ExpressionEngine is not the only content management system on the market, and indeed, it is often compared side-by-side to open source and other free CMS/blogging tools. A question that is often asked on the forums is why should you pay for ExpressionEngine if you can get another tool for free?
The bottom line is that there is a lot more to the cost of building a website than the cost of the software. When you take into account all the hidden costs, ExpressionEngine provides excellent value for money.
Although ExpressionEngine is not free, it is very reasonably priced for the features (especially for a non-commercial license). The fee goes to support future development as well as software support via the forums. EllisLab employs a number of dedicated technical support specialists in a number of time zones who all diligently monitor the support forums. For you, this means that the response times are very good and there will be support when you need it. (If you are looking at a free alternative, you will often find support is provided on a volunteer-only basis or that the cost for commercial support far exceeds that of an ExpressionEngine license).
If you are a business choosing a content management system, it is reassuring to know that EllisLab is a company in it for the long haul. To stay in business, they need to keep ExpressionEngine attractive to new and existing users — by delivering a robust product that works, by providing world class support, and by developing innovative features that people want.
ExpressionEngine also has a vibrant and growing developer community, building add-ons that further extend the functionality in many ways (See Chapter 10, Extending ExpressionEngine for key ExpressionEngine add-ons). Many add-ons that are available are commercial-grade applications in their own right, easy to install, and complete with support so you can feel confident using these add-ons without the feeling that you are somehow hacking ExpressionEngine. ExpressionEngine 2's base in CodeIgniter (a respected open source PHP framework also created by EllisLab) has further increased the pool of developers, which is resulting in more and more high-quality add-ons. Generally speaking, if the core features of ExpressionEngine lack something you would like to see, someone else may have already thought of it and built an add-on that would meet your needs. If you need something a little more specific (that would not appeal to most users), ExpressionEngine maintains a Pro Network listing of ExpressionEngine experts that you could approach (http://expressionengine.com/professionals/) and there is also a job board forum where you can post your needs.
The bottom line is that ExpressionEngine is a solid choice for businesses and individuals looking to balance value for money with a high-quality product from a company that will be around for a long-time to come.
You can always identify the best tools of a trade by looking at what the professionals in that trade use. ExpressionEngine is hugely popular among website developers and designers. Many web design businesses use ExpressionEngine for their clients almost exclusively, and the reason for this is simple — ExpressionEngine does not get in the way.
Other tools make it difficult to make your website your own. For example, they might make it easy to create an initial website (that looks like everyone else's), but then you have to invest a lot of time learning how to tweak the site to meet your needs (in addition to the time spent learning the software itself).
With ExpressionEngine, you are free to design any website you can imagine. If you look through the showcase of ExpressionEngine-powered websites (http://show-ee.com/) one thing that will stand out is that no two websites look the same. ExpressionEngine allows you to code a website using all the tools of the trade (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP), and then enhance that website by providing additional functionality that would be difficult to build from the ground up.