For a few years, I used to research open source Content Management Systems annually. Two years ago I stopped because I finally settled upon Drupal. It's gone from strength to strength ever since and I now use it for most of my sites.

What makes it good? Well, there are plenty of other people writing reviews and telling you how great it is. Here, I'm going to tell you about how you can avoid some of the mistakes I made. In other words, I may sound critical and mention some problem areas, but don't take this the wrong way. I like Drupal. It does what it says on the box and it has served my needs admirably.

Summary

Before digging into the details, here's a summary:

• You don't need a PhD - You do need to be computer literate.
• There's ample documentation - It could be better organised.
• Choose your first version wisely - Or spend more time upgrading.
• Multi-language capabilities are very good - But only from version 6.
• Many attractive themes are available - But quality varies enormously.
• There are a huge number of modules available - Choose your modules wisely.
• Performance is OK with the core system - Take care as you scale.
• Take a look at a few other CMSs just to make sure.

I'll fill out more details on each of the above points in my next bulletin.