CMS more often than not
Today’s meeting with a new client got me thinking about CMS (Content Management System). To this point all commercial sites I’ve released on a CMS have been on Joomla!. I do have some things that I don’t like about it. But when I look at all the things I love about it, they far out way the cons. This post isn’t about Joomla! or any other named CMS for that matter. This most recent client of mine is coming from a relationship with a designer where he/she kept the Client in the dark, didn’t tell them that CMS was even available… gouged them for what I would consider out dated mediocre non standards based design.
So they come to me asking for CMS features (ability to update their own content, interact with clients…). However I am quite aware that they do not want to fork out the money to recreate their website when they just did that a year ago. So this got me to thinking, is it always best practice to use a CMS for every website.
I would have to say 90% of the time it is best to use a CMS of some sort. Whether thats Wordpress, Drupal, Typo3, or Joomla, I would generally throw a CMS in there. Reason being, at some point your client will most likely ask for the ability to update his/her own website. The only instance I wouldn’t use a CMS would be if the project would not grow for a LONG time, or if the site were very graphic and flash heavy, such as a typical band, movie, or recording artist website. These types of sites usually push into the realm of art pieces anyways. A little different. I have seen sites that are 30 and 40 pages deep with no underlying CMS. I pity the man that has to update that site.
