Web design has drastically changed over the last 2-3 years. Historically, web designers would have to write their own code to create all the functionalities their clients required. This process was costly, time consuming and often full of bugs as every programmer could set up their own guidelines as to how they would write and organize code. A lot iof functional designs would end up un attractive as programmeres tended to be poor graphic designers. The only option was to invest even more to obtain the services of a Graphic Design to work with the programmer to make the site attractive.
CMS (Content Management Systems:
Content Management Systems are designed to facilitate the organization and display of website content with an easy to use interface. Access to create / update comtent is typically managed in two ways, through the site itself with integral editor function (front end) and through an adminstrator panel (back end). Content managemnt systems have quickly become the most popular type of website topologies in a very short time. There are hundreds of CMS topologies currently available, some of the most common being Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, Mambo, Nuke, Sharepoint, OpenCMS, Tango, Djang, Fusion and lots more. For a complete list, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_content_management_systems
Many of the CMS tools are "Open Source" or free to download and install onto your site. The typical install offers a handfull of generic functions to manage pages, contact forms and news articles among other typical website requirememnts. Additional modules are typically available that can be installed to provide additional functions as needed. These "Plug-Ins" may be free or cost some amount, typically minimal, fees to license.
CMS has revolutionized design by providing standardized programming tools that interact with readily available plug-in modules. So what used to cost many thousands of dollars and months of deveopment, can now be downloaded and installed in a matter of a few hours. The only reason to work with a professional web designer is to accomodarte customization of code and graphics to meet the requirements of the client.
Why we use Joomla:
We started working with CMS Systems about 3 years ago and had the luxury of time to research which topology would best suit our long-term needs for our clients. We looked at many topologies and chose Joomla because it was quickly growing to be the most popular topology, there were umlimited resources readily available locally and internationally, and it appears that they had the largest amount of plug-in modules available. Additionally, Joomla is not limited to what it can do. Joomla allows outside "widgets"/ programming / functionalities to work within it's framework, meaning we can integrate with SalesForce.com or a custom designed configuration tool, quickly and easily. As of Early 2010, Joomla has >4,500 plugin modules available, meaning that if you have a requirement, we more than likely download, install and begin configuring to fit your specific needs in a few minutes.
So what if your needs change? We can literally clone your site and then re-design it's template to meet the changing needs of your company without sacrificing the initial investments into creating all your content So you have a name change, new brand identity or merge with a competitor, we can accomodate the changes using all your exiting content and functions, and just apply a new style. This will end the endless re-design of your company website every 2-5 years that has been th historic norm.
Why we use WordPress:
Wordpress is another type of CMS which is one of the best tools for blogs. Wordpress tends to have far less functionality than Joomla, and for that reason, has far less code that Search Engine Spiders must wade through to read your content. For this reason, WordPress blogs will typically rank higher than an identical Blog published on a Joomla Installation.
CMS Systems have minimized the need for advanced programming as we are no longer writing code from scratch, but simply modifying "standards-based" code to fit the customer's unique needs. This approach saves extraordinary amount of time and money and leaves the client with a site that can be supported by us
