This blog uses a CMS (Content Management System) named WordPress. No secret, there is a link to where you can get a copy in the left column under Meta/WordPress.org. It works well and I run many blogs using this software.
I also have another CMS I like to use called Joomla. The name has been hyperlinked to their website if you care to check them out. It too is a very good CMS with more control function than WordPress provides (IMHO). My bigger, non-blog sites are created using Joomla.
There is one more product I used for CMS site building and that is named Drupal. You can follow that link. I only have two minor web sites using Drupal. Blognasium is one of them. The other is a test site. There are several more CMS systems available. I use MS SharePoint at my corporate job, but it is not a free CMS like my personal websites and requires MS Office and a MS server (software). I use Linux on my websites.
The scary upgrade is with my Joomla sites. They have changed Major version numbers from 2.xx to 3.xx. Actually they did that more than a year ago. But now they have stopped supporting the 2.xx version with updates. Some users are still publishing in 1.xx but it hasn’t been supported for many years. An old version Joomla doesn’t break and they keep working, but there is no effort to keep 1.xx and now 2.xx versions current with security and using new features available in updated versions of database and other basic support software.
I have built a site using the 3.xx version of Joomla and it is NOT scary. The scare comes in when I want to convert an old 2.xx version which is HUGE to the new form. The base Joomla code update is nearly a push the button operation. The problems may be with the accessory code that I have added to make my websites do what I want them to do. Those accessories many not convert at the push of a button.
I have some small sites with which I can start the conversion, so I can be less scared when I move to convert my complex websites.
The correct process is to create a copy version of the original website using a new database. Make sure it runs like original version. Leave old site running. Convert the new copy to the new version. Be careful, test everything, and make sure it is running properly. Convert the public URL path to the new version location OR move old version to a storage location and move new version into old location (no change to URL path) (euww! too many moves.) Practice constant backup during process. If new site is running properly, remove and archive old version from server.
Scary, right? Yeah, but that’s why I earn the big bucks. I’ll get a 30% pay raise from my $0.00 base salary if it all works correctly! …or was that only 3%?