EE - The Peak of CMS Functionality.
We use ExpressionEngine to create bespoke, powerful, and secure websites for our clientele. It allows us to create highly extensible sites …
Starting at $299 One Time Fee
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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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Popular Features
- Role-based user permissions (33)10.0100%
- Code quality / cleanliness (32)10.0100%
- Admin section (32)10.0100%
- Availability / breadth of extensions (32)8.080%
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Pricing
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$299.00
Cloud
One Time Fee
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Entry Analytics EEDPX Demo
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EE Harbor's Transcribe Add-on Demo
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ExpressionEngine Demo of a Staff Section
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ExpressionEngine demo door Keesâ„¢ Internetbureau
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DevDemon's Channel Forms add-on for ExpressionEngine
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Solspace's Calendar Add-on for ExpressionEngine
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Product Details
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What is ExpressionEngine?
ExpressionEngine is an open source content
management system developed by EllisLab in 2002 as a successor to pMachine
Pro, a blogging system, which is written in object-oriented PHP and uses MySQL
for data storage. EllisLab closed in 2018, but ExpressionEngine is still available, as an open source CMS.
With CodeIgniter, an agile, open-source framework, web professionals can use ExpressionEngine to build websites and applications. The software is meant to be useful for companies of any size and private individuals as well, and to that end it is highly customizable, and implementation may vary. Like many content management systems, various add-ons will determine what the system does, though the core features are somewhat broader than similarly classed free offerings. The Multiple Site Manager allows a user to create and manage multiple sites from a single ExpressionEngine installation. Nexcess (a partner) provides a hosting environment for an ExpressionEngine-powered website.
With CodeIgniter, an agile, open-source framework, web professionals can use ExpressionEngine to build websites and applications. The software is meant to be useful for companies of any size and private individuals as well, and to that end it is highly customizable, and implementation may vary. Like many content management systems, various add-ons will determine what the system does, though the core features are somewhat broader than similarly classed free offerings. The Multiple Site Manager allows a user to create and manage multiple sites from a single ExpressionEngine installation. Nexcess (a partner) provides a hosting environment for an ExpressionEngine-powered website.
ExpressionEngine Video
10-Minute ExpressionEngine Primer
ExpressionEngine Technical Details
| Deployment Types | Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Reviewers rate Role-based user permissions and WYSIWYG editor and Code quality / cleanliness highest, with a score of 10.
The most common users of ExpressionEngine are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Reviews and Ratings
(86)
Community Insights
TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
- Pros
- Cons
- Recommendations
Reliable Performance: Many users have praised the product for its reliable performance. Several reviewers mentioned that the product consistently meets their expectations and performs well in various scenarios. Ease of Use: The ease of use is a common pro mentioned by several customers. Users appreciate how intuitive and user-friendly the product is, making it easy to navigate and operate without any hassle or confusion. Great Customer Support: Some users have expressed their satisfaction with the great customer support provided by the company. They have found the support team to be responsive, helpful, and efficient in resolving any issues or inquiries they had.
Cons:
- Quality Issues: Some users have experienced quality issues with the product, including defects and malfunctions. Several reviewers have mentioned receiving damaged items or products that broke shortly after purchase.
- Lack of Customer Support: Many customers have expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of responsive customer support. Several users have reported difficulties in contacting the company for assistance or resolving issues related to their purchase.
- Limited Features/Functionality: Some users feel that the product lacks certain features or functionalities they expected. Reviewers have mentioned specific features missing from the product, such as advanced customization options or compatibility with other devices, which have impacted their overall experience.
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ExpressionEngine is recommended by many users as a great and promising update in the CMS market. It is praised for being free, open-source, and supported by a helpful developer community. Users suggest exploring extensions in the market to enhance its capabilities.
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Improvement is needed in areas such as help and support, as well as managing SEO. Those concerned about security should consider alternative solutions. Reading the developer documentation thoroughly is advised, along with using EE Harbor extensions.
3.ExpressionEngine is suitable for creating different channels and effectively managing website content. It is favored by confident HTML and PHP developers seeking customization options. The platform is considered user-friendly and secure, with the ability to handle large data or databases through proper caching.
While some express concerns about the direction and progress of ExpressionEngine, many still regard it as a leading commercial offering. It is advised to carefully consider project requirements and customization needs when choosing between ExpressionEngine and other CMS platforms like WordPress or Drupal. The value of the EE support plan and the helpfulness of the community are also mentioned as factors to consider for web agencies.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-25 of 60)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
January 10, 2024
EE - The Peak of CMS Functionality.
