content management solutions
There are many CMS systems - these are the ones I work with
Adobe Contribute
This software is ideal for small sites where clients simply want to change text, edit email addresses, add or change images, create links to downloadable documents and other websites and create or delete new pages. Clients can even add simple paypal buttons and video. It works on one machine and has to be bought separately to the website.
The cost of the software (typically £200 for a single commercial licence) is offset by the fact that the website build is very easy. There is no need for any other special software or database driven applications. I have dozens of clients using Contribute & it has been widely praised for its simplicity. As an Adobe product it has the pedigree of a well supported and trusted software. Its other advantage is where your client has 2 or more websites - one copy of Contribute can be used with unlimited websites.
Wordpress
This is ideal for websites that are blog-based though they do not have to make use of the blogging functionality of the software. It is possibly the most used blogging/CMS software in the world. Clients can log in from any computer to do updates. Behind the scenes the software is much more sophisticated than basic websites and requires regular updating to keep it secure. It also requires specific hosting to run, but this is not usually any more expensive than regular hosting.
Wordpress is free & many of the excellent 'plugin' modules are too. It does however require more time to set up and install. The build of your designs takes just as long but there are extra layers of installation of the database and application that require more time.
Wordpress / regular HTML hybrid
This is a popular way to go. Most of the site is built quickly and efficiently using regular HTML/CSS code. The elements that need to be editable (such as news) are supplied by a copy of Wordpress behind the scenes. In this approach the styling for Wordpress is not needed - the site is using its own styling and extracting information from the database via Wordpress. Its ideal for small sites that only have limited information to updates.
CMS Made Simple
Another Content Management System that is ideal for small to medium sized sites.
Adobe Dreamweaver
This may seem an odd choice for CMS as its the de facto software used the world over to build websites however, it is also a very powerful tool for editing websites too! It does require that the user has a basic understanding of HTML & CSS, but nothing like the knowledge required to build the site in the first place. Many Graphic Designers already have this software as part of their Adobe Suite. Several of my clients have taught themselves enough to be able to maintain sites I have supplied to their customers.
