What is the best script to use to build my website?

[Cholo]

Hey guys.  I've got a question that I actually posted on smf-friends.org earlier today, but then read a couple posts and realized that board was pretty dead.  So I figured I should ask around other places and thought I could get some good input here.  Below is the original post.  Sorry for the repost, but I think it's easier like this. 

I'm trying to figure out the best script to use to build a particular type of website.  I'm sure there's tons of scripts out there that would or could work, but I want to make sure to build on the most solid foundation and ensure the best experience from a user's as well as an administrator's standpoint.  I figure you guys here would be the best group to ask.


It would be my boss's site and we already have an example of what we want built at Hire Local Counsel, but this was built quickly using Wordpress and isn't optimal, but at least you can get the idea of what we're trying to accomplish. I'm sure a Wordpress developer would be able to modify the existing site to do what we want it to do, but my guess is that starting over from scratch on a script better suited to this kind of job will be a better route in the end. 

As you can see, the site is intended to be a directory of New York attorneys who are willing to do of-counsel work for other lawyers in New York and outside the state/country.  It would also function as a court directory, listing all existing courts in the state along with information about the court.

Some of the most important functions of this website would be:

- Users register/unregister themselves and manage their own profile.  This "profile" would need to function as a webpage where the user could list links to their own website, upload photos, embed videos, and display important information like the particular courts the attorney is available to do work in.  These courts would be preselects that the user would choose from upon registering.  I think the profile page and court page could be created using the same "function" so different user permissions and management of those permissions would probably be needed.

- Registration will be paid and would need to be connected to Paypal where subscriptions could be selected in yearly increments.  Recurred billing would be the default.

- There will be a lot of pages and information on this site so the script needs to be as lightweight and quick as possible. 

- I know this doesn't have so much to do with the script itself, but a pleasing design would be important, although not the top priority at all.


I think that covers what the site needs to do, although there may be necessary functions I haven't considered yet in all this.  Any help is appreciated as usual.

Any input you experienced guys have would be very helpful, thanks.

[xero]

I would personally suggest using a php framework and build a custom application specific to your needs. However, in the end you can create the same thing from any Content Management System. The reason I suggest using a Framework to build an application is that it gives you total control over the structure of the application, rather than having to conform to standards and practices used by common content management systems.

[Refalm]

I would personally suggest using a php framework and build a custom application specific to your needs.

I know people who did that, and where busy fixing major security flaws most of the time.

There are so many CMS packages these days, that you can easily choose one that suits your needs.

[Cholo]

Thanks very much for the responses guys. 

@ Xero:  Along the same lines of Refalm's comment, I imagine building a custom framework would be much more time consuming and expensive than using a pre-built script and tweaking it to fit the needs of the site.  Though I did consider this at first and still am a little bit. 

The more I think about it though, the more I'm convincing myself that SMF will actually work perfectly for this project.  Categories on the current WP site could be boards on an SMF site with individual courts listed as posts.  Paid subscriptions are already built in.  We would probably have to contract out a few mods to accomplish what we want with the profile.  And we'd need a Themer who could make this look as little like a forum as possible.  I might end up building this, but I'd rather just oversee as I'm tied up as it is.

Any of you guys live in Albany?

[Pyro]

What scripts have you tried already? I find it best to test the ones I've heard and see how well I like the interface, features, ect. If you want to use a cms system I suggest druple or MAXDEV.

http://php.opensourcecms.com/scripts/details.php?scriptid=45&name=MAXdev

Other than that what else do you need? Galleries, video's, forums? Vbulletin offers a full cms portall now. It's not cheap but works great.

[xero]

I was not suggesting developing a custom framework, as this requires a lot of time and effort. I was suggesting developing an application on top of an existing framework.

And as far as Content Management Systems vs. Web Frameworks are concerned, they both run the risk of having security holes. I personally find that Web Frameworks are more responsive to security issues than Content Management Systems, as most Web Frameworks have nightly builds, where Content Management Systems follow a release cycle. It all depends on the project, too, so be sure not to rule out any solution.

[Cholo]

Thanks once again xero - do you have any particular suggestions you think I should look at? 

[xero]

It really depends a lot on how much time you want to devote learning a framework. Frameworks are amazing once you understand how they work, as you can create complicated web applications (such as forums, blogs, etc) in minimal time, but they typically have a larger learning curve than most content management systems, which limit you to what they have included, unless you want to learn how to develop a module for a content management system, which can be very tedious.

I would recommend looking into CodeIgniter, Symfony, and Cake before making a decision, as many frameworks are based on these three frameworks. I'm not certain about the future of Cake, since many of their lead developers recently left the project to work on a new framework project. I'm not sure what CodeIgniter has in store for the future, but they are currently one of the few web frameworks that still support PHP4. The Symfony project, like many open source solutions, is heading in the direction of PHP5.3.

I really don't know much about how Content Management Systems have progressed in the past few years, but I keep hearing about the Joomla! Content Management System, so it might be another thing to look into. I'd ask someone who knows more about other Content Management Systems though, and decide which suites you best.

As I said, I personally think web application frameworks can help you develop applications in minimal time, but they are not for everybody and every project.

[Cholo]

Yeah, in a case like this I think my boss wouldn't mind hiring someone to build the site for him but I imagine that can get really expensive, especially if there's a need for a backend that lets you administer and make changes to the site yourself. I'm not sure though.  Thanks again for the good info.