Content Management Systems such as WordPress enable clients to be able to update websites and handle their own content.
WordPress itself also offers functionality to directly edit the website by clicking on the text they want to change. This means if they are browsing over their website and want to make a quick change then they can click it and a WYSIWYG editor will popup on the page. Change the word/sentence and you’re done.
Compare that to logging into the administration area and finding the correct page and then editing it and pressing ‘save’. It’s not a huge overhead but it’s extra steps to change maybe just one word and people are always looking to save time.
The front-end editing only allows you to make text changes and does not let you change any other details of the page – so if you wanted anything more you would have to go into the administration area.
So which one do you think (or know) clients would choose? Or would they prefer not to touch the content at all and pay a monthly retainer for somebody else to do it?
[poll id="2"]
Note: The front-end editing isn’t in the core installation of WordPress but can easily be added by using the Front End Editor plugin.
Posted on May 6, 2011 in Content Management, Web Development, WordPress
It has been argued that clients should be kept out of the content management loop entirely, as with even the tightest of content guidelines they sometimes fail to understand context in its entirety.
Content management skills vary depending on level of skill, as well. Some might find it ok to manage content on both the front and back end, but they should still adhere to strict content guidelines.
Some companies charges hundreds of pounds a month to manage it though – that can’t be sustainable at the moment for companies and thus the move over to a CMS.
I think then training is important when handing over a website to ensure the client can manage it successfully. Limiting the scope of what they can access is important as well.
What strict guidelines are you thinking of? From a coding point of view or the content they actually submit?
Guidelines to do with basic styling, visual styling and content education. I.e. content structure
I agree Gavin. I used to view the implementation of CMS as a way of making sites easier for the client to manage. I’m now shifting that way of thinking to “it makes sites easier for me to manage” sometimes without the client even knowing. Steve and I once even scrapped a CMS build completely as it was becoming apparent that the client wasn’t going to be able to use it and it wasn’t ever going to do what they wanted it to.
Steve, as a designer who isn’t a developer, all three of the above are valid arguments and as you know I employ all three of these methods currently, so I guess it depends on a few things: budget, what the client wants, and the complexity and frequency of the updates required.
A couple of clients that I have worked with have cited the cost of paying a developer to update their website as the main reason why they wanted a new site. Some of the figures they were being charged for the simplest of updates were absolutely scandalous!
The more the Internet evolves, the greater the need for businesses to publish dynamic and regularly updated content. Whether a client manages their website through the front-end or an admin console is just down to personal preference.
In my experience, clients don’t just want to change simple things. They might say they do, as in “oh all I need is somewhere I can update news”… then you set that up and suddenly they want to add sections, add forms, questionnaires, video. They see something on a competitor website and they want to follow suit.
Alan – I think that’s another problem altogether. Clients see a competitors site and they want to copy it regardless of if the features add any value to the website.
I have written a separate article called ‘How Clients can reduce the cost of their website’ regarding that subject.
As for this one, I think WordPress as a CMS is a great starting place as you can add forms, questionnaires, polls, etc etc on following the initial delivery of the site and as long as the Content Management makes it easy for ‘someone’ then I guess it’s doing it’s job. This site is built with WordPress as I find it easier to manage my portfolio and my blog as the SEO benefits (if done correctly) are also good as well.