ExpressionEngine - a CMS for all seasons
Updated July 07, 2015

ExpressionEngine - a CMS for all seasons

Eric Nance | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

2.x

Overall Satisfaction with ExpressionEngine

I use ExpressionEngine as a tool in my arsenal to provide web design and development services to clients. I've found that it is an extremely flexible and scalable CMS solution for a large number of web application needs. ExpressionEngine is a blank canvas upon which my clients can build their web-based marketing and business solutions.

Pros

  • Flexible templating engine - ExpressionEngine makes no assumptions about what type of website or application you want to create. It does a good job of separating data from data presentation, allowing you to choose the front-end framework that works best for your/your client's needs.
  • Robust community support - The ExpressionEngine community is very helpful. There are many resources for third-party add-ons and technical support answers.
  • Forward-thinking architecture - Built on CodeIgniter, ExpressionEngine uses a well-documented and proven PHP architecture that is scalable and powerful.

Cons

  • Third-party AddOns - ExpressionEngine's flexibility is also a drawback. Because it makes no assumptions about your web project, it doesn't offer every feature under the sun. Expect to increase your budget to accommodate the variety of third-party AddOns that really make it shine. Not everything is done well, and some functionality is best left for dedicated third-party solutions.
  • Configuration - ExpressionEngine requires time and expertise to get an installation really dialed in before you can hit the ground running. There are a lot of configuration options, and adding third-party AddOns to the mix increases the amount of configuration. However, this is a good example of the power of the software. You have a lot of options and can really dial in security settings, software behavior, administrative access and so forth.
  • Positive - Better projects with larger budgets
  • Negative - Requires more time to get projects up and running
  • Positive - As a niche software project it helps me market specialized services
  • Negative - More difficult to find qualified contractors and support teams to assist with projects
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.
ExpressionEngine is a great choice for web projects that need a flexible CMS solutions that puts power and control in administrators' hands. I don't believe it's the best solutions for smaller web projects on limited budgets. ExpressionEngine can be overkill for smaller sites, like using a sledgehammer to drive a nail into butter.

It does a great job as a scalable and flexible CMS. ExpressionEngine begs you to be organized and think through your information architecture before you start coding. This is a good thing right? I think ExpressionEngine can quite possibly lead to a better website and a better user experience as you really need to think through channels, variables, custom fields and architecture.

ExpressionEngine Feature Ratings

6.8
WYSIWYG editor
6
Code quality / cleanliness
Not Rated
Admin section
6
Page templates
9
Library of website themes
Not Rated
Mobile optimization / responsive design
Not Rated
Publishing workflow
6
Form generator
Not Rated
10.0
Content taxonomy
10
SEO support
10
Bulk management
10
Availability / breadth of extensions
10
Community / comment management
10
5.0
API
5
Internationalization / multi-language
5
10.0
Role-based user permissions
10
CMS programming language or framework ()
Not Rated

Using ExpressionEngine

ExpressionEngine continues to evolve. The community support is fantastic. The software is adaptable to a variety of uses and my experience level with it makes it an easy choice for future projects.

Using ExpressionEngine

ExpressionEngine is very powerful and flexible. With this flexibility comes a bit of a learning curve. There are some great online resources for getting up to speed with EE, but the control panel can be a bit daunting. A lot of EE's installation process involves settings, configurations and flipping of switches. It is tedious, but well worth it as you ultimately have a very robust, secure and scalable CMS.

Also, as of version 2.9.2, the control panel isn't responsive natively. You'll want to have a big enough screen to see the full control panel UI. Personally, I think the control panel would benefit from a major overhaul. It would be nice to see the colors and UI controls "modernized" and be able to more effectively customize the layout. Yes, some of this is built-in, and there are third-party add-ons to help, but maybe we'll see more refinement in future versions.

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