Pre-installation question: is CMS right for my need?

[Bacteria Man]

Sorry if this type question has been asked before, but here goes.

I'm setting up a CMS for my step-father's business web site. He's a computer novice, but knows enough to be dangerous. The content will be static and won't change very often. However, the CMS needs to be easy enough for him to edit content and add/delete images without getting into trouble.

I have perused the long list of CMS's. Most are way too robust for our needs. We just need a simple web site engine with a web-based admin backend. I have narrowed the choice down to CMS Made Simple and Website Baker. Both offer a wide variety of options, but can be dialed back for a simple static web site. It's quite possible that both are perfectly suited for the task, but can anyone offer any incentive to go with one over the other? I realize this is a CMS Made Simple forum where everybody is pro-CMS Made Simple, but an objective response is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[jmcgin51]

I've never used Website Baker, so I can only speak from CMSMS experience...  I think CMSMS would probably be a good fit for your stepfather.  What kind of business is this?

For a mostly static site, a CMS (any CMS) may be overkill.  CMS's really come into their own when you're managing news, blogs, forums, multiple frontend users, multiple backend admins, dynamic pages, etc.  But as simple CMS's go, CMSMS is a good choice.

EDIT TO CLARIFY: by "simple CMS", I don't mean any disrespect to CMSMS.  I think most CMSMS users and developers would agree that CMSMS has come a long way, and still has a good deal of progress to make.  It's not the most feature-rich CMS out there, but it's free, easy to learn, highly extensible, has a pretty good support community, and is a solid choice for most small to medium-large sites.  I wouldn't try to run a corporate portal on it (yet), but that's not what it was made for anyway...  With that said, I'm currently developing a CMSMS-based intranet site for a global publicly-traded company, so I guess I'm placing a good bit of faith in it

[Pierre M.]

Hello,

I don't know "Website Baker". I don't know a simpler CMS than CMSms.

If you have less than say 15 pages, you can use a wysiwyg static editor like NVU or Dreamweaver (old, simple version).
If you have more than 15 pages, even if you think your site is mostly static and simple, I'd advise you to make somewhat 4 templates and use a simple CMS. Try CMSms with themes.cmsmadesimple.org to see if it feeds your needs.

PM