Plone

About Plone

Plone is a great open-source tool for building websites and moderating content created by users and is the software the OSSIG website is based upon. It offers several unique features compared to standard website building solutions including the ability to integrate python code within websites rather than just JavaScript, and the ability to create fine-tuned user permissions & permission groups, with many different levels of content visibility and positing permissions available to be assigned to users.

Plone has also been used by a variety of global organizations across the world including the FBI, Verizon, and the United Nations. It is known for its high level of security and customizability for building both intranets and creating external facing user content.

Getting Started

Plone is available to download for a wide variety of Operating systems including Linux, BSD, MacOS, and Windows if ran through Windows Subsystem for Linux or a different containerization / virtual machine solution.

The latest version is available for download here.

The initial learning curve and setup process for Plone can be complex for new users, especially if setup from scratch. as such, if you are new to Plone but have some familiarity with Docker or Podman, we highly recommend you install Plone using their preconfigured templates rather than using the above download link to start an install from scratch. If you would prefer to start your install from scratch however, the Plone 6 Documents offer good and detailed instructions on how to do so.

When installing, some recommend using the ClassicUI option due to the greater amount of documentation available for the Classic Plone UI, and the ease of configuration compared to enabling both the frontend and backend separately with the modern UI. Creating a project with the Volto frontend is still a good idea if you would like to try out the new features offered by Volto. Just be sure to avoid using Plone 5.X or lower when creating a new installation, as these versions are no longer supported, and represent a potentially substantial security concern as time goes on due to the lack of patches and security updates these versions will receive.

Plone Learning Materials

Given Plone is the basis of this website and is software that Mentors within the OSSIG are heavily involved in, we plan on releasing Training materials to the course canvas shortly. Please check back soon for additional training materials.