Excellent post! Thank you for summarizing the pros and cons of each!
WP3.0 was released two days ago… The merger of Wordpress MU and the beefed up capacity for Custom Post Types really makes Wordpress much more attractive.
WP seems to excel best as a “turn key” solution — install WP, upload theme, and you’re good… So long as you don’t need to do any heavy modification.
For custom sites, I believe EE has the edge. It’s built from the ground up to build *websites*, not just “blogs”. EE assumes a user will be creating the site structure from scratch. This really becomes powerful when you have a vision for a site that extends beyond what a typical WP theme is designed to handle.
The only thing I worry about is that EE is just one company, whereas WP has the benefit of being open source with hundreds if not thousands of active developers.
Any comments on EE 2.0 vs Wordpress 3.0?
on June 28, 2010
Thanks Graham! I agree with you. EE has more power and flexibility. The issue with EE being run by one company and WP being developed by thousands of people does concern me. If a client needs to change something in the future and for some reason I am not in charge of the website anymore, I have better peace of mind giving them an EE site than a WP site. Though, there are many developers who use WP.
on June 28, 2010
@Graham
It is the opposite….what gives me peace of mind that there IS a COMPANY behind a product vs. open source.
EE is a superior product over all as it can be easily (emphasis) used in many projects vs . WP that really is geared toward Blogs. Sure, WP can be twisted into a ‘site management’ tool but lacks the power of workflow and content logic and separation that can be setup with EE. Not to mention the freedom of (HTML/CSS) design that comes with EE vs. WP.
What would you rather have
- a knife with a super comfy grip (WP) that cuts bread really well
or
- a Swiss army knife (EE) that opens cans,corked bottles, comes with a saw, toothpick, tweezers, pliers….
you get the picture 
on June 28, 2010
@lebisol
Interesting comparison of EE and WP with the knife metaphor. Actually, it is a very accurate and helpful pictorial description. Thanks so much for sharing!
on June 28, 2010
Nice article, I would suggest all check out MODx (http://www.modxcms.com) as a (in my eyes) better alternative to both EE and WP! Built using standard XHTML with easy to understand chunks of reusable XHTML and PHP for those that want dynamic features. Not as many ‘addons’ available as everyone always plumps for EE or WP - but if people got behind MODx a little more they would realise it’s massive potential.
on July 15, 2010
@dubbs
Thanks for your comment! Has MODx really become as good as WP? or even EE? I used MODx a couple years ago, and I had trouble using it and getting it to do anything besides basic web pages. I couldn’t even build a blog with MODx then. Has MODx gotten better since then? One thing I noticed you mentioned is PHP. EE doesn’t require any PHP knowledge.
on July 16, 2010
Yeh MODx has come on a lot in the past few years, it’s main issue is a lack of developer following to the extent that WP and EE get - therefore there are fewer developers out there actively developing for the platform to create the quality of ‘addon/plugins’ you can get for the likes of WP and EE. Download a copy and take a look, I personally find it massively intuitive to use as its based on XHTML markup with no complex use of PHP headers and other templates that WP uses. The addons you can currently bolt in allow very bespoke website development and with more people getting behind it the stronger it will get!
on July 16, 2010
@dubbs
Maybe I’ll give MODx another try. How easy is MODx for people to update compared with WP and EE?
on July 16, 2010
@adam
Install and have a play! I find it very easy and so do my clients. You can setup different levels of access for all areas of the site, so your clients can have tiered access based on their needs/abilities ;]
on July 16, 2010
@dubbs
Hmm… sounds like another CMS comparison blog post… Thanks!
on July 16, 2010
@adam
Give it a go! You might like it! ;] This is a very nice site btw!
on July 16, 2010
Thank you! I checked out your site. It’s a good site as well! Keep up the excellent work!
on July 16, 2010
