It's a sad day
Permalink 1 user found helpful
About 8 years ago after some investigation and comparing several CMS platforms, I made up my mind. It had to be Concrete5. The ease of use for me as a webdesigner and for the end user were the key factors. As also the collection of plugins, themes and the low costs. There were some pretty decent themes and a lot of solutions as plugins. It was also easy to build my own themes and integrate them with C5. You can say I was a real C5 fanboy. Over time I built over a 100 sites with C5. In my line of work I also had to deal with Wordpress sites and quite frankly hated this CMS. I had to troubleshoot clients who had WP sites developed by other builders and I couldn't understand how many different solutions existed just for a simple content driven website. There was no consistency and not one good solution that I felt comfortable with. Also in reviews C5 was doing really great and was a promising rising star amongst, WP, Drupal and Joomla. Now 8 years later, a meagre 0.2% is using C5. Though C5 is a beautiful and easy to use platform, there is not really a growing collection of plugins. As for themes I can say the same thing. I even feel that a lot of developers moved a way and reading some reviews I even see a lack of commitment. It all seems quite logic. With so low numbers of users it's more interesting to develop for Wordpress who shares almost 60% market share.
When I was asked to built a e-commerce sites I had to switch to WP because the old e-commerce solution of C5 was a nightmare and there was no solution for the newer version of C5. Woocommerce offered everything I needed and more and I had no other option to use WP. Last year I discovered a theme that works for every website and offered the same inline editing that I loved so much about C5. So last year I started building more and more with WP, because clients have more demands and in C5 those demands can't hardly be fulfilled. Now the bomb was dropped that my server is shifting to PHP7.2 and I still have some 20 or so websites in version 5.6. Not being able to update is a nightmare, though I understand all the reasons for it, it's the figural drop that makes me move away from C5. Quite frankly with pain in my heart.
For simple website presentations I will probably still stick with C5, because the short time that is needed to setup a site is not comparable with WP and this specific them I use. Also the multilingual solution of C5 is an absolute winner compared to WPML. And the multilingual solution is part of the core, for WPML a yearly fee has to be paid.
So it's a sad day for me, though I feel right about my decision from a business point of view. For WP I only use one theme that has a ton of features with click of the mouse, making every site completely different in look, feel and function. Their commitment is incredible, their response to problems and questions is fast and the yearly cost of using their theme is ridiculous low.
So thanks to everybody who ever gave me support, offered beautiful themes and plugins. Thanks to the C5 developers to create such a solid and beautiful CMS.
When I was asked to built a e-commerce sites I had to switch to WP because the old e-commerce solution of C5 was a nightmare and there was no solution for the newer version of C5. Woocommerce offered everything I needed and more and I had no other option to use WP. Last year I discovered a theme that works for every website and offered the same inline editing that I loved so much about C5. So last year I started building more and more with WP, because clients have more demands and in C5 those demands can't hardly be fulfilled. Now the bomb was dropped that my server is shifting to PHP7.2 and I still have some 20 or so websites in version 5.6. Not being able to update is a nightmare, though I understand all the reasons for it, it's the figural drop that makes me move away from C5. Quite frankly with pain in my heart.
For simple website presentations I will probably still stick with C5, because the short time that is needed to setup a site is not comparable with WP and this specific them I use. Also the multilingual solution of C5 is an absolute winner compared to WPML. And the multilingual solution is part of the core, for WPML a yearly fee has to be paid.
So it's a sad day for me, though I feel right about my decision from a business point of view. For WP I only use one theme that has a ton of features with click of the mouse, making every site completely different in look, feel and function. Their commitment is incredible, their response to problems and questions is fast and the yearly cost of using their theme is ridiculous low.
So thanks to everybody who ever gave me support, offered beautiful themes and plugins. Thanks to the C5 developers to create such a solid and beautiful CMS.
Hi Pieter, I see you're Dutch as well. Just wanted to let you know that you'd always reach out to me if you're stuck with a particular problem.
Thanks! I will keep that in mind. Though I think the biggest issue is the lack of marketing for C5 ;-)
Have you read recent blog posts from PortlandLabs? E.g.https://www.concrete5.org/about/blog/community-blog/big-announcement...
