Making it as easy as
possible
The kind of CMS you choose depends on a number of factors. It's about getting the right balance of power, price and ease of use.
You don't need to be privy to the secrets of the web designer and programmer to keep your web site up to date and looking great. CMS (Content Management Systems) are systems that allow ordinary people to manage and update websites. There are different types of CMS system and they range from being free (such as Joomla and Wordpress) to hugely expensive (Alterian et. al.).
The last permanent position I had was in 2000-2001 where I developed a low cost CMS tool aimed at basic HTML sites. It didn't sell that many copies in the first instance and the company folded weeks after it launched when the investors pulled out in the wake of 9/11 and the dot com crash. I started FastDev later in 2001 and concentrated on bespoke applications and back office systems firmly believing that the CMS market was well covered.
As the years went on, I was increasingly asked to add CMS features into web sites that I did database work for. Gradually the features were added in until, in 2007, the first major enterprise CMS went live with the full compliment of features to enable a group of non-technical users to do everything and anything to a site (and do it in a controlled way). This is the FastDevWeb system we offer today.
I was surprised that FastDevWeb, seemingly so late on in the development of the Internet, found a ready market when there is a plethora of other CMS systems around. The answer is in getting the right balance of power, cost and ease of use.
Joomla and Wordpress can be downloaded in minutes for free, but few people will have the skills and patience to get it to make a leading edge site that looks any good and stands out from the crowd. On the other hand, enterprise CMS systems used by larger organisations come with a price tag of £50,000+. This is way out of reach for the small to medium sized business.
For schools and small to medium sized businesses who form our customer base, the trick is to have a system which is quick deploy, easy to use and flexible to cater for all content types. The other important element that we see as being top priority is ensuring that the content stays in keeping with the original creative as the site grows and expands.
Jonathan Charles 06/05/2010