It’s good to be busy again. It seemed as if things went into a bit of a recession over the last few months, but lately things have been getting busier around here. Some nice new clients, some exciting work for existing clients, and a lot of my own stuff on the go has kept me out of mischief.
I’m really finding WordPress to be a pleasure to work with. Semantic, valid code aside, it’s really easy to use, it’s pretty stable and forgiving and whats even better is that my clients seem to love it.
Do You Think A CMS Is Worth Using?
I have been discussing the use of WordPress with a friend and colleague of mine lately, and while we seem to be agreeing to disagree, he feels that a simple site should be just plain old HTML with CSS. We’re not talking aesthetics here, but rather the structure of the site.
Now this guy is no fool. Far from it. He’s one of the most talented and experienced programmers I know and someone whose opinion I regard highly. We just happen to disagree on this.
My take on the subject is that regardless of whether you’re using WordPress or some other content management system; as long as it produces valid, semantic code to the browser, you’re likely making your life a lot easier by using it.
He mentions the fact that setting up a static site is much easier. My opinion is that for a one pager maybe… but if there is more than one page, and things are likely to grow, you are doing yourself or your client a major disservice by not even considering a CMS.
Sure, designing a site and integrating it into a CMS package may take you a little longer than just setting up a static site, but considering the code output to the browser is as good quality, if not better than most hand coders/dreamweaver’s output… where was I going with this? I’m sure you can figure it out.
Look at the benefits of a CMS:
- Add a page on the fly.
- Add a news item, page element or add to your gallery/existing pages on the fly.
- Restructure page ordering, take them down and work on them till they’re public ready again.
- All of this and more without touching Dreamweaver, a code editor or even and FTP program.
Well, I’ve managed to convince myself. I guess thats what matters to me.
I am a big believer in function over form. Word Press gives you both. Good functionality, great aesthetics and convenience. But I’m a convert.
Thanks for the comment. Wow, things have been quiet here on the comment/posting front.
Agreed, WordPress is brilliant. I was recently told by a client that he thinks WordPress is too blocky, but I told him it’s his designer who is blocky
If you can’t get the desired aesthetic out of a WordPress site, then you don’t know WordPress.
I agree with you. Nothing you can’t do with Word Press. Thought Leader etc is built using Word Press and I’ve blogged on a number of Word Press sites. Love them.
nother good thing discovered about WP blog sites – they are much better in performance and navigation via a CELL PHONE WAP browser. Just try and surf a static html site and you’ll be in wap hell.
wp also seems to be loved my many search bots – suppose because it’s valid rss etc.
so, yes agree that if you don’t at least offer the option of a cms to your client then they’ll soon enough enquire ubout ability to add/uodate own pages – you know people talk & my clients talk to their clients etc.
I have introduced many clients over the years to dynamic content driven sites that had a web designer once who didn’t offer this flexibility… it’s about value.
Hi Keeper, thanks for the comment. I agree that WP sites are well structured on the most part, it’s mainly because the system almost forces you to have a semantic website. The Permalink structure of WP also aides in search engine indexing. “Code is Poetry” is WordPress’ motto.
A static website can be made with the same level of quality in all respects except the ease in updating. For the extra hours spent implementing a CMS, I think it’s well worth it for that fact alone. Regardless of whether you update once a month or every hour.
I do agree that WP is probably the easiest platform to use to have an updatable website that is made properly (semantic, valid code) without having to jump through hoops of fire.