after struggling to install cms made simple (or not so simple) is it a better option just to use dreamweaver?
what are the pro's and con's of each?
cheers
cms made simple or dreamweaver?
Re: cms made simple or dreamweaver?
can dreamweaver create a site which your customer can update without calling you?
can it server rss feed of news items?
can it integrate to other systems?
(I really dont know as I dont use dreamweaver)
I have heard that some people here create layout with some software (like dreamweaver) and then port it to cmsms, dunno how that works either.
can it server rss feed of news items?
can it integrate to other systems?
(I really dont know as I dont use dreamweaver)
I have heard that some people here create layout with some software (like dreamweaver) and then port it to cmsms, dunno how that works either.
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moorezilla
Re: cms made simple or dreamweaver?
There really aren't many long-term benefits of using Dreamweaver or any other client-based wysiwyg. These programs may make it a little easier to create designs and style text, but if you know a little html and css, the gains are minimal, and you'll probably end up tweaking most of your code in "code view," or whatever they call it now any way. Once you have set up ftp settings, Dreamweaver probably hides this process, so that it is easier for people to publish to a server, but I don't see this as too much of a benefit for the price. If you need to create tons of complicated tables, Dreamweaver or applications like it may make this process easier to create and/or edit. Since the ultimate site created by Dreamweaver or any similar product will be largely static html and image files, it will run faster than a site that needs to make database calls with php, though there are many ways to speed up this process. I don't use Dreamweaver, but I imagine if you know how to use it, you can create a site that "looks" exactly like cmsms, but ultimately a Dreamweaver site will not run the same way at all, because it really isn't designed to build database-backed sites.
A few advantages of CMSMS over Dreamweaver:
All you need to run cmsms is a terminal connected to the Internet with a browser. Dreamweaver needs to be installed on any client computer using it, so it has to be purchased for any client computer using it.
Dreamweaver, to my knowledge, doesn't address much of the functionality needed by the average site. Does it handle news? Does it handle forms? Does it handle newsletters and email lists? Does it handle protected areas and users? Etc. Cmsms offers many modules and tags that make it easy to, in a nutshell, "do more stuff" than you can do in Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver will allow you to build a basic site, but it probably won't allow you to build much of a web-based application. If you don't need a web-based application, you probably don't need much of what cmsms can do, but it may STILL be easier to build your site in cmsms if you get used to the templating and style sheet system built into it. That all depends on how familiar you are with either tool.
I think cmsms is a lot easier and safer to hand off to a client, because you can lock the client out of large-scale changes to the site, so that they can only affect content. Content is relatively easy to fix if something goes wrong, but a client with access to site structure can wreck a lot quickly. I doubt that Dreamweaver allows the same level of permission control over sites, but I may be wrong.
Cmsms offers upgrades and fixes a lot faster than commercial products. If you need additional functionality, chances are that someone in the cmsms community will help you, and that in turn will help someone else who runs into the same issue.
Cmsms is not hard to use, but you may not find instructions as explicit or complete as what you will find with commercial products. If you move beyond basic site functionality, you may need to do a little problem-solving on your own. Dreamweaver will probably require less individual problem-solving, because ultimately it won't allow the same level of functionality. You will be able to do much more with cmsms than with Dreamweaver, but in using cmsms you may find yourself learning more than a basic file system and you may need to ask for a little help along the way. Some see this as an advantage; some see this as a disadvantage.
As always... you're only going to know which product is better for you after you have become familiar with both. For my needs, cmsms simply offers a much better solution than Dreamweaver.
A few advantages of CMSMS over Dreamweaver:
All you need to run cmsms is a terminal connected to the Internet with a browser. Dreamweaver needs to be installed on any client computer using it, so it has to be purchased for any client computer using it.
Dreamweaver, to my knowledge, doesn't address much of the functionality needed by the average site. Does it handle news? Does it handle forms? Does it handle newsletters and email lists? Does it handle protected areas and users? Etc. Cmsms offers many modules and tags that make it easy to, in a nutshell, "do more stuff" than you can do in Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver will allow you to build a basic site, but it probably won't allow you to build much of a web-based application. If you don't need a web-based application, you probably don't need much of what cmsms can do, but it may STILL be easier to build your site in cmsms if you get used to the templating and style sheet system built into it. That all depends on how familiar you are with either tool.
I think cmsms is a lot easier and safer to hand off to a client, because you can lock the client out of large-scale changes to the site, so that they can only affect content. Content is relatively easy to fix if something goes wrong, but a client with access to site structure can wreck a lot quickly. I doubt that Dreamweaver allows the same level of permission control over sites, but I may be wrong.
Cmsms offers upgrades and fixes a lot faster than commercial products. If you need additional functionality, chances are that someone in the cmsms community will help you, and that in turn will help someone else who runs into the same issue.
Cmsms is not hard to use, but you may not find instructions as explicit or complete as what you will find with commercial products. If you move beyond basic site functionality, you may need to do a little problem-solving on your own. Dreamweaver will probably require less individual problem-solving, because ultimately it won't allow the same level of functionality. You will be able to do much more with cmsms than with Dreamweaver, but in using cmsms you may find yourself learning more than a basic file system and you may need to ask for a little help along the way. Some see this as an advantage; some see this as a disadvantage.
As always... you're only going to know which product is better for you after you have become familiar with both. For my needs, cmsms simply offers a much better solution than Dreamweaver.
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lewdogs
Re: cms made simple or dreamweaver?
thanks heaps to that wonderful answer! i wasnt expecting anyone to go into such detail but that was really great. i think i should just slog cms made simple out, until i know it enough for it to become simple lol. thanks again
cheers
Lewis
cheers
Lewis
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Pierre M.
Re: cms made simple or dreamweaver?
If you find a simpler CMS, please tell us which and why.
PM
PM
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weareun
Re: cms made simple or dreamweaver?
moorezilla wrote: Dreamweaver, to my knowledge, doesn't address much of the functionality needed by the average site. Does it handle news? Does it handle forms? Does it handle newsletters and email lists? Does it handle protected areas and users? Etc.
Dreamweaver can actually take care of all of these tasks (and probably more). The problem is that you have to know how to create this functionality manually. So, if you are working in PHP, JSP, ASP...etc... you have to know how to create a content management system using whatever scripting language you plan on running your website off of. Yes, it it possible to create templates in Dreamweaver and maintain a site by updating through FTP, but this doesn't give you all the benefits / functionality of a content management system like CMSMS. Because of this, we've been using CMSMS over any software packages for our clients, and just use Dreamweaver to customize CMSMS or make templates.
Just my 2
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streever
Re: cms made simple or dreamweaver?
I'm guessing that you aren't building a content managed site for a client? That would explain why you'd think dreamweaver would be better.
If you follow the instructions--very carefully--from CMSMS, it is REALLY simple. I started with no php knowledge & I have found it very easy.
If you are just building a site for yourself, with no client, which is I guess what you are doing--and you don't know how to code a site well--you should probably just use Dreamweaver. CMSMS does require you to know how to code. (Unless you build your site in something else and then import it...)
If you follow the instructions--very carefully--from CMSMS, it is REALLY simple. I started with no php knowledge & I have found it very easy.
If you are just building a site for yourself, with no client, which is I guess what you are doing--and you don't know how to code a site well--you should probably just use Dreamweaver. CMSMS does require you to know how to code. (Unless you build your site in something else and then import it...)
