SilverStripe
SilverStripe is a programming framework and web content management system (CMS), built on the model-view-controller (MVC) design pattern. SilverStripe works best for medium-sized sites requiring complex relationships between data types, custom functionality, or precise control over the visual display.
Why we like SilverStripe
- Free and open-source. SilverStripe runs on Apache and uses PHP and MySQL. It’s free to download, and even though the company continues to build the tool full-time, the code remains open-source via the liberal BSD license.
- Fully-featured. SilverStripe offers asset management, image resizing, SEO-friendly URLs, multilingual support, metadata management, automatic site-map generation, full-text search, RSS feeds, custom feedback forms, and much more.
- Model-view-controller design pattern. SilverStripe’s underlying framework is called Sapphire. It’s much like Ruby on Rails, but for PHP. It enables extending and enhancing the functionality of the CMS and the website.
- Modules. Many large pieces of website functionality have been pre-built, including blogs, e-commerce, external authentication (LDAP, Active Directory, OpenID, etc.), Flickr galleries, forums, Google maps, Technorati, and YouTube galleries.
What sets SilverStripe apart?
- Administration panel. The interface was designed for non-technical people, so you won’t find any obtuse terminology on the administration panel. Administrative options include everything you’d expect, plus access control, file versioning, and web CMS usage reporting.
- Staging environment. Unlike many other CMS tools, Silverstripe supports a stage environment as well as a live one.
- Editing environment. SilverStripe has the best editor interface we’ve seen. Editors can enter content and easily add and reorder pages with intuitive drag-and-drop tools. The controls for the rich text editor are recognizable and easy to use.
Concerns about SilverStripe
One limitation of SilverStripe is that it doesn’t yet have hierarchical urls (nested urls). The SilverStripe team is currently working on this, and expects to provide nested URLs soon.
SilverStripe is not yet as widely deployed as some other systems. Some might view SilverStripe’s relative youth as a red flag. We are comfortable with it because the software was built by and continues to be supported by SilverStripe, the active company in New Zealand.
Implementing SilverStripe
For developers, the framework lets you rapidly code up the objects your project uses (such as staff members, products, customers, along with their relationships). You then add a few lines of code and find SilverStripe has automatically added tables and columns to the database, lets you use them in your website templates, and has added new page types and fields into the web CMS for the content editor to utilize.
Watch video of Phil Quinn talking about SilverStripe
Quinn Interactive, Inc. is an official certified SilverStripe partner
This strategic alliance means that when QI works on your SilverStripe-based Web CMS or Web application implementation, we do so with the full backing and technical support of SilverStripe's headquarters in New Zealand.
You can learn more about our partnership with SilverStripe here:
If you would like to learn how Quinn Interactive can help you with your website, give us a call at (415) 296-9000. Or fill out our Free Consultation form and we’ll contact you right away.
