It can get quite confusing. Not exactly comparing like for like, although the end results may be the same.
Joomla is an existing opensource content management system, with a wide variety of extensions, and the ability for developers to use it like a framework and add their own functionality where needed, or hack existing functionality. Jooma is written in php and so needs a webserver with php & a db like mysql on it, which most hosting options provide. Zend offer a range of products which enhance php. These include stuff that goes on the server to make the php run faster, development environment for php developers to use when writing the code, and a framework that provides many building blocks to make php development easier & quicker. Id need to know which zend bits are being recommended to you to comment further, and Ive never used that stuff myself. Ruby on Rails is a framework that is quite popular these days. Using it will reduce your hosting options because you need a webserver thats got the right stuff installed. Unlike the other options, it doesnt use php at all. Any of the above should be capable of being used to create the site you desire, It will affect exactly what server you get, how well the site will scale up if it becomes very busy, and which developers are available to work on the project for you. But if done right the end-user shouldnt notice any difference, the key really is picking the right developer. As for cost, that is also difficult to say, the devil is in the detail. If Joomla is chosen then it may be possible that existing modules do most of what you need, in which case someone skilled with Joomla could probably create the site in a day or so, then spend a bit longer tweaking things, and then messing with the theme/looks of the site. If your functionality is more unique an an extension needs to be written, or Joomla changed extensively in some other way, then time & costs will rapidly increase. Whether the developer has to support & maintain the site, and think about issues of scaleability and futureproofing, will also affect cost. Personally I use drupal which is a content management system like Joomla, again written in php, with various extensions and the ability to use it as a framework to build something far more customized. From what you've said so far, Id say no, dont pay $15k, get someone to spend a day or 2 trying to build a site to your requirements using standard jooma or drupal, and then see where it fails you. Until you know quite how much custom coding will be needed to make your site do what you want, its hard to say what its really worth. Because we might only be talking about a day's work, or could be months work if you want something really unusual or have complex ideas for site theme/looks etc. At the end of the day its easy to spend huge amounts of money and not really get what you want, or spend very little and be really impressed. Th choice of technologies may be secondary to finding the right people to do the job, and being able to explain the required features in detail. Using something like Drupal or Joomla will give you the advantage that if our developer vanishes in the future, someone else should be able to takeover, wheras if someones written the code from scratch or using a framework, it may be a lot harder for another developer to work ot how your system runs. But thats not necessarily true, depends how well the original developer used a framework, used best practice when coding, and documented their work. Cheers Steve Elbows --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Dee Copeland" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > My partners and I new to video blogging. We're getting RFPs for a Web > 2.0 community that will have a blog, member management, video linking > from Bliptv or Youtube, and property listing uploads. > > The suggestions by various developers were to use one of the following > for programming: > > 1. Ruby on Rails > 2. Joomla > 3. ZEND PHP > > I wanted to use Bluehost or Hostmonster, but they don't support ZEND > (from what I can find). Can you all help me clarify which to use? I'm > pretty savvy on some of this stuff, but not really on the development > end. I was leaning towards ROR because it's highly recommended by > people in my tech community. > > I was also wondering if $15k is a lot to pay for someone developing on > these platforms. > > > ------- > DeeinAustin > Http://www.TexasRealtyBlog.com >