I did read this announcement, something really great. But for the short term as a small website builder it is not helping. For example, I just finished a site for a midwifery practice. Even though it's a small business they had 2 things that were important to them; a booking system to be able while working receive appointments for their practice and the possibility in the future to sell either products and/or classes. I could try to build something like that from scratch while the solutions for WP are just flooding the WP org site. It's only a matter of comparing and reading reviews to make a good choice. Also from the theme point of view, there are no so much attractive themes that offer the flexibility to change them in to something different. Sebastien did a good job with his Supermint theme but it looks like he abandoned C5 as well and the theme turned from a paid version into a free version. An update totally broke one website of a client and I had to rebuild the whole site. Another tool I really favoured was the Advanced Forms and Data display, what became Formify. The data display part was completely changed from a XML way of scripting into Liquid Syntax. In the middle of developing I had to abandon my project and start all over again in WP.
With these experiences it's hard to stay a convinced user. So I hope for a better future for C5 and keep an eye on developments and if they are positive I will return. But for now, to be able to offer clients what they want I have to work with WP. (Even saying that hurts ;-)
With these experiences it's hard to stay a convinced user. So I hope for a better future for C5 and keep an eye on developments and if they are positive I will return. But for now, to be able to offer clients what they want I have to work with WP. (Even saying that hurts ;-)
I understand your point of view, and even agree with some of your points. (see also my recent blog post about WordPress: https://a3020.com/blog/whats-with-the-wordpress-bashing... Anyhows, I hope you'll keep an eye on concrete5 and how it develops. I still think it has a lot of potential. To stay up to date you'd subscribe to the blog via RSS, join http://slack.concrete5.org or subscribe to their newsletter.
Great blog article.
WP is not that bad it's only bad if you review different sites by different developers. I came across some clients who were really stuck and their developer suddenly took a very long leave. ;-) Or if you deal with the half baked plugins that linger around for years without a descent update. But that is not unique to WP. Did you check out the DIVI theme from Elegant Themes? The first theme to me that is multipurpose and reusable over and over again. I think for you as a developer very interesting to examine. Such a solution for C5 would be incredible.
Thanks for your comments, it's appreciated.
WP is not that bad it's only bad if you review different sites by different developers. I came across some clients who were really stuck and their developer suddenly took a very long leave. ;-) Or if you deal with the half baked plugins that linger around for years without a descent update. But that is not unique to WP. Did you check out the DIVI theme from Elegant Themes? The first theme to me that is multipurpose and reusable over and over again. I think for you as a developer very interesting to examine. Such a solution for C5 would be incredible.
Thanks for your comments, it's appreciated.
Lost Password to login not working.
I'm a business person, not a developer and it really seems like you need to be a developer to run C5 although it has been a good run for a couple years with my site. I am however locked out now for several weeks with no results with lost pw link and here on the forum it says to go to your php email logs or something. I went to my C Panel dug around as much as I could and did not find any way to access email logs. Never had a lost pw issue anywhere else. Again, I'm not a developer and will not be spending time to become one. I do my own website out of necessity, who else is going to make the continual updates at 10pm or midnite whenever I get another wild hair.
I'm a business person, not a developer and it really seems like you need to be a developer to run C5 although it has been a good run for a couple years with my site. I am however locked out now for several weeks with no results with lost pw link and here on the forum it says to go to your php email logs or something. I went to my C Panel dug around as much as I could and did not find any way to access email logs. Never had a lost pw issue anywhere else. Again, I'm not a developer and will not be spending time to become one. I do my own website out of necessity, who else is going to make the continual updates at 10pm or midnite whenever I get another wild hair.
You have to dig into your MySQL database. The password is stored there but it's encrypted. The trick would be first to check your admin's e-mail address and eventually change it. Then through the website go to lost password at the login screen. That should actually solve the problem to be able to reset the password. The other solution is more work and difficult when you are not used to do this, it involves a backup from your database and websit, make a fresh install end restore everything with the new password.
I don't want to use this platform to promote another CMS or theme, but the amount of work, features, updates that Divi gives and let alone the amount of messages, workshops is incredible. For me that is exactly te point for some time, C5 is incredible but it lacks marketing. To become better they have to attract more developers and users. C5 lacks so much on plugins that it won't cover the clients needs anymore. A big and sad loss.
