I have been a DNN fan since version 2.x or so. Our relationship has had its ups and downs. Most of the time, it has been ‘up,’ since late versions of 4.9. DNN 6 changes everything, and so far it looks like it changes everything for the better.
As much as I have liked DotNetNuke for years, I always kind of had to bite my lip when I showed the admin. interface to a client. It was painful and unpleasant, but at least it worked. The new admin. interface in DNN 6 promises to be much more user friendly and should make our clients much happier.
We have been a big fan of modal pop-ups for admin. tasks for a long time. In fact, our ‘Content General’ module used this kind of admin. interface well over a year ago. We are very excited that DNN copied this from us! Well, not really, but it is a nice fantasy.
The ease of using cloud storage is a big plus with 6.0, giving us a nice combination of access to gobs of inexpensive storage and the ability to implement a kind of Content Delivery Network for media files and the like.
The new Page management function will really help novice and advanced admin. users alike. Drag-and-drop functionality is great and the general streamlining of all functions is more than welcomed.
DotNetNuke 6 is a no brainer if you are starting a new site from scratch. Unless you absolutely require a module that is not currently compatible, you should start out with DNN 6. The new template is really nice and the advanced users I have talked to really like the fact that there is a blank template available, too.
However, upgrading may not be a ‘no brainer’. We have upgraded or helped with upgrading at least a dozen sites so far. None have worked totally seamlessly, although the problems we have been faced with were certainly not catastrophic. Other than modules that are not ready for DNN 6, we have been able to fix any upgrade issues we have seen. Whatever you do, back up before you upgrade.