Concrete Releases Open-Source CMS to General Availability
Concrete CMS today announced the general availability of its easy-to-use open source CMS product, Concrete5. The new release builds on Concrete's foundation offering of a CMS that is as easy to configure as a blog, with the flexibility of a full web development platform. Improvements in Concrete5 include an updated file manager, embedded Picnik image editor, new help system and more. Concrete's main competitors in the CMS space are Drupal and Joomla, but Silicon Florist says Concrete5 "crushes them in terms of ease-of-use."
Besides offering the source code under the MIT open source license, a main differentiator between Concrete5 (or C5) and other CMS platforms is the way that pages are built and modified. Concrete5 brings a clickable, context menu-driven model to constructing pages of content, keeping the hierarchical content tree tucked away behind the scenes, but still allowing the use of either short CMS-style or longer SEO-optimized URLs. On the administration side, the platform supports full granular user and group permissions for different contributor roles. Version tracking is built-in as well as a template system, automatic theme installation, Google Analytics support, and package-based deployment for solution providers.
I spent an hour or so using the C5 demo to get familiar with how the system works. In practical use, C5 felt a lot like an easy-to-use website creator married with a full CMS platform on the back-end, making content and layout changes easy and quick, but allowing a lot of customization under the hood if required. The demo has a number of different page types pre-configured, such as an image slideshow, embedded video, and an interactive form. I was also able on my demo page to insert a headline feed from RWW with only a couple of clicks.
Being mostly familiar with WordPress, it definitely is a conceptual shift to work with a CMS that isn't inherently journal-based, but it makes a lot of sense if the site you are designing is going to be built around highlighting a product or service rather than a blog. Overall, C5 seems to be stable, powerful and easy to use. It certainly was not hard to get started with, especially given the fact that it is free and installs easily in a hosting provider's environment with these basic requirements: PHP 5.1.x, Python 2.2, and MySQL 4.1 or higher. They also offer installation support or a one-time fee as well as full hosting for $15/month.
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This looks great. I have to do so many of these freakin little marketing sites and am driven crazy by the CMS options out there.
Especially when you're a few steps down the supply chain with clients of clients and need something really easy that they don't have to hassle you about fixing all the time, or worrying about needing to install hacks to get it to do whatever wacky thing they want done. Looks like you could knock out a site in a few hours with this
I first encountered Concrete5 last Fall and was impressed by it immediately. I'd tried using several other CMSs out there (Drupal, Joomla, WP, Txp, SkyBlueCanvas, etc) but all of them were either much more difficult to use to lacked the features and scalability of Concrete5. The in-page editing is great and so is the MIT license.
Awesome review guys..
Thanks.
You've done a fantastic job of expressing what concrete5 is really all about. In transitioning to Open Source, we've really learned that it's about presenting fewer options - not more. Using concrete5 is often described as a series of pleasant discoveries over the first few projects as you get used to its different, but seemingly natural approach to problem solving.
I hope you and your readers join us in the forums, we're rebuilding the web with concrete5! ;-)
http://concrete5.org/community/forums
While looking at sourceforge for an opensource cms solution, that's capable to create a training course for school purposes, i stumbled on concrete5 as project of the month. Tried the demo and the first i thought was "awesome, that will perfectly fit my needs, easy to edit, fast as hell and opensource"
Great review.
I came across Concrete5 at the end of last year, and have been using it heavily ever since. Converting our website from static to dynamic has been a breeze, making the templates is as easy as can be. We looked into Drupal & Joomla but our end users we turned off by the complexity of performing standard tasks. Once showing them the C5 demos it was a clear winner; the in-context editing really sealed it in the end.
Highly recommend Concrete5 to anyone, beginner or advanced.
In terms of implementation this is rather like SquareSpace which makes a nice addition (and options) to the open source community.
It certainly removes the thought of lock in at SS - not data, but the ease of use. Something which can be considered more open with such a product.
