themes and modules for cms (content management systems)
why a cms?
change your site from the comfort of your web browser
Content management systems allow you to make a lot of changes to your site without needing special tools or any knowledge of web programming, using a convenient interface right in your web browser. Some of the things a CMS makes easier include:
- adding new pages, or editing existing pages.
- managing a blog right on your site.
- allowing different people to log in to manage the site.
- manage a lot of content.
- create and organize navigation menus.
- all kinds of other stuff.
get more than you paid for
A number of very reliable, very powerful CMS are free of charge. We're talking about proven systems with large user communities, which power a lot of impressive sites right now. It makes you wonder why everybody doesn't use one...
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why not a cms?
you can't always get what you want
There are a few reasons why CMS solutions can cause you problems:
- different specialties — most CMS do certain things really well, and other things not so well. Finding one that does everything you need, the way you need it, can be hard.
- the more they do, the more can go wrong — each CMS has a few core functions, and the rest of what they do comes from additional "modules" which are supposed to work with the core system. These modules are contributed by a variety of people; so, some are very solid and workable, while others can be buggy or even cause your system to crash.
- you have to install it first — once it's running, a CMS is pretty easy; getting it to run may not be.
- the manual is ... whatever it is — some CMS documentation is very well-written and thorough; other documentation is incomprehensible or non-existent. Often, one CMS will have hugely different documentation for different parts of the system.
- "your Drupal is showing" — most CMS come with a few stock designs or "themes" that everybody uses. So, usually most Drupal (or Plone or WordPress...) sites look pretty much alike, and have that "stock" feel.
These disadvantages are among the reasons why not everybody uses an available CMS.
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how can ec+g help with my cms?
making things easy takes a lot of work
The disadvantages we list above are serious, but they can be overcome. ec+g can customize a CMS to suit your needs, for a much lower cost than would be needed to build a similar system from scratch.
We can also design custom themes to make your site look however you like, and not like "just another CMS site" — check out our websites page to see some examples.
Not everybody should use a CMS; but everybody should at least consider it.
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