EE offers a much more flexible experience content experience while still keeping the content intact. Other CMSs have really become more "page builders", which is great to start but does not scale in either speed or functionality. EE, though rigid in the content structure, gives you the freedom to expand as your business expands.
January 18, 2020
Website development that's simplified and streamlined
- Wix and Squarespace
ExpressionEngine is just as dynamic, if not more so than the other CMS tools that I've worked with in the past. From my experience, It's been easier to customize the templates and content containers. This advantage makes a world of difference when trying to design a landing page or sub-page that demands a bit more personalization.
June 07, 2019
ExpressionEngine. One CMS to rule them all!
June 21, 2018
Solid, more flexible alternative to WordPress
March 15, 2018
ExpressionEngine - the CMS of Choice
I feel ExpressionEngine is on par with the major CMS systems, WordPress, Drupal, and Craft. It's used by many companies exclusively and is trustworthy. Lately, I've been building more sites with WordPress and still prefer how ExpressionEngine handles certain aspects, such as website templates and user management. ExpressionEngine is much easier to learn than Craft.
February 20, 2016
ExpressionEngine, not the worst but not my favorite
February 19, 2016
Great For Novices
I wasn't in charge of selecting this product. On our other site we have a very robust custom built CMS that's much easier to make changes to.
February 19, 2016
EE Above the Rest for Client UX.
February 19, 2016
ExpressionEngine, Affordable Comercial CMS
Systems presented to us by our integration partner were comparatively quite expensive, required a different infrastructure than currently in place, as well as different technology skills that were not currently present in house. With ExpressionEngine we were able to have a development platform up and running with in a matter of hours, that was not a demo site presented and managed by the CMS vendor. This allowed us to take a deep dive, quickly, into what we could do with the system and what it could do for us for a very low cost of entry.
December 28, 2015
Get ready to commit some time!
In the right environment, a good amount of time, and for long-term use to grow in to, ExpressEngine is a great choice. Especially for large, growing businesses. Comparing this to WordPress, ExpressEngine is more of a long term solution than a quick, easy CMS setup that relies on pre-fab templates. WordPress is much easier to use right out of the box, and you don't need to know code at all. ExpressEngine is dependent on the idea that you will build your own templates from scratch. That is good for complete custom solutions, but not for time.
November 11, 2015
ExpressionEngine: A CMS Worth Checking Out
- WordPress,Joomla!
I chose ExpressionEngine because my client had already purchased a license. I typically build sites with WordPress. I find their toolset to be easier to develop for and the community boasts more users. The cost of the platform is obviously free without much difference in what ExpressionEngine offers from it.
September 30, 2015
ExpressionEngine is dream of any developer.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
For functionality and flexibility, ExpressionEngine content management system software is a versatile option for operations large and small. It has obviously extended its reach to many professional websites, which is evidenced on the front page of their product site. It may seem a bit pricey, but through its ease of use and expandability, it is a force to be reckoned with. This CMS is certain to help bring your website from the far reaches of obscurity and, with the right tweaks, put your business in the limelight.
August 29, 2015
ExpressionEngine can do it all... For a price.
WordPress has millions of users. Millions! It also has thousands of plugins and add-ons, both free and premium, an easy, automatic updating system, and a user-friendly control panel. It also has numerous installable themes that can fit a wide variety of website needs, from the simple blog to the full-blown web shop. In the Internet, you could probably say that there's a WordPress website at every node. It's fast and cheap to build and maintain, and almost "plug-and-play" in nature. In fact, an user with zero HTML/CSS experience could easily set up and run their hosted WordPress sites.
ExpressionEngine, by comparison, has a much smaller user / developer community, and is more geared towards meeting larger, corporate-driven IT needs and, more importantly, budgets. It requires careful planning of your entire system from the content structure to the templates and how its various add-ons and modules can work together to meet IT specifications. And one must be able and willing to learn to code.
Unfortunately, because of the high resource and budget requirements, more people are choosing WordPress and other less resource intensive content management systems. In my professional opinion, automating the software update system in a manner similar to WordPress would go a long way towards making ExpressionEngine a more attractive and budget-friendly solution.
ExpressionEngine, by comparison, has a much smaller user / developer community, and is more geared towards meeting larger, corporate-driven IT needs and, more importantly, budgets. It requires careful planning of your entire system from the content structure to the templates and how its various add-ons and modules can work together to meet IT specifications. And one must be able and willing to learn to code.
Unfortunately, because of the high resource and budget requirements, more people are choosing WordPress and other less resource intensive content management systems. In my professional opinion, automating the software update system in a manner similar to WordPress would go a long way towards making ExpressionEngine a more attractive and budget-friendly solution.
