Web Development Problems

[fivetoadsloth]

I was asked to create a website for an organization. I am more or less finished. However I recently found a catch. I did it all on my computer, the html coding etc. The leader wants the site to be updated by someone from the organization. The members are very uncomputer savy and when faced with html code I can only see problems occurring. THey are low cost, so buying any software is out of the question. Am I realistically going to have to say they wont be able to do it locally unless they invest in a what you see is what you get program such as dreamweaver? I have the site more or less finished so having to scrap it is not a preferred method.


Also, those who are paid to do web design. What do you tell clients who know now html/css/etc who want to be able to edit the site themselves?

 

[DerekS]

Wordpress.

 

[Fleetwood Mac]

Agreed. If MySQL and PHP (or equivalent) are available, a CMS or blog-like software will suit the needs of a small organization quite well.

Try and find something with a WYSIWYG editor.

 

[ChicoWeb]

It seems as thought they need some CMS, thought not sure Worpress is the proper solution.

If they can't afford a CMS then that's not your fault, just clue them in on the issues that they will have and let them make a decision. If they don't, it's not your responsibility to teach them HTML and clue them in, unless you are being paid of course.

 

[a cat *miaow*]

Also, those who are paid to do web design. What do you tell clients who know now html/css/etc who want to be able to edit the site themselves?

They should have told you that from the start really.. I would invoice for work so far and then inform them that it needs to be rebuilt to be content managed - it's not really a fair request for them to expect you to add this so late.

A half way measure would maybe to use static PHP includes for text

 

[Cabbit]

you can do something really simple with php, only a couple hundred lines of code and make your own mini cms type system and use something like tinymce for editing funtions.

 

[zimv20]

make your own mini cms type system

why?

 

[vicious7]

Joomla and Drupal are great CMSs. Not only are they free, but they also make it very easy to update content - almost copy and paste. The added bonus is that both CMSs are quite robust with support from thousands of users.