DreamWeaver versus WordPress and Joomla
I had a conversation last night with a colleague. Why he was calling me to talk about website stuff from the hospital after having a heart stent installed is beyond me, but such is the dedication of my friends to web technology.
His question was about using DreamWeaver (DW) for web development. I am a fan of DW, use it all the time and have been very happy with the product, but I cautioned him that typically if you build a website in DW, you’ll have to use either DW or Macromedia Contribute to maintain it.
I have a site – fbccolumbia.org – in which the church administrative staff maintain the content using Contribute. It works great, but the software costs over a hundred bucks to own, and you can only edit your website on machines where Contribute is installed.
My recommendation for small to medium-sized businesses to use online content management system (CMS) such as WordPress or Joomla. For eight bucks a month on Host Gator you can install either of these tools (plus a whole bunch of other equally useful online tools) and have a very robust CMS in which you can have almost any number of editors.
One potential drawback to this approach is that you have to be satisfied with a fairly standardized layout schema. While there is great variety in how a WordPress blog or Joomla site can look, there are some obvious similarities as well. However, the usability specialist in me sees this as a plus, rather than a minus. Both of these systems are used in search engine marketing and optimization, where small failures in usability can mean big losses. They have organically grown to incorporate a certain look and feel that, in my judgment, reflect the accumulated experience of good user interaction.
If you are interested in launching a new website, or re-deploying your site to take advantage of CMS technology, I offer these services. Email me at tim.mcanabb@gmail.com.