Editable Sites - Welcome

Welcome to 'Editable Sites' a new website helping you take control of your website. We aim to educate website owners about the growing popularity of editable web sites.

This new site is aimed primarily at:

Users without a website but who are thinking about hiring a web designer
Users with an existing website but who feel they lack control of the site

Old Web 'Design' - Non-editable Websites

Historically websites were maintained through software installed on one person's PC. This person was then the only person who could update the site and no-one else could gain access to edit it. When, as does occur, you lost contact with your web designer you could literally be 'locked out' of your own website.

Modern Editable Web Sites

Modern websites are editable, managed via content management systems that are installed as part of the website itself. Using and editable website you literally use the website to edit the website - and all you need is your web browser, an an internet connection and computer skills capable of using a word processor such as Microsoft Word. The website owner can create multiple user accounts enabling multiple people to login and administer the site - updating old content, adding new articles and images. Best of all - multiple people can edit or update the site at the same time.

Help With Your 'Editable Site'

The 'Editable Sites' website is owned and operated by Dean Marshall Consultancy Limited. We are recognised experts in 'editable websites' which can be managed by their owners without the need for advanced technical skills or tools.

Content Management Systems such as Mambo CMS and Joomla! have changed our industry by putting the control back into the hands of the website owner and removing the need for traditional web designers. You no longer need to pay hundreds of pounds or dollars every time you want a new page adding to your website. Editable sites that utilise content management systems offer a wide array of benefits. We discuss these benefits here on this website.

Of course as with any technology that puts you in control there is a catch - but it isn't as bad as you might think. Put simply there is some additional setup work required to install, configure your editable site. The process can be automated - and with a little guidance most non-technical users manage to get up and running. Not everyone learns at the same speed though and some people understandably struggle more than others. We discuss the difficulties that those starting out with editable sites can experience.

We are here to help

The learning curve can be steep - this is a necessary consequence of removing a whole tier of intermediaries from the process of web site design and management. This website will offer help, advice and guidance to those of you who choose to try your hand at managing your own website using a content management system. As well as help and guidance we also offer some hands on practical help to those who need it. For example we can offer technical support if something goes wrong - we really are internationally recognised authorities in this field.

We can offer help at any stage of a project - anywhere from helping scope out a new website development, installing the CMS software, templating and design issues, logo design right the way on up to website hosting and technical troubleshooting with web server software. Whatever your needs we have something to offer.

We recommend the following two Content Management Systems:

Mambo CMS - which regularly beat Firefox to top honours in software awards.
Joomla - which is an offshoot of the older Mambo project

These are two of the most popular CMSs out there and bothh offer excellent balance of power and simplicity - in fact the Mambo advertising tag line is 'power through simplicity'.

Our boss - Dean - is himself a well known figure in these two projects and in these communities and currently serves on the board of the Mambo Foundation, a non-profit organisation that looks after the assets and finances of the Mambo project. As you can hopefully see - we have some extremely knowledgeable people on board and some first class connections.

Editable Sites - The Benefits

Benefits of a CMS

It is just so easy - within five minutes you can create a new page or update an existing page.

It is just so easy (2) - some web hosts offer simplified one-click installs of Content Management Systems. Standard installation is fairly straightforward but does require some knowledge of web site setup. One click install just makes the process so accessible.

It is just so cheap - no £100 per page or per update, just log in and do it yourself.

It is just so cheap (2) - thousands of pounds worth of software for free. These Content Management Systems are free.

Back up is available when you need it - teams of professionals offer services to help you when you get stuck.

Separation of content from display - making it easy to install a new look (template) and change the appearance of the whole site in seconds. Thriving third party industry in templates - many providers offering high quality affordable templates.

Pre-built features such as contact forms, link directories and voting features add dynamic interaction that those of you with old school 'static html' sites can only dream of.

Extensibility - content management systems are often highly extendable. Developers can create add-ons that will incorporate new features. Again a thriving market in add-ons ensures plenty of flexibility and plenty of choice.

Editable Web Site - The Difficulties

Editable sites bring control of websites into the hands of the end users. This has great benefits for website owners but it does bring with it some challenges. That benefit of cutting out a whole level of middle man - the web 'designer' is to some extent a double edged sword. Massive savings in terms of money and turnaround on edits, but some more complex tasks falling on you the site owner. You have removed a layer of technical expertise between you the owner and the complexities of the website and web server. You have 'sacked' the web designer or web master and as a whole you (the owners) have less technical knowledge than your former web masters.

Whilst a website can be shown to be a relatively simple creature the processes involved in its creation are not as simple as you might suspect.

Think about this - I am sat at my computer (which may be using entirely different operating system, software or hardware) to you or to the webserver, drafting text which has to be transmitted from my PC to a webserver which must be setup to work with my chosen domain name. I have the ability to move files from my PC to this other computer (the webserver) and in turn the webserver passes my text and my imagesback down to you. It is actually a complicated old business and there are far more configurable options than most people realise - switching some of these on will enable new features, perhaps at the cost of performance. Sometimes the configuration involves editing files and a mistake here will take down the whole website. It happens.

Hopefully you can see from this that running a website is a complex business - certainly not rocket science by any means, but a little involved. Anyone new into this industry faces a few months with a steep learning curve. Whoever runs your site at the technical level would be well served to have this knowledge - either before they start or to acquire it shortly thereafter.

"Nothing I do is difficult" - Dean Marshall

Here at Dean Marshall Consultancy our boss - Dean - has a saying he likes to mention at least once a day. "Nothing I do is difficult" - please understand, this guy really does know his stuff and advises clients including blue chip multi-national corporations and governement bodies but the way he explains it is something like this:

Some tasks are complex in-so-far as they require prior knowledge or are built up from multiple simple steps that need to be done in the right order. No one step is difficult in and of itself, but the combination is often more daunting - especially to the uninitiated.

The solution - according to Dean - is simple. Be prepared to read and ask questions. Read pre-emptively. Don't wait until someting goes wrong and then look for the solution. Find out the top 10 or 20 things that can go wrong and read the solutions before you start. You won't remember the exact details of all of the solutions - but when you get bitten by the problem you will recognise it and remember that you have seen a solution. This is how those 'technically minded' people who 'intuitively' know how to set the timer on the VCR or tune the new TV do it. They read the manual - either before they start setting up their equipment or after a very quick perusal of the basic features. But don't stop there - once you are up and runninggo back and re-read thosehelp files and websites. Now you have a bit of experience some of what you previously didn't understand will start to fall into place and make so much more sense.

Of course all this reading and learning isn't for everyone - if you are too busy to learn all this stuff, or you tried and it just didn't happen for you there is always another option. Pay someone who already has the expertise to help you. There are a number of such CMS experts out there - and we would of course mention that we are right up there with the best.

More...

<< Start < Previous 1 2 Next > End >>

Results 1 - 6 of 10

New to Mambo? Looking for help or more information? Visit Mambo's official online help center or join the discussions at the Mambo Forums.