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DotNetNuke open-source content management software (CMS) has been increasing in popularity for the past few years. While compared to the CMS giants (WordPress, Joomla!, and Drupal) DotNetNuke still has a way to go in terms of number of users. This is not to say that it doesn’t have its merits when compared to other CMS. In this article we will discuss the DotNetNuke CMS, compare it to the most popular CMS (WordPress), present an overview of the difference between CMS and document management software (DMS) and look at areas where eFileCabinet surpasses DotNetNuke and other CMS.


What is Content Management Software (CMS)?

Content management software (CMS) is a system that supports the creation, management, distribution and publishing of corporate information to a predefined audience.

When used for websites, its main purpose is to manage the life cycle of pages on a site by providing tools for easy content creation, publishing, and archiving. CMS is also used to govern the appearance and overall navigational structure of the website.

Some of the features of effective CMS include:

  • Web-based publishing abilities
  • Powerful navigational features
  • Index and search capabilities
  • Content format management
  • Ability to deliver content to a defined audience

In addition to DotNetNuke, some of the most popular CMS used today are WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, ExpressionEngine, Concrete5 and ModX, to name a few. Each of these CMS systems varies in its strengths and applicability.


A Little Background on DotNetNuke Open-Source CMS

DotNetNuke is an open-source CMS based on Microsoft .NET framework. DotNetNuke was originally written in VB.NET, though the development has shifted to C# since the release of version 6.0. It is distributed under both a Community Edition MOT license and Commercial Proprietary license as DN Evoq Content and DNN Evoq Engage editions.


DotNetNuke vs. WordPress

As mentioned previously, DotNetNuke does not enjoy the popularity of WordPress, Joomla!, or Drupal. Approximately 46% of the top 10,000 websites are powered by the WordPress platform, while DotNetNuke boasts a modest 0.55%. Despite this humble figure, it is still considered one of the top 10 CMS systems available today.

Let’s compare the features of these 2 CMS systems (WordPress and DotNetNuke) to shed some light on their strengths and weaknesses.


Target Audience and User Base

The difference in market share between these 2 CMS systems gives an indication that the 2 systems are used for very distinct purposes. DotNetNuke users tend to fall under medium sized, enterprise ecommerce websites while WordPress users tend to fall under the following categories:

  • Portfolio purposes (artists, designers, photographers, etc.)
  • Corporate/business websites
  • News/magazine websites
  • Blogging

As we can see from the disparity in the user base, DotNetNuke caters to a much smaller, targeted range of users as compared to WordPress.


Administration and User Interface

The administrative interface of DotNetNuke is integrated into the website design directly. This means that in order to make adjustments to the website one must navigate through the various website pages. This is in stark contrast to WordPress, which consists of an intuitive administrator interface where posts and pages can be managed from a centralized location. For this reason DotNetNuke is widely considered by users to be clunkier and more difficult to use than WordPress. This fact has also been alluded to in DotNetNuke reviews.



Plugins, Add-Ons, and Community

This is an area where WordPress surpasses DotNetNuke by leaps and bounds. DotNetNuke unfortunately does not have any free plugins and themes available for users, which is a significant disadvantage. Themes and plugin functionality can only be expanded with the help of modules that are obtained from third parties.

By contrast, WordPress boasts a large repository of free plugins and themes which can be downloaded for free. The WordPress community is also very active, creating hundreds of themes and plugins daily.


DotNetNuke vs. eFileCabinet

Though DotNetNuke has its merits, it simply cannot fulfill the needs of document management software (DMS) such as eFileCabinet. DMS is an electronic system designed with the sole purpose of organizing and managing documents. Documents in this case refer to popular structured file formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, etc.

DMS effectively handles onerous tasks such as creation, distribution, and archiving of documents. These documents are usually organized in a way that provides users with the ability to access, modify, and centrally store them.

DotNetNuke differs from eFileCabinet in two distinct areas. DotNetNuke, being CMS, is best at handling unstructured file formats such as flash and multimedia files, images, and graphical content. DMS such as eFileCabinet is best suited to handle structured file formats like those mentioned above.

Another area in which these two systems differ is in their usage. CMS such as DotNetNuke is used for content delivery, which is why they are mostly utilized for websites applications. The ability to structure website content and page navigation make it ideal for commercial and corporate websites as well as blogs. DMS is aimed at users who are interested in storing and tracking content as opposed to publishing it.

At the end of the day, CMS and DMS are like apples and oranges, and their applicability is dependent on the needs of each individual user.


Advantages of Using eFileCabinet

eFileCabinet possesses a multitude of advantages over DotNetNuke with respect to document management. Should an individual be concerned about setting up a proper filing system, moving to a paperless environment, or finding a way to safely and securely transfer files, then eFileCabinet’s tools and solutions are perfectly suited to the task.

In addition to being clunky to use according to online user reviews, DotNetNuke simply does not meet the criteria of effective DMS like eFileCabinet does.

eFileCabinet has been built with integrated compliance for regulatory standards such as HIPAA and FINRA. Professional organizations know the importance of being in compliance with document standards and regulations. In addition to being HIPAA and FINRA complaint, the eFileCabinet environment also facilitates ease of auditing. Folder structures and document creation processes are transparent and easily accessible from within the system. Additionally, external auditors can gain access to files remotely resulting in a faster and less painful auditing process.

Though CMS has security measures that can qualify them as appropriate DMS, the solutions provided by eFileCabinet apply redundant safety measures to ensure that files are truly private and protected from hackers. All files are strongly encrypted and kept in secure databases with state-of-the-art intrusion detection mechanisms.

As an added layer of security, eFileCabinet provides regular backups to ensure that files can be retrieved in the event of unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters, fire, theft, or systems failure. CMS does not typically come with built-in backup capabilities and usually require third-party applications to make this possible.

These are just a few of the advantages to using eFileCabinet over DotNetNuke for your DMS needs. You can discover even more benefits by filling out our form for a 15-minute demo.