10 July, 2013

DotNetNuke, Kentico, Umbraco – The War for the Best ASP.NET CMS is on!


With the passage of time, ASP.NET is evolving with an increasing number of high grade options for extensive content management systems. On the basis of user requirements, there are a variety of quality options available both with open source code and with commercial licenses. Although PHP is still considered as a prominent ruler of the web, there is enough room for some striking ASP.NET CMSs that have the potential to empower you to create exclusive, gorgeous and efficiently performing websites. It will also render you the opportunity to work over the immensely popular .NET platform that is commonly used in businesses. Whether you are game for a commercial solution or are looking for some open source stuff, top ASP.NET CMSs like DotNetNuke, Kentico or Umbraco can conveniently give you the desired functionality and support. Let us discuss the exclusive features of these three impressive CMSs, which rule the roost in ASP.Net cms development.

Features of three of the best CMSs

* DotNetNuke: It is by far the most popular amongst the ASP.NET CMSs. One of the striking features of this open source CMS is that it can be conveniently installed and made functional within a very short span of time. Moreover, DotNetNuke comes in multiple versions which ensure flexibility of use so far as amateur web developers, small and medium enterprises or large businesses are concerned. It makes for easy management of websites by content editors, administrators, designers and developers.

This CMS makes room for a plethora of built-in features that leads to commendable functionality. From site hosting to content management, membership options, web design and security, every activity can be customized and managed with the help of hassle-free browser-oriented tools. Interestingly, there is also a feature enabling multi-language localization that facilitates the translation of sites into many languages.

For users who are happy with the features offered by the open source community, the Community Edition of DotNetNuke can be offered against the BSD License. It comprises almost all the features of the other editions, while the support depends on the community. The Professional Edition renders support from the DotNetNuke Corporation along with some more features while the Enterprise Edition offers extended features with phone support.

* Kentico: This CMS also offers more than one licensing options. The free edition is difficult to find and requires the user to display the copyright information as well as the logo on the page. The commercial versions can render support without the rebranding specification. Kentico focuses on the three crucial areas of Social Networking, E-Commerce and Content Management. So far as flexibility of content management is concerned, Kentico provides tailor-made document fields and types as well as provision for separation of content or design. The e-commerce module allows creation of online stores that can be integrated with gateways like PayPal. Social Networking is made convenient through facilitation of blogs and forums.

* Umbraco: In the recent times, Umbraco is increasingly being recognized by designers because of its open template system and the capability of automating formatting of content. This CMS works with the XSLT and the ‘master pages’ of ASP.NET, so there is no need to manage a crowded template format. Formulated in C#, this CMS is compatible with a number of databases, which makes for convenient hosting. The free version is totally open source, wherein there is no license fee, while in the Pro version the price varies as per the type of support and availability of tools. Regarding content management, there is no limit on the levels, types of content or categories.

DotNetNuke, Umbraco and Kentico are indeed among the best ASP.NET CMSs in the market. A careful study of the features of each will immensely help you gain a relative insight into what each has to offer and have a comprehensive idea about the benefits.

We provide CMS Customization services. If you would like to discuss more about our Kentico CMS customization expertise, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

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