ExpressionEngine Reviews & Product Details

ExpressionEngine is a and secure open-source content management system (CMS) designed to empower developers and content creators to build and manage dynamic websites with ease. Its flexible architecture allows users to organize content into customizable channels, facilitating the creation of diverse content types such as blogs, news articles, product descriptions, and more. With a user-friendly interface, ExpressionEngine enables seamless content editing directly from the front end, eliminating the need to navigate complex control panels. The platform's robust templating system supports the integration of HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and ExpressionEngine tags, providing developers with the tools to craft unique and engaging web experiences. Key Features and Functionality: - Flexible Content Channels: Organize and manage various content types through customizable channels, allowing for tailored content structures. - Front-End Editing: Edit content directly on the live site, streamlining the content management process without accessing the backend. - Comprehensive Templating System: Utilize a powerful templating engine that supports multiple programming languages and ExpressionEngine tags for dynamic content rendering. - Custom Fieldtypes: Choose from over 20 different field types to capture and display content in ways that best suit your website's needs. - Entry Cloning: Duplicate existing entries with a single click to expedite content creation and maintain consistency. - User Management: Efficiently manage different types of members and user roles to control access and permissions. - Multi-Site Management: Administer multiple websites from a single control panel, with the option to share design elements, content, and user data across sites. - Live Preview: Preview content changes in real-time within the site's design before publishing, ensuring accuracy and visual appeal. - Add-On Prolets: Extend site functionality by integrating add-ons that can be accessed directly from the front end. - Robust Security: Benefit from a proven track record of rock-solid security, with no serious security issues reported in its 15-year history. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: ExpressionEngine offers a comprehensive solution for building and managing websites that require flexibility, security, and ease of use. Its customizable content channels and templating system allow developers to create unique web experiences without being constrained by rigid structures. The front-end editing capabilities and live preview features enhance the efficiency of content management, enabling users to make real-time updates with confidence. Additionally, the platform's strong security measures and active community support provide peace of mind for users, ensuring that their websites remain secure and up-to-date. Whether for small personal blogs or large-scale enterprise sites, ExpressionEngine delivers the tools and flexibility needed to bring any web project to life.

Seller

EllisLab

Discussions

ExpressionEngine Community

Solution Type

Best-of-Breed

Overview by

Tom Jaeger

Value at a Glance

Averages based on real user reviews.

Time to Implement

2 months

Return on Investment

10 months

View More Pricing Information

Top-Rated Alternatives

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User Insights

Average based on 56 real user reviews.

Implementation Time

2 months

Perceived Cost

$$$$$

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Hitarthi B.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4/11/2020

Business partner of the seller or seller's competitor, not included in G2 scores.

"User friendly cms"

2.5/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

ExpressionEngine is designed in such a way that any non technical user can easily build a basic website. Also this cms provides a high level of security as compared with other php based frameworks. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

To customize this cms, it takes a bit long process and one has to follow its own method which can be done by a technical user. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Ruma S.

Business Development Executive

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

4/13/2020

Business partner of the seller or seller's competitor, not included in G2 scores.

"Use Expression engine"

3.5/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

The expression engine is a great platform to work in as it makes your website more secure and versatile with strong coding and customization. It always works best for business websites, Industrial websites have good plugins too. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

It requires a bit time as the website you build is strong so for better things you always consume better time and this is it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Marketing and Advertising

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4/19/2020

"A complex web CMS but there’s better modern solutions out there for your effort"

1.5/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

Expression engine is great to build a large server side rendered web site or app. It can be cumbersome but it scales. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

It usually requires a lot of client training compared to competitors and on boarding new developers can be a hassle. I find I need a lot of plugins beyond the core to make it work for simple projects, minimizing boilerplate. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering ExpressionEngine:

There are probably better LAMP stack solutions out there. Keep looking, your dev team will thank you later. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is ExpressionEngine solving and how is that benefiting you?

Custom websites for large clients (national brands). It allows my team to build around complex business requirements. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Religious Institutions

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5/30/2020

"ExpressionEngine's templates & ability to integrate code from alternate projects are quite flexible"

5/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

Ease of integrating lots of dynamic content was our main push. Ability to include pre-existing code from existing projects was a bonus. Very flexible! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

Less about ExpressionEngine itself, complex sites are, well... complex! :) Training non-technical users took some additional work but once the process was learned, it was not a deal breaker. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Siminiciuc A.

Web Developer

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5/16/2020

"Not the best but a viable alternative to WordPress"

4/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

As a developer, when some client asks if there is an alternative of WordPress that he can use I recommend ExpressionEngine. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

The documentation is not very well done. It should be improved. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

aleksandar p.

SEO and automation specialist

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4/15/2020

"Learning curve is a little steep, but in a few weeks it will get under your skin."

2.5/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

It offers tags that enable you to build quickly the content structure of your page. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

There was misaligned documentation between versions and I needed the information while building plugins and modules. However, after some Googling, I found the needed info... Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Medical Devices

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4/23/2020

"Offers basic CMS functionality"

3/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

The product is simple and easy to use, with great interface, my clients were able to post regularly and update their web content by themselves. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

Very limited number of addons/extensions are available in the market. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering ExpressionEngine:

Check out the extensions available in the market before you decide to choose to go with ExpressionEngine. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is ExpressionEngine solving and how is that benefiting you?

My client want to build a backend inventory management system for his client. Using expression engine I could get away from building lot of components by myself. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Oil & Energy

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

11/26/2019

"Fairly user friendly, will need to learn some techniques before using"

3/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

Ability to quickly and easily add news stories, it is also very easy to close content to remove it instantly. Having the blocks makes it easy to move things around or quickly remove certain content if it is no longer required Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

Uploading images, system is difficult to use and has issues when deleting and re-uploading files with the same name. Cannot seem to set news stories to publish in the future, would be helpful if going away on holiday as i am the only one within the company who knows how to update the site. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering ExpressionEngine:

Sort issues with uploading images/files with the same name as ones previously deleted. It just makes original file/image come back Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is ExpressionEngine solving and how is that benefiting you?

Easy updates to pages, specifically news stories/case studies, i can also easily add in new team members to our 'team' page and all images are stored in the file manager for ease of access at a later date Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Financial Services

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4/12/2020

"The fast extendable CMS implementation (for PHP development)"

4/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

Its easy templating system and channel system is the most expressive feature. Not yet trying this for a huge database but it performs well in term of speed and reliability. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

It needs a proper PHP and HTML skill for the good website development will be an advantage for CI users Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3/23/2020

"EE: Easy Fire posting, hard for design"

3.5/5

What do you like best about ExpressionEngine?

How easy it is to post things like blog posts or to create new pages. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about ExpressionEngine?

I disliked how difficult it was to create dynamic responsive webpages, and lack of ability to design new pages easily Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.