CMS question

[DaveGears86]

To start, what I know about CMS can be written on the back of a postage stamp.

I've looked up articles and researched information about CMS but can anybody shed some light on if there is a free system one could use or pass on to clients? or is it only available on the hosting account where the site is hosted?

I understand that they are used to make it easier for the client to edit their websites content but I just don't understand the logistics/workings of how to get one and link it to the website so that editing is possible.

If I'm completely wrong then feel free to set me straight.

Thanks, appreciate it.

[Boss Hog]

Wordpress is a good example.

[Corrosive]

You can get some CMS that come with hosting. You can get 'one click' installs of Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla etc with Fantastico on CPanel hosting.

Otherwise you can download the files for your CMS of choice and install it yourself by FTPing your files to the server, creating a database and going through the install process. That is a simplified description as some CMS are harder to install than others.

As for including it in a website for a client, you tend to build websites round a CMS platform/framework so that the update functionality is core to the project. Personally I advocate ModX CMS as one of the most flexible out there.

Hope at least some of that helps

[Corrosive]

Wordpress is a good example.

No it isn't

[Boss Hog]

No it isn't

Actually I always seem to big-up wordpress as I have a couple of sites that run it which seem to work perfectly and are easy to update, but in the 'website design' world is it actually something you would recommend to people or are there much better and even easier options available?

[Corrosive]

Actually I always seem to big-up wordpress as I have a couple of sites that run it which seem to work perfectly and are easy to update, but in the 'website design' world is it actually something you would recommend to people or are there much better and even easier options available?

My main beef with Wordpress, from a developers point of view, is the templating system. It is counter-intuitive to my way of thinking. I want to have total flexibility with a design and then add the functionality I need. My (I must admit limited to a couple of sites) experience with Wordpress was an awful lot of hacking and workarounds to achieve the layout I wanted... Now that can't be right... can it?

Wordpress is ideal if you are happy to use a pre-made template to get a website up nice and quick. I.e. because budgets are limited. But, for a designer who know how to code CSS and HTML it can be incredibly frustrating.

ModX lets you start from scratch every time so I can do what I want... And that makes me happy

I also think that generic looking Wordpress template sites are making the web an incredibly dreary place to be right now. I can spot a Wordpress website 99 times out of 100.

[Tony Hardy]

I like Wordpress but as a CMS it's not really even ideal. When people use the visual editor in there to add say, prices to a website, if they press the return key or a backspace in the wrong place, that can add tons of unnecessary code or break a layout, similar to drag and drop Dreamweaver.

I use it for my site but that's because I at least have a grasp on how websites work. However, I've just used it for a clients site, and, when they're editing their pricing, it's all going to pot because they don't really understand it enough.

I think with most CMS' even a basic understanding of the platform is probably required.

Also, in regards to Wordpress design, I've never tried the template from scratch thing yet, mostly hacking other templates to bit like Corrosive noted and building them from there. I'm going to look into the scratch built Wordpress sites when I get some spare time.

[Corrosive]

I like Wordpress but as a CMS it's not really even ideal. When people use the visual editor in there to add say, prices to a website, if they press the return key or a backspace in the wrong place, that can add tons of unnecessary code or break a layout, similar to drag and drop Dreamweaver.

Unfortunately there is little getting away with not using a content editor such as TinyMCE in any CMS. ModX uses them and I do, occasionally, get some clients with stupid amounts of code in their content but, hey, you can only do so much.

I'd say that is down to a decent handover as much as anything. Don't be afraid to 'toggle' the editor and show them some of the background code going in, explain about headers, paragraphs etc. and show the code they create. That way most clients will check for tidiness when they have finished creating or editing their site. Some, as you say, will never get it though.

[DaveGears86]

Thanks for your responses.

It seems as though some CMS systems are not as easy to navigate as people like to make out.

Funny enough, I've not had any clients request CMS yet which means I have not delved in and explored a plan of action in order to succesfully set one up.

[ArtWorkNetWork]

Hi DaveGears86

I returned to the Website Design Industry recently. I gave up a perfectly good job to do what I like the most.

After trying out quite a few CMS's, I finished on CMSMS (Content Management System Made Simple).

It is my first choice when providing a CMS for a client who DOES NOT want to go through a steep technical learning curve.

I do ALL the technical stuff such as template, style sheet, module, and functionality management. Then I take the client through the 'Editors' admin panel.

Clients Learning Curve - 1 to 2 hours
Page Limits - NONE
Growth Limits - NONE

It's Simple, Looks Great and delivers what it says on the tin...!

PM me for a further chat...

Simon