Hi all,
Formerly suffering with tinnitus a web designer for a variety of years now. WHEN I also fully program code the sites WHEN I design, minus any vast perception of CGI, PHP, and so on. I do make use of standard HTML (or XHTML), Thumb, and full CSS. I’m pretty up to date on CSS, requirements and all, but may be fairly " old fashioned" otherwise:
After i complete a web page, almost everything is. html files in an FTP server, which are editable by FTP or GoLive or whatever, saved and/or published. There’s a lot of integrated Flash, CGI screenplays, etc, as essential, but while I do design the particular Flash, all additional stuff (CGI calendars, site searches, form digesting, shopping carts, etc) I recently download and customize.
I take lots of pride in the form aspect above all, my clients will be always happy, and I do think my sites look good and varied.
I’ve played webmaster just the summer sites (doing once a month updates for clients) while others are sort with static, rarely-changing websites. But now I have a few clients who want control over constantly editing their unique sites — uploading images, news improvements, calendars, other pages. Problem is, including most clients, they don’t have great style and design sense (and NO coding skills) therefore I don’t wish them just FTP’ing in and editing the HTML like I might if I ended up being making updates to get them. Plus, obviously, even if dress yourself in do that, FTP having access to edit your code shouldn’t be a place for your client anyway. aranoid:
Hence I’m sensing some sort of transition from my own old-fashioned " FTP-by-myself-and-forget" methods.
I have been reading that CMS is a way of the longer term (er, the present) yet haven’t found something that works with luck and the method I design however.
Now i’m currently testing Drupal SOME. 7, but haven’t even had time to learn how to make my design and style a template/theme. I can’t get a separation between designing/putting mutually an HTML page — and suddenly having to code PHP the choices set my structure! I’ve heard Mambo, joomla, and opensource can be pretty respected. But is this particular the ONLY best option Using preset templates, editing some set CSS, adding any logo, and giving we a site
How one can design a web page (i. e. actually DESIGN it throughout Photoshop), build it including I normally would certainly — or as a minimum templatize it into a system — and allow the customer to edit content without ruining the theory (i. e. splitting tables, going nuts with 72pt Occasions, uploading 300dpi images)
I’ve also seen Macromedia Contribute which looks nifty, only it costs $70 for each user, and feels more in-house in comparison with client-based. And the closest I’ve come to having client command over content can be using Coranto to get news updates — the customer can use a browser, enter that text, and all regarding my PRESET styles maintain how it looks devoid of worries. I’d basically prefer that functionality for an entire site — editable content material, preset design i actually DESIGN (not edit coming from a CSS template that ships having a CMS).
So tips on how to let your artistically-challenged clients take over the website you suitable for them Is CMS the sole way (and is there one that genuinely accommodates original designs) Perhaps there is another solution POST haven’t found
I’d really love to hear what people all do!
If you would like your clients and therefore add the written content you mentioned, then a CMS is the best best bet.
Worrying over large fonts and so on, ruining designs must not be an challenge, as any CMS worth it’s salt can be a stylesheet connected.
www. opensourcecms. com enables you to try out CMS’s when you download them.
Yeah, that’s what I became thinking. Is that basically the only way
By CMS, I’m not so concerned about fonts, and so on, as like anyone said, it must be pretty much restricted by style bedding.
But my most significant hurdle was finding the one that would accommodate my style of designing. Something where I design your website in Photoshop, program code my. html page (template), and plug the content inside. I’ve been competent to do that to get individual scripts — my partner and i. e. Coranto, a new CGI photo gallery, diary, in-site search serp, e-commerce, etc. They all use a similar format:
< html> < head> My own Site< /head> < body> (My typical coded HTML pattern here; all kitchen tables, CSS, Flash, and so on, as I created them. Use by myself Flash menu and also CSS/JS menu). <! -- PUT CONTENT --> <! -- information content, photo gallery, no matter what data is rich here --> (Close away my tables, sleep of design, etc) < /body> < /html>
So basic, and the content is actually " framed" through the HTML template WHEN I designed.
All of the CMS demos I’ve tried look as if limit, if not really force, what I can or want to do…. i. e. learn lots of PHP or utilize a specific pre-determined menu system. I haven’t found one who acts like the templatizing of all the scripts I’ve had time to customize, where I will simply load CMS-editable articles into my active designs/coding.
The particular search continues…
Holy garbage, I think I found the right CMS for our exact situation: " CMS Made Simple" (www. cmsmadesimple. org).
I may take my exact. html document page, drop in some stylesheet and written content tags, and watch as CMS-editable written content fills my made pages. It was simple to set up, simple to setup, and, at least up front (still have yet to essentially dig into it) looks simple to use. Apparently the label wasn’t just marketing jargon.
I will use Flash, embedded javascript, by myself old CSS documents, even a full table layout only want. I am not restricted by means of editing CSS/column presets, nor am I forced to use built-in dropdown selections or other adventures I don’t have. Since I implement my own Expensive menus or whatever I have already coded, it would extremely easy to be able to port any in the sites I’ve undoubtedly built to CMS Designed Simple without revamping these folks in PHP (i. at the. Drupal) or re-thinking them to fit categorized menus (i. at the. Mamb