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ExpressionEngine

Score7.8 out of 10

89 Reviews and Ratings

What is ExpressionEngine?

ExpressionEngine is a content management system from EllisLab in 2002, a successor to pMachine Pro, a blogging system, which is written in object-oriented PHP and uses MySQL for data storage. ExpressionEngine is their flagship Content Delivery Platform.

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Categories & Use Cases

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ExpressionEngine Key Features

Learn about the best (and worst!) features ExpressionEngine has to offer, as determined by TrustRadius' reviewers.
Based on 89 ratings of ExpressionEngine's features
View all ExpressionEngine features

Top Performing Features

  • Role-based user permissions

    Permissions to perform actions or access or modify data are assigned to roles, which are then assigned to users, reducing complexity of administration.

    Category average: 8.4

  • WYSIWYG editor

    What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get editing tool allows users to build pages without writing code.

    Category average: 8.1

  • Page templates

    The CMS has standard webpage templates or types of web pages (e.g. homepage, article page, interior page, blog page, etc.); users can also build custom templates.

    Category average: 7.9

Areas for Improvement

  • Admin section

    The admin page is easy to navigate and use.

    Category average: 8

  • Library of website themes

    A library of website frameworks or themes is available as a starting point for building a website.

    Category average: 7.2

  • Bulk management

    Users can change an attribute on a group of documents or sites all at once through features such as global search and replace, making bulk changes easier.

    Category average: 7.2

Who Buys & Uses ExpressionEngine

ExpressionEngine Reviews

What users are saying about ExpressionEngine.
View all ExpressionEngine reviews

Its a brick house.

Caroline Blaker
Principal, Artist-in-charge at Aquarian (1-10 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use ExpressionEngine on custom websites and e-commerce stores to keep our clients safe online. ExpressionEngine is incredibly secure in demanding environments while offering 100% design and use-case flexibility, without needing granular PHP in templates in most cases. ExpressionEngine add-ons share the Security as a Design Principle commitment, so there is never any doubt that an ExpressionEngine add-on will work with other website functionality or otherwise compromise the website's security.

Pros

  • Doesn't get hacked.
  • Allows for 100% bring-your-own custom HTML-CSS-JS.
  • Add-ons don't conflict or compromise other functionality.

Cons

  • More classic approach to feature development (not flashy).
  • Control panel doesn't dance.

Return on Investment

  • Sleep at night - we are never awakened at 2am by a hack with EE.
  • Clients love their websites and the minimal ongoing costs for maintenance.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Craft CMS

Other Software Used

Ploi, Craft CMS, Ahrefs

Flexible and Secure Web Content Management System

Tim Carter
Web Developer in Information Technology at Pedrera Web Development (1-10 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use ExpressionEngine as the web content management system for the majority of our website projects. We do work with other platforms from time-to-time, but ExpressionEngine is our "go to". We like the flexibility to implement any design without a "default theme". We also love ExpressionEngine's longstanding track record on security. This gives us and our clients peace-of-mind after launch.

Pros

  • Excellent security
  • Flexible and customizable
  • Easy for our clients to use

Cons

  • There are misperceptions about ExpressionEngine being "for developers". Better demos of websites might help

Return on Investment

  • Reduced costs for clients
  • Security and reliability
  • Easy to use

Alternatives Considered

WordPress

Other Software Used

Ubuntu, Slack, WordPress, Microsoft SharePoint

EE - The Peak of CMS Functionality.

Incentivized
Doug BlackView profile
CEO (Chief Executive Officer) in Corporate at tripleNERDscore (1-10 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use ExpressionEngine to create bespoke, powerful, and secure websites for our clientele. It allows us to create highly extensible sites that focus on the client's content, the functionality that the client needs, and the direct business requirements for each client, all while providing a beautiful user experience (for both front-end and backend users) and the most secure CMS on the market.

Pros

  • Highly flexible content management system.
  • Incredible extensibility to provide any functionality needed.
  • The best CMS experience on the market.

Cons

  • Little challenging to get started for non-developers.
  • Highly reliant on knowledge of the content structure beforehand.

Return on Investment

  • Allowed us to move quickly to build powerful sites.
  • Gave our clients the ability to customize their experience.

Alternatives Considered

WordPress, Squarespace and Wix

Great Product, Getting Better All The Time...

Verified User
Engineer in Engineering (1-10 employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

ExpressionEngine is our go to solution for building custom websites. The native template engine uses a syntax that is simple to learn and comprehend, which allows our developers to stand up sites faster, and easily maintain them over the long haul. ExpressionEngine includes a comprehensive set of fieldtypes that will meet the majority of needs for simple to complex content models. If not, there is an addon store with plenty of options to add functionality to a site.

Pros

  • Easy to learn
  • Enables rapid development
  • Secure by default

Cons

  • In my opinion, mediocre support for block type page builders (Bloqs addon is the best option currently)
  • Doesn't use a PHP framework under the hood (and no Composer support)
  • Lacking database migration support

Return on Investment

  • Faster website development due to the simple template syntax

ExpressionEngine. One CMS to rule them all!

Incentivized
Robert Bruce GogginsView profile
Digital Designer in Professional Services at Digital Methods (1-10 employees)

Pros

  • Content is not constrained or controlled by set templates, unlike other CMS.
  • Gives you total control over the look and feel. You decide the design direction and what your visitors will see.
  • The UI is sublime. It's a pleasure to configure and work with.
  • The expandability, flexibility, and customization of the entire system is unsurpassed.

Cons

  • The only issue I have with ExpressionEngine is the cost of official support.

Return on Investment

  • The turnaround time of content delivery is increased tenfold.
  • Employee satisfaction in working with the CMS has increased due to the user-friendly interface.
  • As an admin and developer, I can truly listen to requests for features from colleagues, and accurately provide options and/or feedback on the possibility of implementing the requests.
  • The monthly cost of official support can get expensive.

Alternatives Considered

WordPress

Other Software Used

Adobe Illustrator CC, Slack, MODX, Adobe Premiere Pro