database and the appropriate user credentials before you begin the installation itself.  Download and unzip Concrete 5’s latest software to a concrete5 directory that you create in the root of your website.  Then simply visit http://yourdomain.com/concrete5.

The latest iteration provides a welcome one page installation where you’ll need to enter your site name, email address, database information, and voila!  On my test site I chose to install the sample data as well, just to give me a look at how information could be arranged and edited.

As you can see, the default site is attractive and appears well thought out.

Edit Page

Concrete 5 took being intuitive seriously and knew page editing is the most used feature.  But how easy is this?  Simply navigate to the page you would like to change and click the Edit Page icon on the top navigation bar.  Once in the edit mode, you’ll see that Concrete 5 has more to offer than simple textual editing, rather a sophisticated system where you can tweak your content and how it’s displayed with features such as page types, advanced style sheets, viewing permissions, and even version control.  Sections are highlighted in red and offer even more advanced editing options.  It’s clear that even techies requiring more control can embrace this platform with confidence.

Add Page

When adding a page, you’re not only give the typical fields like name, alias, publication date, and description but also meta title, description, and keywords.  You can even add custom fields to your page if required.  Additionally, pages are not limited to strictly traditional content, but also functionality that is rarely offered free including slideshows, a guestbook, surveys, Google map integration, and even YouTube.

Dashboard

Lastly, the dashboard provides all things administrative, again all neatly arranged and presented in an intuitive fashion where virtually all but the most advanced administrative needs are met.  From reports to permissions to maintenance, Concrete 5 has done its job well in covering all the bases.  And, if you don’t mind shelling out a few bucks, you can extend your site to include such applications as blogs, ecommerce, rating systems, and chat functionality among others.

Pros

• Concrete 5 has a wide appeal to beginners and techies alike because it is a simple, intuitive platform that is also extensible.
• The installation process is simple once your database is created.
• All aspects of the look and feel are clean and organized.
• There are a number of free themes available once you become a member of the website.

Cons

• I’d like to see the installation take care of the database creation.  Of course, that would add more steps to the front end installation but I think users who are beginners would appreciate it.  I’ve seen more than a few get hung up and frustrated on creating a database, even when using tools like phpmyadmin or similar tool.

Overall Concrete 5 offers up a product that enables users of any skill, a level of comfort in confidently creating a website that has as little or as much functionality as the user requires.  It affords the beginner a platform where baby steps are possible while still offering advanced users the ability to extend the platform themselves with additional add-ons or tweaking the source themselves.

I think Concrete 5 has found a niche that needed filling.  I know I’m a fan.

Website: http://www.concrete5.org

About the Author:

Based in the Pacific Northwest, Michael Childress has been a system analyst and writer for 10 years.He currently writes for CMS Critic and maintains his own blog at OutdoorBlogger.com.