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The CMS Report: Kentico Review

by Omar AlBadri on 1/12/2009 5:20:00 PM

This week I review the .Net CMS Kentico...

 The CMS Report: Kentico Review

The goal of the CMS report is to help/inform developers on what CMS platform they should use for their projects. I started these article to help, warn and direct a user to chose the correct CMS for their perspective projects. Use these reviews as a guideline to see what potential advantages and downfalls you can get with each CMS i review.

 This week I review and rate Kentico a .NET CMS. Again the rating system is simple: 1 meaning this feature or item is poorly designed, implemented or overall useless and 10 meaning this feature/ item is about as perfect as you could want it. 

Kentico 3.1a

Overview: Kentico is a .NET Content Management System that has work flow, version control and a lot of other features that have not been a priority on mid-level CMS for .NET systems.

Kentico works as follows: You have your designer create a HTML wire frame complete with the CSS. Then you import said design into Kentico and start marking off sections as "WebPartZones" and then save this template as a Page Layout. WebPartZones are configurable, controllable CMS parts that can have Modules(User Controls) loaded into them. Using the page layout you can create new pages and load different modules into each of the WebPartZones. The modules are simply .NET user controls (.ascx files) that work with in Kentico framework to provide functionality.

 Lets begin the review remember 1 mean that the item or feature was poorly implemented and 10 means that item or feature is amazingly well though out or works really well, lets look at each item:

Installation: Excellent(10)

Overall: Kentico's installer is one that all CMS should adapt. Beside doing all the work for you Kentico installer ask what type of site you want and wither you would like to have a wizard create one for you. Having the wizard create a site means that you can import object from already created sites to have all your modules, templates, etc imported for you automatically. Creating using a template allows you to choose from pre-made template or simple create a blank Kentico site

Drawbacks: Nothing really, the templates give you a nice starting point and the wizard allows you to do proof of concept code and then import the modules you like into the real project

Learning Curve: Average(5)

Overall: Kentico gives you lots and lots of options which can be a little overwhelming at first. There are two main areas of administration the "Site Manager" which controls your higher level administration task such as Users, permissions, web settings, and the core of your development( Modules, CSS,etc). The second is the  CMS desk which handles all your publishing, modules, templates and everything that would be associated with producing content. 

Drawbacks: Obviously you have to know .NET to produce modules, but Kentico also has many built in modules and more then likely modules for sale. So you might be able to get away with out knowing any C#/VB

Extensibility: Average(5)

Overall: Kentico has a few built in modules, but for custom app you are probably going to have to create each of the modules you need by hand. Kentico does provide the framework, but you will have to code the modules to work with Kentico to achieve your desired effect.

Drawbacks: The major drawback of Kentico is that there are not enough modules for it. Sure you can hand code a module to fill a specific need, but it would be nice if there were more free or commercially available modules that could be purchased and implemented on your site.  They do have a marketplace, but currently is is not open. 

Documentation: Excellent(10)

Overall: Kentico provides excellent PDF and online support. It gives you a healthy "Getting Started Guide " and provides commercial level support(with the pay version) to help you get over the development hump. If you use the free edition Kentico provides you forums were you can post your questions to other developers. Beside that they have a Blog section for additional Kentico news and support. A knowledge base section of proven methods to reach a desired effect. FAQ section to get you over the initial questions that you will encounter. Finally they have a documentation section that contains all the white papers and PDF files you will need

Drawbacks: The only thing they could add is Live Support but that is asking a little much

Overall: Very Good(8)

Kentico fills a huge need for a quality mid-price to free CMS in the .NET sector. Although not as hands off as a product as Drupal, it still provides a well though out interface, a robust framework, and features such as versioning and work flow are included. Kentico is the natural evolution of such CMS's like DotNetNuke and Sharepoint, but in my honest opinion does it better and cheaper. 

Kentico can be downloaded from here(Free 30 day trial with registration)