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So what is it with the Danish and Web Content Management? Hello! They're mad for it over there.
Anyhow, Umbraco doesn't really mean “.NET Open Source CMS”, but that's what it is and it seems to be doing it well. Niels Hartvig kicked this project off in 2001 and now in its in version 2.0.
Umbraco is an Open Source Web Content Management (CMS) product written in C# on the Microsoft .NET platform. It's simple, fast, flexible and with a user interface that, if I do say so myself, is actually charming to use.
Their website makes that claim. However, I've played with the product and I have to agree. The UI is well designed, pleasing to fiddle with, and offers you friendly little suggestions as you tinker away. Its not without bugs mind you, but this is Open Source (GPL in fact) and that means its FREE. We can't complain.
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Here's a little taster of the UI:
Umbraco CMS is produced by Danish Umbraco ApS. They are a for profit organization and currently have a “professional” (commercial) license for the product in the works. So I'd venture a guess that they are modeling themselves a bit like Norway's eZ Systems with their eZ CMS Standard and eZ CMS Professional.
Current product features include:
Content Management, Library Services
All content in Umbraco is under version control.
WYSIWYG Editing
Content can be edited in the web editor (works best in IE). Output is standards compliant and formatting is done via CSS. The web editor includes some simple imaging tools for resizing and quick graphic production for headers, etc.
Custom Content Types
Umbraco CMS features a generic content architecture making it possible for developers to produce content types of their choice.
Localized Interface
The product comes with both Danish and UK English user interface languages. Additional languages can be added by providing the required XML language files. Dates and system names are automatically translated using the culture settings from .NET.
Templating & Tags
Umbraco uses a simple HTML templating approach with some custom tags for integrating Umbraco content.
Extensibility
Almost any part of the Umbraco user interface can be customized and new functionality added using your favorite .NET language. Integration requires that developers implement some standard Interfaces .
Umbraco version 2.0 can be downloaded for free. There's also a Subversion repository open, if you want to get down and dirty and help make this project a success.
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Umbraco version 4 is now available. It's fairly simple to use. However end-users might now have all the flexibility in creating professional looking page layouts.
With Umbraco 4.0, we feel even more comfortable offering this to our customers as a great open source ASP.NET CMS.
I have to question the value of an open source solution (I'm a big open source advocate) when, to run it, you absolutely must invest in the world's most proprietary and least "open" hosting stack. I'd never invest energy in it - the real open source solutions (that run on a fully open source stack) are better anyway, so why would you?
Perhaps it would be to make the best of the unfortunate situation of already having sunk heaps into a mediocre quality/high cost Microsoft .NET infrastructure?
Remember, it's free to run Linux and Plone or Drupal or Alfresco and all of their relevant stacks.
Plus, by making the switch to an open source stack, you're moving to the *market leading* web application platform (which means: better support available, better scalability, more expertise, more applications). Microsoft is a bit player on the web.