There’s a common trap into which we fall as a company. Well I’m sure there are several, but I’m just talking about the one for the sake of this post. We will put together a project proposal/contract for a client, collecting abstract feedback from them and turning it into concrete deliverables.
Then comes the bait. The client casually offers, “Oh, and I’d like to be able to update some of the pages myself.”
Eager to please, we return with “Sure, not a problem.” Sproing! Just like that, we’re ensnared.
This has nothing to do with the client trying to sneak a hefty feature in under the radar, and everything to do with our too-casual approach to CMS and eagerness to please. A recent project has inspired me to proclaim that “‘Just adding’ a CMS to a site can be like ‘Just adding’ a football stadium to a garage at times”, a proclamation that I have since taken as gospel. Content Management integration is not a feature; it’s a project unto itself.
Preparing Ourselves and Our Clients
As soon as the spectre of content management creeps into any project, a shift needs to occur. We need to re-evaluate the scope, timeline, deliverables and cost of the project. Most importantly though, we need to inform the client about why the project has taken this dramatic turn. It’s not their job to understand why building their site with editing capabilities is such a significant undertaking; it’s ours. And if it’s our job to understand, then it’s also our job to help the client understand.
This may also mean providing alternatives that not only significantly reduce the cost of the project, but could almost completely cut us out of the picture. This is why we have to have the utmost confidence in our abilities, and we have to clearly demonstrate the value in every option we provide.
There are plenty of situations that can cause a rift in the business relationship before it even forms; this is one of them. We don’t want a lack of clear communication to lead to a client vs. contractor standoff, especially when reputations and paydays hang in the balance.
Now That We’re Prepared, Let’s Get Involved!
One of the key reasons for keeping that client/contractor bond strong is that if they are certain about having a site with a CMS, we’ll need their help at getting this project done right. Yes, we’re in this together now!
We’ll need to know every last item, feature, functionality, bell, and whistle, they’d like to have in the site. This includes their “maybe”s and even their pipe dreams. This includes the stuff they want to see live at launch, the stuff they might like to include down the road, and everything else ever. We’ll need to know how this content is going to be managed and by whom if possible.
Choose Your Weapon
We’ll need every one of those details in order to match the right application to the desired feature set. The list of available CMS apps is nigh endless, even when distilling the list down to the top notch options. Each one has its own set of out-of-the-box options and functionality-extending plugins and modules. Each one has its own installation, setup and templating processes.
And then, if there aren’t enough variables there, we still have to consider our own skill set, our timeline if we’re given one, our budget, and available technology.
Our short list would be as follows:
- Joomla!, one of the premier open-source CMSes. You can set up the basics in no time flat, but extensibility is hit or miss. User submitted extensions are a minefield, either giving you exactly the functionality you want or making your life hell trying to configure before uninstalling it in a fit of rage.
- Expression Engine, a robust license-based CMS built on the CodeIgniter PHP framework. The cost isn’t prohibitive, and easily slid into any development budget. The learning curve for this one is on the steep side, and I have a bone to pick with them and their sample content. But its power and potential are undeniable.
- Wordpress, which we mostly know as a blogging platform. The push for Wordpress to be recognized as a full-blown CMS is coming from a number of directions, and with the right plugins, it makes a compelling case for itself.
- Perch, for which I’ll admit I know embarrassingly little about its installation and implementation. But all it has to do is work as advertised and I’m sold. Potentially ideal for the projects where the site will be basic in format, but the client still wants to manage it themselves.
Plan to Execute and Execute the Plan
Even once we’ve picked our poison we can’t get dirty up to our elbows just yet. We still need to do our homework. Take the functionality wishlist from the client, find a viable solution for every last one, whether it’s core functionality, extensibility via plugin, or customized script (for the CMSes that allow it), and stick it in the budgets. Both the time and the cost budgets. We must provide as much feedback as possible about how things will work when we implement them. The client may be confused about some things, and disappointed about others, depending on their expectations. Again, our job to comprehend and make them comprehend. Besides, it’s better to dispel any misconceptions now than attempt to explain them mid-project. Clients can surprise us sometimes with their flexibility and understanding.
Once the myths and misunderstandings are explained away, and the entire project is laid out in painstaking detail, then we can get elbows-deep in this CMS project. The end result will be a much more cohesive work, and will progress much more quickly and sanely than trying to shoehorn content management into a nearly-finished website. And most importantly, we end up with the three hallmarks of a successful project: a happy customer, a happy bank account, and a tantalizing new addition to the portfolio.