Occasionally I still come across a comic with a hard-coded archive. This makes me very sad. Very, very, VERY, sad. Perhaps, if your comic is under 20 pages at completion, I could understand coding each archive page by hand, but when I come across a comic with 50+ pages, and the creator is complaining about having to edit archive pages, I want to scream. If you want to scream too, because you are the one making me scream, this article is for you.

First! CMS stands for Content Management System. “Content” for this means your comic and the news or notes or extra webpages which accompany it. “Management” as in, able to handle large amounts of information in the way a manager handles all the people who work under him or her.  A “system” implies something a bit…automatic. Like automatic drive on your car, this is a good thing for people who want it easy.  So, easy comic handling. No hand-coding of archives! GOOD THING. This also forces you to display your comic in way in which readers are accustomed! Yes, there are some precedents for webcomic display, and that includes NOT displaying 20 comic pages on ONE webpage, or having one 1 navigation button for the “next” comic, etc. Don’t make me pull my hair out when I’m trying to read your wonderful comic, basically!

An example of a CMS is this blog. The CMS is Wordpress, which uses something called a “mySQL” database to work. I don’t edit that database when I add a post, I don’t code it or screw with it or even know how the hell it works. It is a magical thing to me, and I’m happy that I don’t have to mess with it.  All I did was create it by giving it a name and a password in my host’s admin panel.  Not all CMS use databases. In this article, I’m going to tell you about all of the CMS that I know of that you can use for your webcomic.

Before I get into this, I just want to say that I will not be touching on CMS systems of free webcomic hosts. I’m going to save that for the reviews OF those hosts.  This article is more for people who host themselves, but don’t have a system in place yet to manage their webcomic.

I’m going to start with a popular choice: Wordpress/Comicpress. Wordpress is your CMS, and Comicpress is your theme that specializes the CMS for your webcomic. Comicpress works much easier with the CP manager plug-in (an extra little bit of specialized automation for your wordpress blog).  Two examples of WP/CP sites in action are Tales from the Middle Kingdom and Xyliatales.

Pros: WP/CP is constantly upgraded freeware, and each version is better than the last. There are 5 default templates available for every type of comic. You get perma-links (more search-friendly URLs), RSS, comic news and extra blog news. You get to use PHP, a very useful type of coding. CP 2.7 also has a bunch of handy new features, including archiving by storyline, comic hover text, and comic transcripts.  You can upload your comics though an online admin interface (obviously accessible from any computer, just in case any supernoobs were reading this), write your comic blurbs online, etc. Has a commenting (and moderation) system, and the ability to schedule pages for future days!

Cons: WP/CP is NOT  user-friendly if you don’t know what you’re doing in the code, especially if you want to personalize your site. WP requires a database, which can get corrupted, and furthermore, you have to have top-level admin access on your host panel to even make a database.  WP also can severely tax your host, so you either need to not be a huge comic, or install WP-super-cache plug-in.   Finally, because WP/CP are constantly being upgraded, YOU have to keep upgrading your site, which is extremely annoying.

Bottom line: Recommended for advanced users only, or those interested in becoming that. For more about WP/CP, go read a 2-part interview I gave at The Floating Lightbulb.

Next, an alternative to WP/CP for less-advanced coders called Inkblot. Like CP, Inkblot works with Wordpress, so you still have to go about creating a mySQL database.  In this case, Inkblot is the theme, and WebComic is the  name of the plug-in.  I have not used this CMS, but example of a WP/IB site in action is The Adventures of  Wiglaf and Mordred.

Pros: Much easier to use than WP/CP, and with the great majority of functionality (more in some cases!). Instead of dealing with code, a lot of the time you only deal with settings, and anyone who can fill out paperwork can change “settings.”  This is Kez’s way of saying IT’S NOT AS HARD AS YOU THINK. Also, has a commenting (and moderation) functionality! For more, check out  this handy-dandy comparison list of CP vs. IB, though I don’t think it’s been updated for CP 2.7.  Correct me if I’m wrong, Mike!

Cons: Still requires a database, upgrading, installation, and perhaps, the cache plug-in described in WP/CP’s cons.

Bottom line: recommended as an excellent alternative to CP. I’m told once you use IB, you don’t go back

The next CMS up for bat is SomeryC. Unlike the previous 2 examples, SomeryC does not require a database. I swear the version I first used of this did not. It appears the newest version DOES need a database. M’bad! Sorry about that.  Unlike WP/CP or WP/IB, SomeryC ONLY handles your comic—not extra webpages, or sidebars or any other aspect of the site EXCEPT for archiving your webcomic. An example of a site using SomeryC is Crowfeathers.

Pros: extremely easy to install.  A convenient “tag” system for comic placement, navigation buttons, news, etc. For those of you who don’t know, tags are pieces of code that stand for more complex code functions. Instead of dealing with a huge string of incomprehenisble garble, you deal with something more like “put comic here.” SomeryC also leaves site design up to you. For some people, not dealing with default templates is a HUGE pro.  Even though you don’t have a database, you still have an online interface for adding comics and news.

Cons: previously SomeryC sites have been hacked, and I’m unsure if new, more secure versions have been released.  Other than that, some people may find that not having a system that deals with ALL aspects of the site a major con. I personally like a little bit of manual control every now and again.

Bottom line: recommended for people who don’t like Wordpress and for people not comfortable outside of HTML/CSS.  Also recommended for people who (like me) like to sometimes hand-code things themselves.

Next, a CMS with all of WP’s functionality, but with far less hassle, Movable Type! An example of a site using MT is busybee comics.

Pros: Since I’ve never used MT, I’m going to draw straight from an interview given by fluffy, creator of busybee comics.  First, and this is a huge pro, MT can run multiple comics from a single admin panel on ONE site. It’s easier to use AND install than WP, doesn’t rely on PHP (for those who fear it), and has better security. You don’t often hear about MT sites getting hacked, unlike WP sites.  Has commenting ability!

Cons: Again, may require a database depending on what functions you want to use, and definitely requires CGI capability (this latter bit isn’t a con so much as something you need to be aware of).  MT also has its own markup language apparently, so there are somethings you’d need to learn.

Bottom line: for both advanced and beginner coders.  Since I only know of one site that uses this for webcomics, I don’t really have much to say on it though. It exists! So try it and let me know what you think.

Part II will be a short article dealing with Comikaze, i-strip,  Blogspot/other free blogs, and any other system I may be vaguely familiar with people may mention in comments.  I’m far more familiar with systems offered by free webcomic hosts, but even if I don’t know as much about all of these as I would like, I think it’s still important people know about them!