Media-cow.com

A very nice write-up on how she moved her site(s) over from wordpress, covering issues such as site directory structure, the export/import approach used, redirecting old urls and switching over the templates.  It’s a nice long read that isn’t too technical, but that does give a good overview of the issues that crop up when changing over to EE from another system.  Well worth reading, whether you actually need to transfer a site or not, as it gives some ‘real life’ examples of EE’s flexibility.

Archived: 11/10/2006 - Permalink

Simon Rudkin continues his guest stint with the second installment of his EE tips.  Again, don’t expect in-depth code examples.  Instead you’ll find tips on planning, the flexibility and usefulness of weblogs/sections, and use of templates for producing quick test pages.

Archived: 11/10/2006 - Permalink

Simon Rudkin guest posts on Simon Collison - and gives us this nice 2-part series of tips on getting the most out of ExpressionEngine.  It’s not tech or code heavy, but it is good advice.  There are tips on templating and the usefulness of embeds, using status settings to create a ‘production’ view of articles, some suggestions on the flexibility of custom fields and weblog/data container use.  Two of my favorite suggestions don’t get stated as much, perhaps because folks think they’re ‘no brainers’- but staying up-to-date on EE versions and participating in the EE forum?  Honestly, that’s some of the best advice there is.

Archived: 11/10/2006 - Permalink

Veerle Pieters, winner in the ‘Personal’ category in pMachine’s design shootoout, shares how she implemented her EE site.  It’s an excellent article, focusing on template organization and setup.  She lays out her weblog/section structure, templates and template groups, use of global variables- all of it accompanied by screen shots and code snippets.

It’s a great resource for someone looking for practical, working examples of how to structure an ExpressionEngine powered site.  While there is no one ‘right way’ to do it, the more examples like this you look at, the better you’ll understand your options.

Archived: 11/10/2006 - Permalink

I always enjoy a good debate over cms’s- this one takes a look at the pros and cons of ExpressionEngine vs. Textpattern.  Though the philosophical and practical aspects of opensource vs. the alternatives takes a bit more focus than it probably warrants, it’s a good thread for getting a variety of views from cms aficionados.  EE scores with the flexibility of its custom fields, opinions vary on the tag structure and backend organization, and there’s some digression into plugin vs. core functionality organizational structures.  I think it offers some insights into both systems.  There’s a related thread in the EE forums

Archived: 11/10/2006 - Permalink

Expression Engine (EE) is one of the best blog and CMS software around.

A flattering review of EE 1.3.1, this article gives and overview of the pros and cons of ExpressionEngine.  Of the good?  Functionality, ease of customization, docs, development cycle and support.  Of the bad?  The interface can be a bit clunky and trackback spam hasn’t been addressed as well as comment spam has.  (True enough- but under improvement.)  This is a good, quick rundown of EE at the time it was done.

Archived: 11/14/2006 - Permalink

It’s always fun to read a ‘Rick interview’ and get a glimpse at the thoughts of the man behind it all.  This one focuses on his background, the company’s background, and the development platform and tools used by the EE crew (they’re big Mac fans, not surprisingly).  There’s a bit of talk about open source tools and a lot of focus on Mac- cause hey, it IS a Mac site!

Archived: 11/20/2006 - Permalink

Mark Boulton addresses questions from designers concerning his move to an ExpressionEngine powered site.  His overview includes a discussion of why he went with EE (custom fields played a large part), how it compares to MoveableType, the EE learning curve and whether it’s worth the investment.  One point he made stood out to me:

Another one of the reasons for choosing EE is that it’s a system I can invest my time in learning, knowing that I can use it for a wide range of commercial applications as well as my own site.

I’d agree- the more you use EE, the greater the initial investment in learning it pays off.

Archived: 11/10/2006 - Permalink

An older article that compares MT with EE with specific focus on the use of a cms to power a corporate weblog farm.  I’ll note that EE’s license currently prohibits the use of EE as a blog farm, though whether the particular situation discussed in the article would fit that definition is unclear.  Still, the comparison is an interesting one, covering a range elements worth considering when choosing a cms.  That includes licensing, support options, server requirements and web standards compliance.

Archived: 11/10/2006 - Permalink