C5 is one of the most diverse CMS's to date! I discovered it last November and kept coming back to it because it was so attractive. After finally downloading and getting involved with the wonderful community I asked my bosses for permission to use it on all of our sites and I can honestly say I will never use another CMS again.
Thanks C5 for giving me the opportunity to be the development industry and for giving me a reason to live!
Concrete5 is, perhaps, one of the best discoveries I've ever made. Super flexible, super useful, super easy. Just... well, super. I haven't found anything that's easier for non-technical folks to use, that offers the same power and extensibility, anywhere. Definitely worth checking out. Find a reason to use it once and I bet you'll be blown away.
This is a great CMS, one the best I have ever used. It is simple, efficient and effective for both business and personal use. Great work guys, you have an amazing product.
What can I say about this Open Source CMS. Concrete 5 is so easy to use and install that you can get small businesses and education environments along with large scale web sites up and running in no time. There is a very large forum based help community. Documentation is taking a little while but is getting there.
Concrete 5 is probably the best CMS out there. I have taught 76 year old grandmothers how to update data and small community churches and neighborhood community centers are really starting to get excited. Whether a designer is doing the work Pro Bono or professionally, Concrete 5 makes it easy and end users LOVE IT!!!
Creating templates a breeze. Creating blocks (add-ons) are a little trickier but if you take your time and ask questions on the forums, you will be learning how to create them fast.
Franz and the team at Concrete 5, I cannot express enough that your generosity of providing this CMS as open source is over whelming and you should receive many open source awards with this product. I for one will continue to support this community.
=Bill
We are building websites since 1996, Mambo and Joomla. More than 200 websites for customers. Always stretching Joomla to reach the goals.
Now since 2 months exploring Concrete5. And build a site for a customer. They are very happy with this CMS. And believe it or not, just 10 minutes training by phone. You should try that with Joomla or Drupal :).
I believe this is a close to perfect CMS for a lot of websites.
The team is great and the community is upcoming.
We think this CMS will be our choice...
Concrete5 -
Welcome to the free software neighborhood - I'd normally bring cookies but I'm afraid you'd just crush them under your enormously powerful CMS boots! ;-)
I hereby challenge you to join WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla! and show the world what your software is capable of doing. The specs for this friendly competition we engaged in for SxSW are at the bottom of this page: http://cmsshowdown.com/competition Just drop a link here when you have an example ready for Concrete5.
I am always happy to see more free software and congratulate you for offering the world another choice. I can't wait to see it further develop and fully expect it will help many people in the world.
Cheers!
Amy :)
I would love to accept that challenge. How do we do that?
Seems like this event was very much married to a "in-the-flesh" experience at SXSW... if we just bang this thing out over the weekend and tell ya "yo it took 8 hours and we wrote 10 lines of code, oh, and it's got in-context editing..." .. how do I deal with the inevitable cry of "bs" from the grumpy drupal world?
-frz
The Drupal community, itself, is it's biggest asset. I would *love* that enormous, geeky, friendly, collaborative force for Joomla!. (We are getting there and look at them for inspiration!)
If you feel there has been a lack of warm fuzzies coming Concrete's way, you might want to look at your project's PR approach. Saying one project "crushes" another is not friendly - or helpful. Saying one project only values developers and not end users, is not friendly - or helpful, either. Of course we value our end users - we work hard for them.
No one ever got better by showing someone else wasn't as good. Instead, show what Concrete can do - and look for opportunities to network and collaborate with other projects. Why? Because the same benefits that incur from broad participation within a project can also be realized between our projects. If our goal is to build easier to use and more powerful software, it only make sense to bring all available forces to bear. Right?
That's why I recommended taking your software and building a solution like we did for SxSW. In demonstrating that Concrete 5 can also be applied to the same specs, then, you are providing the world with helpful information.
As we worked on this contest together, we learned more about the other solutions - and about one another. We never doubted that others would trust us because we trusted others. We want good open source solutions more than we want that solution to be ours.
Back to your question, in the end, it really doesn't matter how many hours you put into the effort. Provided you can provide a solution that satisfies the contest guidelines and people can use it in support of collaborative communities, it's a win!
