AlanBarber.Org
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
ExpressionEngine Powered!
Well it’s official… the blog is now powered by ExpressionEngine.
As I stated in an earlier post after the big uproar about the new pricing structure of MovableType the fine folks at pMachines took advantage of the situation and gave away 1250 free copies of their ExpressionEngine bloging software. I was one of those lucky 1250 and snagged a free copy.
So I’ve spent the last few weeks slowly learning EE and working to convert to this new system. It’s very different from MT that’s for sure. I’ll admit I still prefer certain features of MT over EE but the developers at pMachines are working on new features all the time. I’m sure with time they’ll meet and exceed my ever wish.
There are three major areas worth focusing on in this post:
1) The template system is very different from MT. Instead of separate templates for every page there is just one single template that morphs to fit the data that is requested. As a result it can be rather overwhelming trying to get the page to display how you want for single posts as opposed to the homepage.
2) EE is PHP driven which means every page view is rendered on the fly from the database. There are no static files that get rebuilt like MT did. There are pros and cons to both styles but in the long run I believe on the fly rendering is better suited.
3) EE is way more complex of a package. The amount of settings and features in EE blows MT out of the water. I’ll be outright honest and tell you that this is not for the newbie or casual computer user wanting to start a blog. Stick with the hosted services like LiveJournal because you’ll fell overwhelmed trying to work with EE. However, if you’re up for a challenge then go ahead. Challenges are fun!
Anyhoo, this is my first post and more of a test than anything else. I still have lots of work to do on the site. I need to convert over my other pages to match the new layout, there are still minor bugs and issues I’m sure hidden someplace that I need to try to track down, and I just need to spend time to learn more about EE.
As my girlfriend said when I said I was almost finished updating my site… Rock On!
Blogging •
ExpressionEngine •
(6) Comments •
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Here here! 
on 06/09/2004 at 03:07 PM
Hey I am doing some research on Expression Eng. I currently use pMachine Pro and love it. What is your opinion of EE and do you think it’s worth the money ?
Thanks so Much !!
Scott
Well scott…
Personally, I think EE is the dog’s bollocks! 
I’ve never used pMachines Free or Pro so I can’t really give you a comparison. However, EE is a pretty mighty piece of software with a lot of great features.
It’s still lacking in a few areas that I wish they would focus on.
1) Multiple blog support. Right now the way they handle multiple blogs is a kludge at best and very annoying.
2) No built in forum system. I would really like to see a forum of atleast phpBB calibur that is built right into EE.
just to name 2 things…
The main thing is that it is a rather expensive product. If you’re just goofing off with a small personal blog and PM Pro works fine then I would just stick with that.
If you plan to run a rather large site or just have tons of cash burning a hole in your pocket then hey go for it!
on 09/08/2004 at 03:59 PM
after doing some research on Expression Engine, I droped the pMachine Pro.
is it a good idea?
thanks
james
One thing to point out is that pMachine Pro has been discontinued. Version 2.4 is now the last version and is actually free to download from the pMachine website.
If all you need is simple blog system then check it out. Not like it’ll cost you anything(other than some time)
on 01/23/2005 at 01:09 AM
It’s a coincidence that we moved away from MT on the same day.
You should check out WordPress plugins. It is truly amazing. And, there’s nothing to miss from MT.
Here’s to a better day not using MT.