[Hidden-tech] My First CMS Site

[B. Kimo Lee]

Hi Scott,

Welcome to the list! Hope you find it as interesting and helpful as I  
do.

Here is an attempt at providing you with a short list of steps to get  
started. Though the list may be short, doing each item on the list  
will no doubt require a fair amount of time on your part. Only you  
know what fits your needs and interests the best.

1. Compare Available CMS Software:

If you're not already acquainted with the following directory of CMS  
software, check it out. You can do a side-by-side comparison of most  
known CMS apps according to a large range of criteria:

http://www.cmsmatrix.org/

Obviously, it would be important to research CMS systems that have the  
capabilities to meet the needs of your target audience/clients, i.e.,  
shopping carts if you do retail sites, community systems if you do  
social media sites, etc. That would be a good place to start.

2. Review Available Third-Party Extensions

a. Find out what kind of third-party extensions are available for that  
CMS to provide special functionality that you would need for your  
clients.
b. Find out what the process is for installing those extensions in the  
CMS and configuring them
c. Try to gauge the likely longevity of the developers of extensions.  
Visit their support forums and see what others are saying. Are the  
threads being answered in a timely manner? Are patches being released  
on a regular basis? Will they be around in a year or so when you need  
to upgrade?

3. Set Up a Test Site

a. Set up a test site in the selected CMS you think you might want to  
specialize in. You could do this on a local workstation, or on a live,  
but hidden server. On the Linux platform, any host using the cPanel/ 
WHM hosting control system is probably running Fantastico, which will  
auto-install most popular CMS systems with one click. We run cPanel/ 
WHM/Fantastico at Azurelink.
b. Set up your demo site architecture — You'll need to understand how  
pages and menu items are added to the system.
c. Deconstruct a Template — Most clients want a branded look to their  
site, so you could either learn how to build one from scratch or take  
the easy route and customize an existing one. There are many sites  
offering free or paid templates around the web in a variety of styles  
which you can install and modify.
d. Select and install your desired extensions for additional features.  
Some things will come with the core install and just need to be turned  
on/published. Others may need to be downloaded, installed, and  
configured further.
e. Find out how the CMS handles SEO features, custom page titles in  
particular.

4. Join Forums, Developer Lists, and Web Communities

As a developer, you're probably already doing this for your current  
work. Vibrant communities are the best source of solutions for  
specific coding issues.

-------

I was in a similar position as you as you are now during 2000-2001 and  
had done a ton of research on opensource CMS apps available at the  
time. As luck would have it, I selected the Mambo Site Server whose  
founders, Miro Construct, were based in Australia. Mambo eventually  
split into two forks, one of them becoming Joomla during 2005. I liked  
what I was seeing and hearing coming from the Joomla team and stuck  
with them and have been very pleased with my decision, as Joomla keeps  
getting stronger and better with each year.

I'm sure I've left out some things above in my effort to send this out  
quickly, but I hope you'll find it useful nonetheless.

Give a ring if you're ever up in the Amherst area.

Best regards,
Kimo Lee



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On Aug 3, 2010, at 8:10 PM, Scott Main wrote:

>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's  
> area.
>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> Hello All:  I’m new to the group.
>
> I’m interested in developing “my first” content management site.
>
> Can anyone tell me what the best technology for me to begin with is  
> between Drupal or Joomla (or suggest another)
>
> My experience includes .asp, .aspx sites, vb.net, ms access, vba,  
> javascript, SQL Server, TSQL and relational database development.
>
> I’m interested in simplicity in terms of learning at the beginners  
> level as well as the industry standard when choosing as CMS to learn…
>
> Thank you in advance for any input my may have…
>
> Scott Main
> 413.246.9235
> www.mainconsultingservices.com
>
> <image001.jpg>
>
> <Scott Main.vcf>
> _______________________________________________
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