Best tech platforms for news / community sites
Convener and reporter: Clint Baller
Our group talked about technology and the challenges in choosing the right platform and getting the functionality desired. We talked mostly about Joomla and Drupal, but mainly because the co-leader was a Drupal developer and one of the participants was a user of Joomla. We talked about open-source versus proprietary platforms, with the implication that open source is better because it creates a community of users who modify and extend the functionality of the software. Some bottom lines:
- There are no silver-bullet solutions.
- Quite a bit of techno-savvy is still required for any venture.
- Up-front tech costs can range from $2500 to $30000, with ongoing costs assured.
- Open-source solutions are probably better than proprietary solutions.
- Technology and design need to go hand-in-hand. Tech people are not always good designers, and good designers don’t necessarily have the tech background to implement their designs.
Anyone interested would be wise to check out Joomla and Drupal sites, including groups.drupal.org, which is the actual forum for Drupal users, and look at some of the sites that have been created using these tools. Additionally, it would be smart to find the kinds of sites or functionality you seek, and then inquire with site owner about the platforms utilized.