Good luck - and welcome to the open source community. I know many of us look forward to watching your project flourish!
Amy :)
This seems to be a CMS i was looking for. I need some small, easy and flexible CMS for my small projects.
Thanks.
Amy: good to hear c5 will be added to the cmsshowdown! I personally agree with your comments about the PR approach. Some of the mootools team had a good open discussion a while ago about trying to maintain a respectful relationship with jquery and some of the other javascript frameworks out there. I think I'm on the same page. There's plenty of approaches to every problem, and no solution is the best fit for everybody. There are probably tons of talented developers behind drupal and joomla worthy of thanks for their contributions to the open-source world... plus the web hardly needs another flame-war. A year or two ago if I was looking for a CMS I probably would have chosen one of these two. That being said, I do believe that concrete5 offers a truly next generation content management system (edit-in-place interface, really cool package system, etc).
There's an amazing amount of sensitivity around Drupal and Joomla. (no wordpress people seem to care about that release). I feel the need to clear the air.
Here is the actual release title, and a link to it:
"concrete5 sets sites on Drupal and Joomla with powerful new CMS"
http://www.concrete5.org/about/press/concrete5_sets_sites_on_drupal_and_joomla_with_p
no where in the release do we say we "crush" anything. Watch who quotes are attributed to before you get all defensive. If others say that, good for them. The truth of the matter is we DO have our sights set on drupal and joomla, and I think it's less nice to pretend we don't. This isn't 1968 and I don't have flowers in my hair, we believe we have a better solution, and thousands of others agree - of course we're going to say it.
Clearly we "get" the idea of openness as well, you may have noticed we're released under the extremely permissive MIT license while both drupal and joomla are GPL. That means rubber hits the road, you can do MORE with concrete5 legally than you can with either d/j.
If the tone on our website is "this is awesome" it's because A) other people are putting it there with guestbook comments, tweets, forum posts, etc.. and B) it is, and we want to share that. We've never made any untrue claims, or even inflated ones. To be honest, it feels like we're getting pushback from the drupal & joomla communities for us mentioning their names in context in our release while not having the vibe of "oh please, can we get some scraps from your table." Yes, I believe open source is about sharing, but no, not every idea is a good one, and no the world doesn't need the THOUSANDS of content management systems that are out there today. Clearly there has to be some market consolidation over the next few years, so I'm not going sit here and say "the more the merrier!".. lets just have a handful of good ones now please. Of course, anyone's contribution to any project, particularly volunteered is a wonderful thing that should be celebrated.. did we ever say it wasn't? We certainly never meant to belittle anyone.
I look forward to the chance to compete with something like CMSshowdown.com. We saw that after sxsw and instantly regretted not going. That does look like an awesome opportunity to both learn and show off. I am sure when we attend one, you will find us to be nice sociable people who are eager to buy the first round - but common people! Acquia is trying to convince people to use drupal, we're trying to convince them to use concrete5.. Open source is good for business, but this is business after all.
Having been a long time user of Drupal, Joomla!, and WordPress, it is good to see another potential entrant in the 'easy to use open source CMS' camp - especially if it is one that truly delivers improved ease of use for end users.
One caveat folks should be aware of is Concrete5's licensing approach: many of the "add-ons" in the community are not free-as-in-beer.
In the 1.0.x days many Joomla! components were licensed under various interesting commercial licenses - some even shipped with source code encrypted or obfuscated so as to disable unlicensed use.
Seems that Concrete5 add-ons are "open source" in the sense that once you buy them you get access - but a few I looked at were certainly not "open source" in the sense of using an OSI approved license nor "free software" in the sense of the FSF definition.
The MIT licensed core, of course, allows for this kind of mixed-model, and I'm not saying the developers of (and community around) Concrete5 shouldn't employ such a model - just that folks coming from the Drupal or WordPress communities might be rather surprised the first time they go to use an add-on and find a license fee.
It's a great system. Will be better when they add blogging capabilities to it.