I don't want to use this platform to promote another CMS or theme, but the amount of work, features, updates that Divi gives and let alone the amount of messages, workshops is incredible. For me that is exactly te point for some time, C5 is incredible but it lacks marketing. To become better they have to attract more developers and users. C5 lacks so much on plugins that it won't cover the clients needs anymore. A big and sad loss.
So the best I can find is "Set MySQL User Password" so I set a new password but trying to login to site I get
"An unexpected error occurred.
SQLSTATE[28000] [1045] Access denied for user 'simplyn9_Simply'@'localhost' (using password: YES)"
Looks like my entire site is down now and cannot get this fixed.
"An unexpected error occurred.
SQLSTATE[28000] [1045] Access denied for user 'simplyn9_Simply'@'localhost' (using password: YES)"
Looks like my entire site is down now and cannot get this fixed.
Would you like me to take a look for you?
If so PM me your cPanel login details..
If so PM me your cPanel login details..
@workndawg you changed the database password so your site can't get the data it needs anymore.
@weyboat has all the skills required to fix that and get your website password back.
@weyboat has all the skills required to fix that and get your website password back.
Explanation and DIY Instructions...
When a browser is asked to display your website the webserver requires the MySql username and password to be submitted before it will allow access to your database.
Concrete5 uses the username and password that is stored in its config files and submits those to the server to gain access.
By changing the MySql password you have caused the server to deny access to the database since the wrong password is being submitted from the concrete5 config files.
To correct this you need to ensure the MySql username and password are identical to the ones used in your config files..
As for the login password..
When you use the 'Forgot Password' function on the login form (Sign In) the system creates a temporary url to a 'Change Password' link and attempts to send that via smtp (email) to your email address.
If your smtp service is not configured properly, you will not receive that email.
At the same time the system creates a log of its actions and stores them in the 'Logs' database table.
If you did not receive the email from the system you can look in the 'Log' table in the database (via cPanel phpMyAdmin) and find that reference to the Forgot Password link (it will likely be the last entry).
When you find that entry click 'Edit' to expand the log file and copy the http link into a new browser window to set a new password.
Remember though that the http link is "Time Limited" and may have already expired, in this case use the 'Forgot Password' again to get the system to generate a new http link.
When a browser is asked to display your website the webserver requires the MySql username and password to be submitted before it will allow access to your database.
Concrete5 uses the username and password that is stored in its config files and submits those to the server to gain access.
By changing the MySql password you have caused the server to deny access to the database since the wrong password is being submitted from the concrete5 config files.
To correct this you need to ensure the MySql username and password are identical to the ones used in your config files..
As for the login password..
When you use the 'Forgot Password' function on the login form (Sign In) the system creates a temporary url to a 'Change Password' link and attempts to send that via smtp (email) to your email address.
If your smtp service is not configured properly, you will not receive that email.
At the same time the system creates a log of its actions and stores them in the 'Logs' database table.
If you did not receive the email from the system you can look in the 'Log' table in the database (via cPanel phpMyAdmin) and find that reference to the Forgot Password link (it will likely be the last entry).
When you find that entry click 'Edit' to expand the log file and copy the http link into a new browser window to set a new password.
Remember though that the http link is "Time Limited" and may have already expired, in this case use the 'Forgot Password' again to get the system to generate a new http link.
@workndawg
I have fixed the problem for you now and sent you a PM with your new password..
Regards
Weyboat
I have fixed the problem for you now and sent you a PM with your new password..
Regards
Weyboat
Hi i know this an old thread , but i now find myself in the same situation ,where C5 cant work for me anymore.
I was reading where you (3CGroup) said you found a theme for wordpress that has same functionality as concrete5 .
I was hoping you can point me in the right direction .. of course not giving away your secrets. .
also 2 years has passed , have you any regrets moving to Wordpress ?
i hope 3CGroup is still around . . .
I was reading where you (3CGroup) said you found a theme for wordpress that has same functionality as concrete5 .
I was hoping you can point me in the right direction .. of course not giving away your secrets. .
also 2 years has passed , have you any regrets moving to Wordpress ?
i hope 3CGroup is still around . . .
