DotNetNuke / DNN vs. Other CMS's

Some of the best sites out on the internet have been created using a DNN-DotNetNuke CMS framework. Like all software, DNN continues to get better every year. Its skins, default layers and modules are constantly improving, while the skinning engine of DNN is extremely flexible and easy to use. Security groupings, access, and role assignments for assigning dynamic content for either access or editing is easiest and most flexible of all CMS platforms.

Another advantage that DNN presents versus its competitors is the ability for the administration tools to fully integrate into the website. This makes it easier to modify things, whereas for other CMSs you have to go to separate administration area to make changes. DNN has numerous (23,000) helpful modules which allow individuals to easily customize their websites, or assign granular editing rights to pages or parts of pages to other team members or outside partners.

DNN and Wordpress are both great platforms with which to build your web presence and together make up the majority of CMS's used online. However, usage generally comes down to your site's purpose. DNN is preferred for medium to enterprise companies, while Wordpress is preferable for bloggers, artists, and smaller, local businesses that desire a respectable and stylish web presence.

Let's take a deeper comparative look at some of the top CMS competitors or Jump to the DNN FAQs:

DNN vs WordPress

When people compare DNN to WordPress, they generally discover DNN is more powerful and in most cases, easier to use. Historically, WordPress is generally easier to install, but this is not true after the implementation of the DNN Evoq, especially the Cloud Edition. Both DNN and WordPress prove to show incredible speed. WordPress uses PHP and MYSQL which gives it great swiftness, while DNN uses .NET and SQL (MS-SQL, SQL Express, Postgres, etc.).

WordPress is mainly utilized for blogging and small to mid-level marketing websites. Quite frankly, some people consider it a blogging platform with web page extensions more than a true CMS. It does, have thousands of themes at very reasonable prices (templates, skins, whatever your favorite term) and most of them are now responsive and very robust. My favorite site to review and purchase themes from is Themeforest.net. Theme switching, updating plug-ins and building menus is easier in WordPress. For smaller, marketing websites this can be an advantage to helping you keep your website design fresh, as it's inexpensive and easy to preview each theme. You do, however, need to be careful of blindly accepting all plugin updates, as it can crash the site. If you can afford it, we recommend having a staging site, where you can "preflight" anything you want to push to production.

Some individuals feel that WordPress is organized more neatly compared to DNN. At Clarity, we disagree because WordPress hasn't changed much in many years, causing you to bounce back and forth between the dashboard and site, while DNN makes huge strides with every version and is natively integrated into the actual page you're editing (built in toolbar across the top of the page with view, edit and layout modes, full and partial page cloning built in, and tons more). DNN is based on .NET, WordPress on PHP. .NET is a first-tier developer's platform, meaning that every college CS major can develop and customize the site. While both platforms have tens of thousands of plug-ins/modules available, DNN is easier to develop for integrations and customizations.

DNN vs Joomla

It’s a little more difficult to choose between DNN and Joomla, as Joomla is built more for developers than marketers. Joomla continues to improve as a CMS, but just as Joomla was gaining momentum, Magento interceded and stole most of its thunder. They even stopped offering technical support. As of last year, however, they had more than 50 million downloads and owned 3% of the CMS install base, second only to WordPress.

A minor weak point is Joomla’s inability to work well with Windows; especially, because a majority of global businesses utilize the Windows operating system. Like WordPress, Joomla is written with PHP and also utilizes MySQL. It excels by working in congruence with Linux. Joomla administration functions can be tricky to use, but are very powerful, with many of the things you'd typically need a plugin for, built into the system. The security group settings are shakier compared to DNN or WordPress. However, there are some 3rd party modules that will help you with this small issue. Joomla is a completely adequate tool that is comparable to DNN. It really just depends which system you’re using and whether you choose a tool who's community is growing rapidly (DNN) versus one that has been declining. Joomla still has a pretty good following and that community has many more developers in it than WordPress' community so your answer tend to be more technical and accurate. The best feature of Joomla is the ability to easily add any kind of link to any navigation menu.

DNN vs Drupal

Clarity Can Help

If you're still not sure which CMS you need, feel free to reach out and we can help. If you need a partner who can design, build, launch and support your DNN site, Clarity's team of DNN specialists can help. From simple marketing sites, to custom portals, B2B ecommerce marketplaces, integrations to your back-office applications, SEO and CRO consulting, graphics and video development, we've got the experience to ensure your project gets done, and done right. No matter which CMS you decide to use, Clarity can help you customize any web software for any purpose or goal that your company needs.

What is DNN (DotNetNuke) used for?

DNN, renamed from DotNetNuke to DNN back in 2014, is a .NET based Content Management System for building websites, portals, intranets and extranets. It supports multiple portals from a single installation, and the DNN Store has many themes and more than 20,000 modules (often called plug-ins or extensions).

Is DNN Free?

DNN comes in four flavors. The base one, called DNN Platform, is an open-sourced, free version of the platform. The other versions have a yearly fee associated with them.

How much does DNN cost?

DNN platform is free. Evoq Basic starts at $2,999 per year. Evoq Content starts at $7,999 per year, with Evoq Engage starting at $19,999 per year. There is a features matrix letting you know what features are included in each version on DNN’s site. DNN is a software application within the DNN Prime library. This library contains other software applications, similar to Microsoft’s MSDN library. Also like the MSDN licensing, depending on the level of Support you pick with your license, you gain access to 1 (Standard Support), 3 (Gold Support) or Unlimited (Platinum Support) any of the applications within the Prime library. For a complete and updated list, visit the DNN Prime page.