Back in 2007, our search began for an open source web application and framework that could be used to create and develop commercial websites, corporate intranets and extranets, online publishing portals and custom vertical applications. Having .net and sql server development in-house skills, we logically focused on looking for a product that supported these skill sets and very soon stumbled upon DotNetNuke. Within hours, our first website was up and running and, since then, we haven’t looked back.
So why do we continue to use and recommend DotNetNuke?
1. Scalability
Whether you’re looking to set up a small-company-five-page-website or looking to build an online web application containing hundreds of pages of workflow, DotNetNuke can do the job. The DotNetNuke site itself receives over 3.7million hits each month and major sporting broadcasters have used it in the construction of their websites in order to cope with the large numbers of hits they receive soon after a game. The best part is that, as your business requirements grow, your site can be easily adapted to meet demand.
2. Design
Skin design incorporates the branding appearance and navigation of the web site. Professional and sophisticated skin templates are available and can be applied in a few minutes to dress up your site.
If you are looking for a more custom look, this can be adapted quite easily from original graphics or html designs. The skins are search-engine-friendly and easy for someone with a little CSS knowledge to manipulate further down the line, should this be required. Skins can be changed like a suit of clothes and can be set on a page-by-page basis.
3. Available Applications
Today there are thousands of applications available, which are designed as modules specifically for DotNetNuke, that are either free or for sale at a very reasonable cost. These include online stores, appointment booking systems, event management, and CRM modules, to name a few. There are even tool sets specifically for DotNetNuke that allow non-developers to build custom applications.
It has been the availability of these external modules and tools that have helped us build sophisticated applications, such as Learning Management Systems, Customer Relationship Systems and Job Search Engines for our clients at a fraction of the cost of other providers.
4. Granular Security
DotNetNuke has good role-based-security, which is easily expanded by the average site owner. You can determine who sees which pages, and even which areas can be seen on each page by the Security roles. Some users can have editing rights to specific areas, while others have rights to other areas. This allows employees without any programming knowledge to update and make sure information is relevant and of interest.
9. Large Community
There are currently over a million websites using DotNetNuke, ensuring its’ on-going development. The community has over 850,000 registered members, so whether you are an IT decision maker, developer, designer, site administrator or end user there are ample resources available to get support, improve your skills or find training. To take the technology to the high end of the market, there are new additions which do carry a cost, but are there for the major corporations who need them, while the Community Edition remains free.
10. Free BSD License
DotNetNuke was originally developed by passionate developers as a hobby, but this has now grown far beyond that into a new era of open-source-code, effectively managed by a professional team who earn their income by providing extended versions to major corporations. Medium and small businesses benefit enormously from this model and have access to the software free of charge.
If you have any questions about DotNetNuke or how the software platform can benefit your business please do not hesitate to contact us.