Hi All

 

I need some advice, can I take the existing design of Goose Cottage and put it into Wordpress so that my customer can update an edit their own website?

 

What would you recommend and where should I start. I have about 6 weeks to do it to get some more business, but I am new to CMS and have looked at Wordpress and it looks to be one of the best.

 

Let me know as i would really appreciate your advice.

 

Thanks

 

Phil

you can move it to wordpress. If you don't know wordpress 6 weeks is cutting it fine to create the theme.

 

you would create the theme then add the text as pages using wordpress

 

wordpress can be used as a cms, so its a good choice for you

Why not look at something else? Wordpress is primarily a blog, not a cms.

 

Modx is a cmf, meaning you take what you have already, and just add some simple content tags (for the most part) and your ok. The back end isn't the most intuitive though.

 

Just a suggestion, worth a look though.

By the looks of that design it shouldn't be too hard to get it into Wordpress, you just need to split it up.

 

The header and Nav you can put in 'header.php' the main content in 'page.php' etc..

 

This is a pretty good tutorial Link..

 

Also to make it simpler for the customer you could remove the blog part of Wordpress using this plug in

 

Hope this helps

If they simply want to be able to edit content, then look at cushy cms. It's free and really easy to implement.

 

If they want more functions, i.e. adding pages, blog posts, search box etc. Then I'd recommend wordpress or MODx.

WordPress is pretty easy to get to grips with. I have put a number of my own clients on WP when they have wanted to update content themselves - no one has ever had much difficulty. I'd say the trick is choose the right plug-ins to deliver the functionality they want, especially to improve the search engine friendliness.

 

My own site is built on WP, just 'cos its a blog doesn't stop it being an effective CMS.

 

www.gmig.co.uk

www.gmig.co.uk/blog

www.twitter.com/jasonrudland

Thanks folks for your input. One more thing, what do you think I should invest my time in learning for future web design projects if I am going to go down the CMS route.

Thanks folks for your input. One more thing, what do you think I should invest my time in learning for future web design projects if I am going to go down the CMS route.

If you can, familiarise yourself with several different applications, this way you will be in a better position to choose the right CMS for your customer. Look at getting to know blogging systems like Wordpress/MovebaleType, CMS's like Modx/Expressionengine/CushyCMS, and shopping carts like Cubecart/Magento/Pinnaclecart etc etc. The point is, that the more you can offer the more chance of getting new work in the door.

looking at the site..

 

It will be pretty easy to create a wordpress template for this.. about 1/2 - 1 days work

 

The photography for the cottage is leaving a bit to be desired - it's something worth spending the time on getting spot on

 

"looks dull and dark" wouldnt want to go there. I think to be honest it needs re-shooting, however in the rihgt hands and 10 mins in photoshop or lightroom, the images could be 100% better

 

Your deadline is confusing - the season will for sure to be ending in 6 weeks

 

Richard

Professional photographer and website designer

0115 845 8953

If you find the templating system in WP in the least bit challenging, I'd definitely echo my support for MODx - I use it on a lot of sites and it works a treat! Easy to use, even for those with little computing experience, yet powerful enough to make it do whatever you want, and a breeze to do templates. Its plugin architecture isn't quite as clever as WP though. Another thing to bear in mind is that WP is constantly being updated and you can upgrade the whole system from within WP itself without having to download anything, which is very sweet. MODx is developing a new version that should be coming out soon, but I don't know how compatible it will be with previous versions, so that might also be something to bear in mind.

If you can, familiarise yourself with several different applications, this way you will be in a better position to choose the right CMS for your customer. Look at getting to know blogging systems like Wordpress/MovebaleType, CMS's like Modx/Expressionengine/CushyCMS, and shopping carts like Cubecart/Magento/Pinnaclecart etc etc. The point is, that the more you can offer the more chance of getting new work in the door.

 

Thanks BlueDreamer. On average how long would it take to learn say Wordpress and Modx to the level where I could offer my services to my clients. Surely learning all of these systems could take years? What is your view.

 

Thanks

I'd add another vote for MODx, if your on a tight deadline and already have a good understanding of HTML and CSS, which you seem to have, you'll be able to start work on your client's project after a good morning of intensive manual reading.

 

We've been using MODx for a year or so and have been very impressed by its flexibility. Our clients love the admin system as its very simple to use.

 

A few sites we've built using MODx:

 

www.trelissickgallery.co.uk

www.thenewhomescompany.com

www.sandersdesign.com