Hi
Several people are misunderstanding why some of us are challenging the
use of Contribute (please note, challenging, not refusing) and why a
consultant might discover (please note: discover, not insist) where a
CMS might be a better solution for the client in the long run and
better meets their own expressed business goals and defined measurable
strategy (note: in line with their business goals and internal
resources, not dictated to rudely).
So please understand my position in this matter (I can't speak for
others) when I say a simple CMS might achieve the goals you already
have expressed (easy to edit, client stays outside of code, accessible
and SEO friendly pages) and is worth considering and suggesting.
All I said was it is your job to find the best fit of technology that
meets their stated goals and available resources and not bow to their
not necessarily wide-enough research.
To reflect on the example you stated, where the client clicks a button
on the existing site to edit the copy of the page therein; well what
about posting news items in the site simply by send in an email to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]
" without even having to visit the site,which is possible with some
CMS's or using a blog to increase presence and content interest which
wordpress (installed in a hour and can move a large site's 50 pages of
content into within a day) could easily mnage.
The point was not to roll over and use the technology they request but
to dig deeper into their business goals and resources and aims for the
site, step back and analyse their needs, then return with a best fit
for their time, aims, strategy and budget.
Joe
On 04/11/2008, at 1:02 AM, Susan Grossman wrote:
On Sat, Nov 1, 2008 at 5:53 AM, James Farrell
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi Guys,
A client wants to use Adobe Contribute for content management.
Is there any point writing standards complient code or will
contribute butcher the code anyway?
Can I use php at all with contribute? Would love to be able to
include html files using php to avoid having to change loads of
pages everytime navigation changes etc.
James
I do free work for non-profits, and many of them ask about using
Contribute. A CMS won't work for them because most of them have a
small existing website that they got someone to do at some point in
the last few years and they're trying to change it/add to it/figure
out how to do anything to it. They aren't willing to start from
scratch and have a CMS set up for them, nor do the volunteers want
to learn all about editing in a role based application, no matter
how easy it is. These are the people who Contribute is a lifesaver
for. I go in and clean up their stuff, make it into PHP and design
includes they can't accidently edit and show them how to use
Contribute by surfing to their web site and clicking the Contribute
button. TaDa - they can edit, sans butchering.
Yes there are better solutions out there, but there's nothing wrong
with this solution. I don't feel it's my job to tell them that I
won't help them unless they get on board with the latest and
greatest. I'm here to help them make sure their web site is
accessible and that they can change text on the few pages they'll
update.
For me, the client is always right. They know their business, their
people, their limitations. That doesn't mean I can't say, "Yes,
though we could also do that by XXXX" but in the end, they make
the final decisions and a lot of the time I don't agree on
everything, but they call the shots, and we have to be gracious. I
try to teach as I go , but I don't force my clients to learn if they
don't want to. And you might be surprised how many don't want to.
--
Susan R. Grossman
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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