• Registered: 2009-01-01
  • Posts: 7

Topic: Updating Websites for Clients

I'm a freelance web deisnger and I have only done two sites.  The sites I deal with are very small with simple code. 

Questin 1: How do I set up something for my client to make their own updates if they choose to do so?

I've heard of a software call Drupal. 

Question 2: Does this software work for Flash Sites as well as HTML?

mrDamon

Last edited by mrdamon (2009-03-17 13:50:58)

  • Gender: Male
  • From: Chico/Sacramento, CA
  • Registered: 2008-12-19
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Re: Updating Websites for Clients

1 - Yes, you can use a CMS of some sort. There are a variety you can work from, Drupal being one of them. Wordpress and Expression Engine are quite popular, though everyone has their own opinion. CMSMadeSimple is probably my personal favorite.

More info:
http://www.opensourcecms.com/
http://www.killersites.com/forums/topic … y-1003008/

2 - You would need a flash specific CMS. Most don't work with Flash, and frankly, most regulars here avoid full Flash sites anyway.

  • LSW
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  • From: Juneau AK
  • Registered: 2008-12-20
  • Posts: 7,429

Re: Updating Websites for Clients

Drupal is a CMS, Content Management System. You create a template and the user can add, delete or update pages from their browser or any browser on the internet. No special tools or knowledge, it is all already set in the template. Drupal is Enterprise Class, it is very good for what it does... but it is meant for bug complicated web sites.

You sound like CMS Made Simple or Wordpress would be enough. But there are others... CMS (Content Management System) : Accessibility

Q2 - No. You can add Flash elements into the HTML and it will work fine. But it does not handle full Flash sites. For that the user has to know flash to make changes or the developer good enough to put all important info into a database so content can be edited but new pages and links etc. require new movies and you will have to do all that. Just one of the many reasons Full Flash web sites are a bad idea.

4 Reply by lm

  • lm
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  • From: The Netherlands
  • Registered: 2008-12-20
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Re: Updating Websites for Clients

About Flash sites -
you can make text files which will serve as dynamic text  for each page  of Flash website and your client will  update text content making changes in these text files.
Also, many Flash image galleries are built with the manager ( for example SV manager for Simple Viewer gallery:
http://www.airtightinteractive.com/simp … svmanager/
But of course for website with many pages and with the need of frequent updates CMS is the best option.

  • Registered: 2009-04-04
  • Posts: 3

Re: Updating Websites for Clients

I have two recommendations for you that will do what you want. The first idea is to use a simplified CMS like http://www.iUpdateIt.com. This will allow you to install a small snippet of code into their site where you want them to be able to update. Then, they'll be able to login and change that space using an easy editing tool that works a little like a word processing program. It's simple to use and allows the client lots of flexibility to add fonted text, images, etc...  The other idea is to get them a blog on something like http://www.Blogger.com, and then feed the content into their site using something like http://www.FeedBurner.com or http://www.WidgetBox.com. This would be more if they want to do stuff like articles, but it works well.  Both ideas are easy to create and will be a breeze for your clients to use.

As to the Flash elements, neither of what I said really intergrates as a Flash element, but probably could fit into a "space" on a Flash site...  I think that you can do what you want for your clients with either of them.