Geek & Mild by Sean Sperte
Hello. Welcome to the weblog of Sean Sperte. This is an article originally posted on June 24, 2008. Read more →
Jon Hicks, on ExpressionEngine vs. Textpattern:
after a week of re-acquainting myself with it, I can now see why EE is raved about so much
That’s about how long it typically takes, unfortunately, to really get your head around EE. One you do, though, it’s easy to get excited about its power and flexibility.
Of course, Jon is quick to point out some obvious flaws shortcomings he’s found – one of which remains my biggest pet peeve:
/index.php/ shouldn’t be in URLs by default, and it’s right pain to get rid of (but you can do it). Likewise, getting simple /section/title/ urls requires a lot of work. For something so flexible, getting the URLs I want is painful.
I can’t understand why this is such an ignored feature. Obviously users want the ability to display “clean URLs” in a default, supported install; just do a search for “remove index.php” in the community forums. It’s the most suggested, “unsupported” feature available for EE.
That URL issue, is 90% of the reason I use Wordpress. I recently tried about a dozen different CMS’s ranging from Drupal to Mambo to SilverStripe, and there was no simple way to make the URL’s good for SEO or if there was a simple way (like in Drupal) it’s just too high maintenance. When EE produces good-for-SEO URL’s by default or makes it easy to alter the URL structure, I’ll try it. I can’t figure out why so many CMS’s neglect this feature. It’s so crucial for a site.
§ Devon Young · 25 June 2008
It should be clarified that the “index.php” in no (proven) way hinders SEO. The reality is that ExpressionEngine’s powerful and flexible URL structure is probably the most search engine-friendly option available.
The reason people request the removal of index.php is mostly aesthetic.
§ Sean · 25 June 2008