Roles on site compared with existing software

  • Sorry for the long story, but I’m interested in your opinion about something, preferably from people who know both WP and Joomla.

    I was asked to take over the website of an organisation I am member of. This website badly needs to be updated, it runs on Joomla 1.5. Because I have no experience with Joomla, I set up a testsite in WP in which I tried to re-make the website. The website is rather complex. There is a closed part with users with different levels of access:
    – Each user can have one of three levels of access (for example ‘student’);
    – AND each user has access to only the information of the subgroup (s)he is member of (for example ‘placename’);
    – Some users can write/edit texts that they have access to.

    I started with Role Scoper and got what I needed. I started with the idea that some users have access to the dashboard to edit what they should be able to, but I had to install some plugins to remove things from the dashboard (and hide the dashboard alltogether for users who read-only access). The current webmaster wants to keep the current front-end WYSIWYG editor in tact, but I have not found a proper one yet.

    After a couple of weeks of experimenting, I now have a website using 20 plugins still not doing exactly what I want. What is worse, Role Scoper is no longer maintained; my biggest fear for a website with so many plugins. (Role Scoper is replaced, but this is not an update.) A PDF-viewer plugin (and a gallery plugin) does not do exactly what I need either.

    The old Joomla site has only two plugins/extensions, one member management plugin and a document viewer (are Joomla extension of the Joomla crew or, like with us, can they be of anyone?). All the rest seems to be ‘out of the box’. There I come with my 20 plugins, the most important of which will be outdated soon.

    So now I’m wondering. What if I just upgrade Joomla and learn myself the ways of our biggest competition instead of setting up a ‘not exactly what we want’ website with a load of plugins running the risk of discontinued maintenance for each of them?

    In your opinion. Are WP and Joomla better or less equipped for certain proects?

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    Hi Roy!

    *Dials down the coffee*

    In your opinion. Are WP and Joomla better or less equipped for certain proects?

    As these are WordPress support forums I’d be surprised if any useful Joomla replies happened.

    It’s a good question but the title “WordPress or…. Joomla…?” won’t get you the right replies so I’ve edited it to “Roles on site compared with existing software” which seems like a better topic to get answers.

    The old topic title was well, link bait’ish.

    Can you abstract the requirements some more? As you’re aware there are many role and membership plugins. If you can reduce it to the requirements a little more then there may be someone who can reply with a WordPress plugin and examples.

    Thread Starter Roy

    (@gangleri)

    It’s not just roles. Role Scoper / Press Permit Core is a plugin that does what I need it to. Also, on the Joomla site, one of the two plugins is a Role Scoper comparison; but the rest…

    As WYSIWG front end editor, this one is the only one I found so far that only allows editing only for posts and pages that somebody has rights for. It is work in progress, but the request is for something like the WYSIWYG editor in the dashboard, but then, front end. (Joomla seems to have this by default.)

    And then, I have a plugin to hide the dashboard, a plugin to edit the admin menus (for those with access), a tiny MCE editor to allow users to use tables (not my idea…), a sidebar login plugin that redirects to my choosing (hence: not the dashboard), two plugins to display PDF’s in ‘lightboxes’, two plugins to allow my users to make their pages the same way they are now (hide title, last updated shortcode) and some security plugins. (Role Scoper, I haven’t yet tried its follow-up also has a feature to disallow access to media in certain roles).
    Totaling 20.

    My main point is, I have to tell the current webmaster that I need 20 plugins to make something that compares to his website with two plugins/extension. That’s 20 plugins with the risk of discontinued maintenance, conflicts between different plugins or with WP, etc. the most important of which (Role Scoper) has been discontinued while I was setting up the test-site.

    Since not everything works the way I want to and the WYSIWYG front end editor is a ‘hard demand’, I started to consider the option to learn Joomla, upgrade and leave things the way they are. That is probably less work and perhaps even less risk.

    Hence my question: is WP better for some projects and Joomla better for other projects?

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
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