- WordPress,Drupal,Statamic
Before finding ExpressionEngine, I'd always been frustrated by the shoddy, convoluted front-end code created by other content manage systems or their plugins. ExpressionEngine does a fantastic job in separating the content from the code, allowing you to build custom templates from scratch. A potential downside here is that you have to build those templates from scratch. I don't see this a downside — I'd rather write all of the markup in the sites I create than rely on someone who may do things slightly differently than I do. ExpressionEngine is nowhere near as easy to set up a simple site as WordPress, and doesn't offer the level of control through the admin panel that Drupal does — but after years of using all three, I always come back to ExpressionEngine.
August 19, 2015
Powerhouse CMS great for ecommerce and large sites
- Craft,Statamic,Wordpress
ExpressionEngine vs. WordPress - This is a no brainer. ExpressionEngine provides way more control over page fields and a better way to manage URLs and website taxonomy.
ExpressionEngine vs. Craft - Craft is very comparable to ExpressionEngine. It is newer, so the variety of modules and support channels are fewer. Craft has a cleaner admin screen, and allows for reusable blocks of fields/code. Craft is built by the creators of many popular ExpressionEngine modules, so it builds upon the ExpressionEngine experience by addressing some of the features that were left out.
ExpressionEngine vs. Statamic - Statamic is a flat file CMS, which means you can use version control on your content! This new CMS is preferable for really small sites, it has less robust user management tools and doesn't allow content to be integrated to the same effect.
ExpressionEngine vs. Craft - Craft is very comparable to ExpressionEngine. It is newer, so the variety of modules and support channels are fewer. Craft has a cleaner admin screen, and allows for reusable blocks of fields/code. Craft is built by the creators of many popular ExpressionEngine modules, so it builds upon the ExpressionEngine experience by addressing some of the features that were left out.
ExpressionEngine vs. Statamic - Statamic is a flat file CMS, which means you can use version control on your content! This new CMS is preferable for really small sites, it has less robust user management tools and doesn't allow content to be integrated to the same effect.
- Joomla!,SquareSpace,WordPress
ExpressionEngine outweighs most all of its competitors by being so flexible. If you can imagine it, then you can build it with EE (ExpressionEngine). Most competitors lock you in with certain ways to build your website or use only their tools; ExpresionEngine gives you the freedom to build how you would like and decide how you want your site to run and operate. The ease of use for clients to go in and edit their content is great, and I am able to control the way they edit that content to make it the easiest for them. The feature set and plugins for EE are great, and I am able to provide top service for my clients by using EE.
July 21, 2015
Beginner!
I can't answer and compare this.
July 20, 2015
There's a Lot to LovEE about ExpressionEngine!
- Perch,ProcessWire,Craft
I have only evaluated these products. They all are very strong in their own ways (some may be stronger than ExpressionEngine) but I simply haven't had time to learn them in more detail.
- WordPress,Joomla!,Mambo
ExpressionEngine is vastly more flexible than any other content management system I have used to date and the quality of the add-ons are significantly higher than what you find in other directories. The ExpressionEngine community is also very willing and helpful with if you have any questions or run into any issues.
July 17, 2015
ExpressionEngine review
- WordPress,Django,Drupal,Magento,Craft
Again, for most of our customers' projects, ExpressionEngine is a great solution due to its flexibility, extensibility, and ease of use. We rarely come up against a situation for which EE is not a suitable solution.
July 17, 2015
ExpressionEngine has potential
- WordPress,Modx
I've used WordPress for much smaller sites with a very limited budget and fast turn-around time. WordPress does well at installing, adding a theme, minor customizations and launch in a very fast timeframe. This can all be realistically done in a single sitting. ExpressionEngine requires much more attention and understanding of the system to build a functioning website. The install has an option to install a default theme, however I have found it more useful as a working example for learning to build with the system than as a template to build another site in though it is possible.
- WordPress,Joomla!
We do use other services too. WordPress is another great option that we use frequently, but ExpressionEngine is great for more complex designs and dev features.
ExpressionEngine was selected prior to my hiring. We are likely switching from ExpresionEngine to WordPress or Drupal in the near future to save money on custom modules.
July 07, 2015
ExpressionEngine - a CMS for all seasons
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
It isn't fair to compare WordPress and ExpressionEngine. In my opinion they are solving different problems. Both are well-documented, trusted and professional CMS solutions. I believe ExpressionEngine is more scalable, and has a better architecture for complex data storage and organization. I use both products, along with many others. I prefer to find the most appropriate tool for the job at hand. Most of my projects have been a great match for what ExpressionEngine offers and I have been extremely pleased with the results thus far.