I’m migrating the one shore website and wiki to a new server. So I’m evaluating new software to use along with the migration, because it’s easiest to do, and once it gets moved over, there won’t be the momentum to do it later (which may be a good thing — it’s really a time sink.)
So I’ve been reviewing other products including Xwiki and Sitellite. I think I know what I want in a wiki or CMS and have detailed it before, but I came across a good article that’s helped me start asking myself some serious questions.
Top 10 mistakes when selecting a CMS.
I’ve been using Twiki for a wiki. I like it’s featureset as a product, except it could be easier to customize the layout and appearance. (I still haven’t gotten around to doing it.) The hierarchy of pages and friendly urls are important to me. I like being able to have URLS like /tools/qa/defecttracking/bugzilla.
But do I really need a wiki (for tools)? I like the idea that others could edit pages, but that hasn’t happened. And if it does, do I really want a free-form wiki that anyone can edit? The answer is no, because in order for a wiki to overcome the dangers of spam and vandalism, you have to have a critical mass of active users. So I only want registered users to be able to edit and create pages, at least for now.
I prefer a system where content is extractible and versionable. Wikis beat out most CMS systems here. I guess what I’d really like is a CMS that respects my content and layout. Meaning it doesn’t capture it or hold it hostage.
I want pages with content that can be wrapped in my website theme, that is searchable, has pretty urls, and can have structured pages (like the tools wiki), include date specific pages (like the blog) which can be categorized, and commented on. And I want the static “about us” and “products” type pages, as well as forms like “contact us” and ecommerce capabilities “order now”. Ecommerce is not a necessity at this time. Even forwarding to paypal or some third party system is acceptable. I want comments and submissions on the tools wiki, but restricted editing. I’ll need spam control on comments, but I’d like to review comments on blog and knowledgebase entries anyway.
So a knowledgebase-type application is what I want for the tools section. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a wiki, though I thought at one point a wiki would be the easiest solution. I thint that a bug-tracking type application is actually what I want. (This is also what I’d like to see for a requirements system.)
A “content” section that is easily editable, and versioned
Comments that are monitored, but free for all to enter.
Submissions (like Nate’s tip submission) for new pages
Searchability
Navigability (the tree widget)
Taggability — I need to convert the tools tree widget into tags, since some products fit into multiple categories.
The ability to export the content (and comments, preferably) so that I can transfer it to another system.
Maybe what I want is to just use a “blog” to describe products. I typically review products in my blog anyway, and it keeps the content fresh (and indicates what may be out of date) — I’d want “created” and “last edited” fields displayed on the wiki.