Symphony.

Hi all,

I've been interested in this project for a fair while now but I've only had one chance to use it and that was on a relatively small basic site. I personally really like how well-written the code is and how easy the system is to use. My problem is that I am trying to find an ideal solution for my company to use and I need to be able to answer some basic questions quite quickly to convince them that symphony cms is the way to go.

My company requires a number of features and I was wondering if you could tell me whether they are possible?

• Multiple sites from one system
• Very easy to use interface for clients
• Easily integrate front-end and back-end extensions
• Concept of regions within a template
• Preview content before publishing/Publishing workflow
• Document manager that integrates with content
• Share content between sites but also be able to limit to one
• News system/Events system
• Form handling (database storage)

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Kind regards

hdPhoenix

Symphony is a little different to other content management system you might be familiar with. The main difference to other systems is that you are able to define your own content structure. Many of the features you are seeking are all possible with the Symphony, it is not without a caveat: many of the features have to be defined yourself.

The best example I can give is a comparison between a pre-built toy robot versus a box full of lego parts. Symphony falls under the latter.

Symphony is a great tool that allow users with some web knowledge (note: programming experience is not a requirement) to build their ideal website with.

Please keep this general concept in mind when you read the response to your requirements

Multiple sites from one system

This can be done using the "Ninja Domains" technique in Symphony.

Very easy to use interface for clients

This might be a little difficult to answer objectively. Our engineering team strive to ensure the system's user interface is very simple to use. Symphony has a dedicated group of members where their role is to continuously improve on the system's user experience.

Easily integrate front-end and back-end extensions

Symphony currently has around 260 extensions, installing an extension is as easy as dropping the extension under the "extensions" folder (and naming the extension folder correctly) and enabling it on the admin.

Concept of regions within a template

Yes. However, a user can define their templates to fit their needs, a user will need to define the concept of regions in the system themselves.

Preview content before publishing/Publishing workflow

There are a couple of extensions that can provide entry previewing. In terms of publishing workflow, this can be done by using a combination of native functionality and extensions.

Document manager that integrates with content

You can create a document manager inside Symphony.

Share content between sites but also be able to limit to one

This can be supported but is based on how you have defined your content/publishing structure.

News system/Events system

Symphony doesn't come with any predefined systems. You are able to create/define these as you see fit.

Form handling (database storage)

Yes. Symphony supports form handling by way of Symphony "Events". You can create these without needing to touch any php code.

I hope this has answered your questions.

Hi Allen,

Sorry for the late response. Thank you for your input it helped to confirm the general gist of what I expected to get from Symphony. As far as I can see it is a very unique and powerful CMS and I look forward to using (and hopefully contributing to) it in the future. I can now put forward these points to my company. Thanks again.

Kind regards

hdPhoenix