Moving large academic site to EE in December

[Daniel Fowler]

We are moving to EE for our redesign (launch goal is December). Our IT department is kind of dragging its feet getting EE configured in a development space. Is it that difficult to setup? I come from WordPress experience, where you just name the database and go.

[Claudia Snell]

Hi Daniel,

Yes, EE is much more complicated to set up than WordPress. If it's not done correctly, it can be a bit of a disaster. 

[Brad Morse]

As for setting up the database like you would in WordPress, yes, that is the same.

As for setting up the CMS to tailor it to your needs, that is much different than WordPress.

If you have never used EE before, I'd recommend watching these screencasts http://mijingo.com/screencasts/learning-expressionengine-2-complete...

Also, some must have add-ons http://themetaq.com/articles/add-ons-for-every-expressionengine-ins...

I regret not implementing Matrix and playa in some custom forms, but you live and learn.

Is your existing site static? If not, and it's content is stored in a database, than I'd look into using http://brandnewbox.co.uk/products/details/datagrab/ - to help import large quantities of content, to cut down on time.

Also, http://devot-ee.com/ is the App store of EE add-ons and post questions to twitter w/ the hashtag #eecms for quick help

Good luck!

[Daniel Fowler]

Yes, our existing site is static. All 3,000ish pages or so. Hence why I'm eager to get our dev space running since we're trying to launch in 5 months.

Thanks for all the links - I'll check them out as I find time this week.

[Claudia Snell]

I've got a great team working on setting up and EE site and I'm so glad for their expertise. It's a great product but does need a lot more work than WP. I really like WordPress too - great for blogs and mini-sites. 

[Scott Kilmer]

Daniel,

How did the move to EE go? Any update? Considering a jump.