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Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - Jem - 10-21-2009
Wondering if anyone here who worked primarily with DreamWeaver in past years has found a Content Management System (CMS) that is easy to setup and use, and that plays well with DreamWeaver?
Or does what comes in most CMS packages obviate the need for DW?
I have recently had inquiries about helping set up some CMS based sites, but alas my background is mostly in DW (and the underlying HTML, etc.)
Are there any that are a natural "fit" for those with DW experience? I've looked briefly at Drupal, WordPress, Mambo and Joomla, but want to make sure I'm not missing something obvious before diving in deeper.
Thanks.
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - Seacrest - 10-21-2009
Most CMS's obviate the need for DW for content editors and creators.
If you're a dev and wanting to write plug-ins, themes or extensions, you need to look at the underlying tech of the CMS involved and determine whether that's something you're comfortable with.
Most of the ones you mentioned are PHP/MYSQL based.
You're probably going to host on a *Nix server of some type.
DW interacts with the PHP, CSS and everything else just like it would in any other web app. It also can connect to SFTP and FTP servers.
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - M A V I C - 10-21-2009
http://www.adobe.com/products/contribute/ maybe?
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - The UnDoug - 10-21-2009
That's what I was gonna say, MAVIC.
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - Jem - 10-21-2009
Thanks Seacrest, that's that's I suspected.
MAVIC/UnDoug, I dabbled with Contribute back on version 2.0, and my recollection was that:
1. One had to buy licenses for each workstation that might be doing updating (unlike open source CMS)
2. The functionality wasn't as robust as a true open source CMS, more like Dreamweaver on Training wheels.
3. The synchronizing/locking/unlocking of files between the designer and content managers didn't always work 100%.
Perhaps it has come a long ways since then. Will give it a second look in any event. Don't think having to have Contribute installed on every workstation where updates might be made would be acceptable though. Maybe that has changed?
Thanks.
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - Jem - 10-21-2009
Hmmm...
Just stumbled on this. Might be the missing link.
http://www.m65.net/articles-products-the-joomla-template-kit-dreamweaver-joomla-template-kit-1.html
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - M A V I C - 10-21-2009
I haven't used Contribute since about v.2 as well, and that was my take too.
I guess I don't really understand your request. A content management system typically has multiple layers. For example, there's an interface layer that's HTML/CSS and some PHP. There's also a business logic layer which controls content. Dreamweaver can edit the interface layer, but I wouldn't let it touch any of the deeper layers.
On a side note, I'd never, ever use Joomla for a client that is not extremely tech savvy. It's interface is horrible for anyone that doesn't have a lot of experience dealing with horrible interfaces.
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - Seacrest - 10-21-2009
I have a client that uses Contribute.
I hate it, mostly.
The problem is that people who use it don't care about proper coding and document structure (nor should they, really), they just want to WYSIWYG the content into something that's relatively pleasing to them.
So you ending with 1. really crappy HTML source code, and 2. ill-formed structures like creating lists by placing numbers then a bunch of "nbsp;" spaces and other crazier nonsense.
When the person gets stuck, somebody with HTML skills has to come in and edit the source, and it's generally a nightmare.
This is probably not much of a problem with simple sites or people who use DW in WYSIWYG mode, but it's also not that much of an issue with a database-backed CMS either -- as the CMS controls the styling -- with the added bonus of not requiring seat licenses for each client.
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - bazookaman - 10-21-2009
Didn't Adobe have a website to use with Dreamweaver that gave users the functionality of contribute (i.e. the ability to edit sections of a website) in a website? Seems I read something like that in a magazine. I thought it was a cool idea at the time. Not sure of the specifics though.
Edit: Found it... http://www.adobe.com/products/incontextediting/
Re: Recommendation? Best CMS software for someone familiar with DreamWeaver? - deckeda - 10-22-2009
A CMS is like your site's dashboard. Users log in and update content using a CMS. They don't build or design new stuff, and typically don't need a separate WYSIWYG editor apart from what simple editor comes with the interface.
For new page creation or layout (within limitations) on the site, the CMS handles that based on templates or other already agreed-upon design considerations baked in.
Jem, if they're asking for a CMS they are asking for a site they can easily update themselves without needing Dreamweaver or the knowledge to use it.