Whirlpool

I have designed a simple news type site using html and css. The design can be found at http://poynting.customer.netspace.net.au (yes I know it needs some modifications, up until today I had only viewed it on my monitor at home where it looked good, but looking at it from work it needs to be changed)

What I want to do is implement some kind of CMS so that I can add entries from any computer. I have never used a CMS before so I am a little confused.

Basically what I want is for the left and right columns to only have to be edited once and any changes will take affect on any page you view. Also I want to only have a preview of the story in the middle column and then a click here to read more link. I also want the ability for readers to leave comments.

Which CMS do you think would be the easiest/best for this? If someone could point me towards some documentation about how to implement what I want that would be awesome!
Cheers guys!

Wordpress or Concrete5 should do.

Cavaliere Nero writes...

Wordpress or Concrete5 should do.

Thanks mate. Is what I want to do with the menus and the comments and stuff easy?

Probably better with Wordpress than with Concrete5 on that one..

It'll give you the menus you want, the archives and inbuilt comments.

Cavaliere Nero writes...

It'll give you the menus you want, the archives and inbuilt comments.

Excellent. Just found this http://levoltz.com/2006/09/17/how-to-create-a-wordpress-template-in-5-minutes/
seems pretty straightforward. Thanks for your help mate. Now I just need to find a cheap host to put my site :)

Drupal is much nicer and has hundreds, if not thousands of themes and other add-ons.

www.drupal.org

If you're serious about your site, don't put it on the cheapest hosting you can find; it'll cause you problems.

Re CMS choice, Joomla is the most commonly used these days, followed by Drupal. I think Joomla is easier to get started with than Drupal.

You could produce a Joomla template easily by buying one from Yoothemes.com or using Artisteer.com's tool to design one. Will cost a little, but you'll get a nice result.

I had a look at your design and the content you're planning to have on it, and I also think that Wordpress would be the best CMS for you.

I'd say Wordpress too.

brianoz writes...

I think Joomla is easier to get started with than Drupal.

I started on Drupal, its pretty easy for a newbie. But yea Joomla is easy to learn :)

Thanks for your help guys.
I'm having a little more trouble converting it to wordpress then I thought I would. Hopefully I'll get it sorted out over the weekend though.

Loose Nut writes...

I'm having a little more trouble converting it to wordpress then I thought I would.

If you're new to Wordpress, I would recommend finding a free Wordpress theme that has a similar structure to what you're after, then download and customise it to your needs. (eg. http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/08/100-excellent-free-high-quality-wordpress-themes/). It'll help you to understand the way to design your theme, much easier than starting with the default theme and creating your own from scratch. That's how I did my first Wordpress site.