We are looking for an economical content management system for several
simple personal and small business websites, preferably using php.

We want (if possible): freedom to try various hosting options on
several domains, reasonable image handling, good jargon-free technical
support
(preferably plus a forum), option to use html, and option to pay for
design/layout skills on an hourly basis if required.

Does any straightforward solution exist without having to get involved
24/7 with the technicalities?

Many thanks.

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Clarification of Question by kosgoda-ga on 11 Apr 2006 13:46 PDT

Basically we need a product which lies between (a) An Open Source
solution and (b) a top-end commercially developed solution. That
doesn't seem easy to find.

As far as I know there is no one solution that will solve all of your
needs listed so you will need to use a combination of a few products.

- If you are looking to simply update articles and news on your sites
you could use moveable type, published by sixapart.
http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/

- Readyweb which is owned by Valueweb includes not only the hosting,
but they will also do minor updates to your site for you.
http://www.valueweb.com/web-design.htm

- I normally would not recommend Microsoft products, but for a limited
budget you may want to consider testing out the new Microsoft LIVE
product which is free during Beta and then goes up to $29.95/month
includes hosting and a free domain.

- vbulletin is probably the best tool for forums and reasonably priced.

ninjachad, many thanks for your comment, which was useful.

Since I had posted the original question, I have done some more
research, and I have been particularly impressed with ExpressionEngine
and Subdreamer, both seem to cover my requirements, and I will
evaluate these two against the products you mention.

One additional requirement is making sure that the pages they generate
are Search Engine friendly. With some of these CMS-type systems they
don't appear to use 'real word' urls, and that may make Google and
other Search Engines not as effective as they might be.

An interesting point for us is that many of the available CMS systems
are a bit shy of publishing their product prices - it seems they are
testing us out before price is quoted. So somewhere between $zero and
$40,000 should be possible (the latter was quoted to me yesterday).

For a list of vendors and pricing information check CMS Watch
(http://www.cmswatch.com/CMS/Vendors/)

They list 10 vendors in your price range.