Composr 10: ocPortal’s WordPress alternative

UK-based open source software ocPortal is a relative newcomer to the content management scene, having started with a first prototype in February 2004. Since then, it’s improved significantly but failed to take a big market share, despite excellent reviews from critics. Now, ocPortal is back with its first version update since 2012’s ocPortal 9. The latest version features a rebrand to Composr 10, but many of ocPortal’s hallmark features and standards remain.

Priding itself on security, flexibility and usability, Composr 10 is a simple and secure CMS that can be personalised to create a truly unique web project. It uses HTML5 as standard, with PHP scripting language and a MySQL database. But what really sets Composr 10 apart is its built-in functions. Part of the ocPortal philosophy has been to provide a CMS that doesn’t require numerous extensions and plugins in order to achieve sophistication. Unlike WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and other CMS competitors, who rely on extensions to improve specific functionality or design, Composr 10 has the following built-in features:

• Setup Wizard to create unique, personalised design layouts with customisation of features, colors and templates from the start

• News and blogging feature to keep site visitors up to date, with scheduled publishing

• Newsletter function with a ‘double opt-in’ feature to filter for real subscribers

• E-Commerce and subscriptions function with an extendable framework and a shopping cart for inclusion of an online store

• Events calendar featuring event reminders and advanced ‘recurring event’ settings

• Wiki+ tool allowing you to create an encyclopedic database for your web project, featuring a unique tree structure display of the wiki+ for increased usability

• Quiz section that includes competitions, surveys, and tests to gather data or entertain site visitors

• Membership system to allow your site visitors to register as members for your web presence

Other features include an intuitive and automatically handled search engine optimisation (SEO), an organised downloads database, and a WYSIWYG editor. Composr 10 also boasts an impressive built-in affiliate tracking service that allows you to track when a site visitor clicks on an affiliated ad. This can remove the need for additional affiliate tracking software and enable users to sell ad space on their sites. Composr 10 isn’t hard-coded with a traditional separation between front end and back end, but offers complete control over permission and privileges, allowing the creator to authorise exactly which sections of the site are visible to visitors, members, editors, admins, and so on. You can see a complete list of features in detail on the corresponding Composr website section.

Due to its high levels of control and customisation, Composr 10 claims not to be suitable for complete CMS beginners. But because a lot of this control is carried out through the built-in Setup Wizard, it’s also not ideally suited to programmers either. If you’re inventive and have a clear vision for the way you want your website to look, then Composr 10 might be the perfect solution. Its built in e-commerce function makes it a good choice for users wanting to start their own webstore, while Composr 10’s WAI compliance means it is the best CMS option for those with online accessibility issues, like the blind or the visually impaired. The ocPortal team take an honest approach to their product through a ‘What Composr is not’ section. This explains that other CMSs may be more suitable in some instances, like WordPress for bloggers or eZ for Enterprise Intranets.