NewsForge | Choosing an open source CMS

The above link is an overview of the many Content Management Systems (CMS) that are available to run a website. All are open source software- meaning the source code is open to the public to tinker with and adapt for their particular use. Don’t think that open source just happens- there are huge communities of people sheparding the software to make sure it’s stable, secure and viable.

The key to these packages is that your site exists in a database- with the content extracted and formatted for display on the web as opposed to a hard coded site that is created one page at a time- and the pages don’t change.

We really like WordPress because of it’s simplicity. If you want to later move up to a more robust package- you can easily import your existing WordPress site into Drupal. The difference is, Drupal requires a geek to really make it sing- WordPress just works.

The article doesn’t really get into the main reasons we love the WordPress CMS so here are a few:

• Your site will automatically have RSS (Really Simple Synidication) so your readers can subscribe to your site and be notified any time you change or add material.
• Each time you post- WordPress automatically notifies Google that there is new information on your site and you get indexed.
• WordPress allows you to build 2-way communication via comments and trackbacks with people interested in your subject.
• Posting is as easy as writing a document in Microsoft Word- and that makes keeping your site up to date a snap.
• If you pay attention to your webstats, and use the Categories feature properly, you can end up on the front page of Google quite easily- at least it’s worked for us.

So- take a look at the article and it’s list of Content Management Systems- but, if you are new to having a database driven site- trust us- and start out with WordPress.

ITworld.com – The Blog Hype is Over: Robert Scoble & Om Malik Moving to New Frontiers

Read the article above- according to the guys on the cutting edge- you are already too late if you haven’t been blogging.

At this point, companies that aren’t using blog technology either don’t understand its significance or have internal barriers to adoption.

So, if you haven’t taken the blogosopher seminar- and you aren’t already using blogs for business- you are already in the stone age. Sign up now!

RapattoniMLS-Access-Instructions.pdf (application/pdf Object)

One of the things we stress in the Blogosopher course is adherence to W3C standards- and especially, accessibility for the blind. The main reason is that search engines act just like blind people on the web- they can’ t go where they don’t know where they are going.

Part of web standards is using code that everyone understands- not any proprietary systems- like the one Rappattoni uses to build their Multiple Listing Service (MLS) sites.

Apparently they require Microsoft Internet Explorer to work with their site- and Microsoft abandoned the program for the Apple Macintosh in January of 2006- mostly because they were having a hard enough time updating Explorer for the PC (which is still not RSS aware).

I found the link above – with instructions for installing some software for a Mac so you can view their site. But, this is a reminder to companies that decide to build sites based on proprietary standards or software technology- you may be shutting out some of your best customers without knowing it.