(This is a duplicate of my journal post, which may or may not get wiped in my site upgrade I'm planning. Feel free to comment on either journal; I'm reading both!)

The more I read about CMSes (Content Management Systems), the more confusing the options become. There are a number of powerful CMS systems out there, each with their adherents and detractors, and choosing the right one for the site will involve some research.

From my studies, I figure there are three feasible CMS systems, WordPress, Joomla! and Drupal. Here's my current take on their pros and cons (please correct me if you feel I'm mistaken; I'm a total newbie at this):

WordPress

WordPress is designed as a blogging tool, and the consensus is that in this area it really shines. It's a snap to set up (especially on DreamHost). It's probably the easiest of the three to get running and learn how to work with. It's also very easy to configure the look and feel, and there are many plugins.

The main downside is that, as a blogging tool, it's not really meant for CMS although it can be extended to do so. However I may eventually hit a wall if I strain it too much.

Joomla!

As a CMS system, Joomla! has a lot more functionality than WordPress. It's also easy to set up under DreamHost, but will take a fair bit longer to get running. However it has a lot more capability to be extended. I'd also need to install a fair number of plugins to get the functionality I need; I'm not sure if blogging comes in the base install, for example.

Drupal

My understanding is that Drupal is even more powerful than Joomla! I know it's used in a lot of high-powered applications. However it does not have a "one-click install" function under DreamHost, so it's a lot harder to install. However I've read it's probably the hardest of the three to learn to use and configure. I've also read some negative comments about the amount of resources it uses, which is an issue on a shared account at a hosting company. I need to look into Drupal a bit further to figure out what it is capable of.

I'm very undecided about what is best. I'm leaning towards WordPress or Joomla! purely for the ease of installation. I really don't want to have to spend months learning the intricacies of PHP and SQL to use my website; I've got far, far too much on my plate already! WordPress has the advantage that it's already got the blogging commenting built in, which is mostly what I want for my journal and articles. Joomla! however is more feature rich.

For you more web savvy people out there, what do you recommend?