Don’t get me wrong, I love WordPress - and use it in a lot of places but there are a lot of nice alternatives to WordPress too when you start looking around at scripts and services others are developing.  Marie writes in with this CMS controversy.

“I am looking to setup another web site but I want to stay away from WordPress.  Do you have any suggestions for other content management system or blogging scripts to try?  Thanks!”

Just in case WordPress rubs you the wrong way or your just not happy with it - here are some of my favorite content management systems that are not WordPress.

• Drupal - found at Drupal.org, this is like WordPress on steroids. Lots of goodies and better membership system in place too.
• b2evolution - found at B2evolution.net is an old one, but still a good one - with tons of options.
• Joomla - found at Joomla.org might be too feature rich for the casual blogging fan - but a good engine for in depth web sites or basic blogs.

I used to suggest MovableType to people but over the past few years it just hasn’t been able to keep up with WordPress.  Plus it is a ‘bit resource hungry and their license agreements are way too confusing for normal users.

To check and more and to get some demos of both the output and admin interfaces be sure to check out OpenSourceCMS.com.  They have tons of examples from every corner of the blogging, CMS and forum world.  One of the best database out there if you are looking for a better alternative to WordPress.

As many of you know I work my “day job” I guess you could call it, at Lunarpages and I often get asked questions about if somebody’s web site is up or not. Now more times than not it is often something to do with the web site owner’s side of things. Either their ISP is being a ‘bit wonky, they need to refresh their DNS or some other solution. One quick and easy way to tell if your (or any other) web site is down is downforeveryoneorjustme.com.

I know the URL might be a little long, but this tool is an awesome one to keep in your web hosting tool belt. The simple interface just has “Is ‘text box here’ down for everyone or just me?”. You put your domain name in the text box and hit the linked “or just me?” text and it will spit back a yes or no answer.

If you want an even easier way of using it, just type in their domain name, put a slash in there and then your domain name, such as:

http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/mitchkeeler.com

There you have it, instant site checking. Some people have reported problems with false positives - but with a little fine tuning I am sure this web site will become an instant classic for those of use who need to keep tabs on if a web site is up or not.

Spotlight this week for the most innovative and fun to use web hosting tool goes to YouGetSignal.com. This site is not only visually appealing - but it also delivers you some awesome tools to boot. The most impressive of them all would be the visual trace routes.

As you can see the Visual Trace route tool is where the most fun is. It goes from hop to hop showing you how it goes and where it goes. Other tools they provide include:

• Port Forwarding Tester
• Network Location Tool
• Phone Number Geolocator
• Reverse IP Domain Check

All in all a great resource for any web hoster, network freak or regular interested person should have in their networking toolbelt.

Last week I gave you five quality blogging tools and scripts and this week I am going to finish the job by giving you the second half of my favorite blogging scripts list.

Previously, WordPress was leading the charge as the best of the best, but how do these solutions stack up to that titan of the digital publishing world?

b2evolution - An old one, but still a good one - and can hold it’s own weight still with the other selections out there. Dated, but still works.

Serendipity - This is a PHP-powered weblog application which gives the user an easy way to maintain a weblog or even a complete homepage.

Joomla - Like Drupal, might be too feature rich for the casual blogging fan - but a good engine for in depth web sites or basic blogs.

Sblog - Another one similar to WordPress, looks like it is playing catchup too. Once it gets there though, might be worthy competition.

Simplog - Simple, yet powerful - the name says it all here. You want basics without the fluff - go with Simplog.

No matter which of these selections you decide to choose, you should be well off in your own content producing ways. All of them have their benefits and their drawbacks so best thing to do would be to try them all out and see which does the best job for you.

Where is hosting latest hot spot to hang out? Well if fate and luck have anything to do with it - HostingBookmarks.com might be the place to keep your eyes on. If that doesn’t entice you to listen - what if I said this was Sean Connery’s favorite podcast on and about the web hosting world? Of course I don’t know if that is true or not but rumors have to get started somewhere, right?!

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 133!
Running Time: 14 minutes | File Size: 6.61 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• HostingBookmarks.com = Quality Hosting Resource!
• Tips to Spy on Your Server and Web Hosting Company!
• Mitch’s Golden Shopping Rules for Web Hosting!
• 10 Terabyes of Disk Space/Bandwidth for $1!
• Round 2 for the Best of the Blogging Scripts!
• Vote for Mitch as Ping! Zine’s Funniest Writer of 2007!

Did I ever mention that Sean Connery was my favorite James Bond? Then again - Sean Connery could do a voice over for a mupet and I’d probably like him in that too. There’s no doubt though if Sean Connery was a Web hosting company - there would be no others on the block.

On a day to day basis I get a lot of hosting related links sent my way to review and check out. Here are some of the latest hosting related web sites that have caught my eye and got my attention.

TheWebHostBiz.com
This web site wants to be your guide to starting and running a successful web hosting business. Whether you are just starting out, or you have been around for some time, TheWebHostBiz.com features the tools, applications, service providers and resources that will make your web host business a success.

ServerADay.com
Well the short story for this web site given on the web site itself is “We think all those ‘deal-a-day’ websites out there are cool so we thought what the heck. We have something to sell, so why not give it a shot.” Also being a division of OLM means you don’t have to worry about any shady deals coming forth.

iWeb’s Server Warehouse Clearance Deals
This is another server deal finder that will allow you to hunt for a server of your own. You can list by price and “time of posting” for your deals. The inclusion of an RSS feed for the deals is also a winner. This looks like a great new way for the iWeb people to market themselves to the bargain hunters.

Remember you can always send me your hosting related links at mitch@mitchkeeler.com. New or old, I always love to check them all out.

I have touched on the topic of backing up your web site time and time again. With each article or podcasts I always seem to get the same remark.

“Well, thats great - now can you make it easy?”

For a long time I’d say no. Making it easy means doing something such as cron jobs and scheduling and a lot of other things that regular people don’t want to take the time to do. Now my new solution for the easy way out it going to be…

“Go buy CP Site Saver, it is reeking of awesomeness!”

CP Site Saver is the first tool for backing up your cPanel powered web sites that I have seen that actually works. No need for filling in confusing settings and geeky details. The whole process takes a matter of minutes and then your good to go.

The interface is simple, you just tell it your hosting login information and database details and then hit the backup button. The quickness and simplistics of it all are really amazing. My beef with many programs like this is there are 200 boxes you must fill in and keep updated. CP Site Saver just get the basics and lets you relax while it does the hard work.

When your all done, you’ll also be able to unzip you backup and have a look through it. What does CP Site Saver need? Well, it might be more of a flaw in cPanel rather than their product but I would really like to be able to say, I want to backup everything but that one folder. Also I wish there was a better control on having it startup with your computer (give me a yes/no box on that choice). Those are the only “nit-picky” issue I could find though.

Now there is a price tag on all this bliss, but $49.95 isn’t asking too much when you consider the time you will be saving.

Download the free 10 day trial and give it a shot. The trial will only allow you to work with one web site and one database backup. That should be enough to sell you though on this awesome service.