Hi Guys,

 

I hope you have an idea. Do you know which CMS a web development company can use for their clients? I see a lot of companies provides clients with a cms, but do they have their own cms or the is some commercial cmses that can be rebranded?

Take your pick, there are dozens.

 

The choice really depends on finding the CMS with the closest fit for your clients needs. At the company I work for, we tend to use one of three: Expression Engine, Wordpress or ModX.

 

Expression Engine is reserved for those jobs that need loads of flexibility in how the site is put together - Wordpress is used when the client only wants a simple blog, and ModX is ideal for sites that require complex layouts, but don't necessarily need blogging style elements. We've taken a look at CMS like Drupal, Joomla (blech, just because it's popular), XOOPS among others.

Another MAJOR factor is how easy the CMS backend is for your client...you might be a computer whizz, but they might see computers as some form of black magic.

 

Arriving at your choice of platform is a bit of a trial and error thing - like working with e-commerce. You just have to get your hands dirty and try to knock some simple sites together with them before you can evaluate what you want to go with.

I like to use SilverStripe (.org)

It's totally dependant on the clients needs as the others have pointed out.

 

At the company i work for we've developed a system which has 5 steps of (required)configuration.

 

• General server settings (database info, etc)
  
• Layout configuration (we upload a .zip file with a few xml files which the front end coder has throw together, then automatically the layout is broken into headers/footers and elements.)
  
• Module selection - At this stage we select what modules the client requires (i.e. cms, newsletter, oscommerce)
  
• Select specific settings for modules (os commerce requires VAT rates, etc)
  
• Seletion of language packs (optional)
  

 

Theres a few more (influenced by the modules you've selected etc..), however, it works great for us and allows us to finish up a full oscommerce system in a few hours (not including design.)

 

Go with what you think is best.. If an off the shelf package suits the needs of the client then great.. Although Remember to read the software license and do your research!

Arriving at your choice of platform is a bit of a trial and error thing - like working with e-commerce. You just have to get your hands dirty and try to knock some simple sites together with them before you can evaluate what you want to go with.

Well said sir!

We use our own, we have a basic code for things like updating copy, adding files, adding images etc and then select what is relevant and customise it for each project. I find most CMS's try to be everything to everyone and I just find it easier to use my own as I can adapt it to what the client wants.