MVC Framework and CMS

Question

I'm wondering just where a CMS - out of box like SiteFinity, Sitecore, SharePoint, DotNetNuke, etc. - fits with the MS MVC Framework (1 or 2). The MVC Framework presents a lot of benefits for developers and for overall SEO and SEM value, while most CMS platforms require a lot of the WebForms "stuff" that comes with ASP.NET. Thoughts? I'm trying to figure out if these two pieces fit well together for future projects, or if they are disparate concepts?

BTW: I realize that a custom CMS could work, however that can require an awful lot of extra time than just setting up an instance of an out of box CMS.

Answer 1

MVC is a pattern. There are CMS systems that are webforms-based, like DNN, and ones that are based on MVC, like Orchard. Either framework (Webforms or MVC) are equally capable of supporting a CMS. Your choice should be based primarily on the one that offers the features you want. If you expect to extend it with plugins, and you're already familiar with Webforms, go with the one you know unless you want to learn MVC.

Answer 2

My thoughts are you very limited in the tools/components available to you at present when you choose to go the MVC route. Although there are a few CMS components out there for MVC they lack maturity IMHO. I believe in a couple of years when MVC has more maturity you'll be able to achieve the speed and sophistication of application development that is close or on par with Webforms.

Right now though if you have a lean project budget, and you need sophisticated functionality (i.e. CMS); Webforms still remains hard to beat when you have those constraints.