Over the weekend of 6-7 May (2006), we launched our new DMK website.

The website combines the information from our former Terrabyte Communications website, along with more focus on marketing and also a new business blog. Our blog/news system is an ideal way to post news and contribute articles relevant to our work.

Our website has changed from one reliant on desktop based software (like Dreamweaver) to now using an open source publishing and content management system: in our case, WordPress.

This has a number of benefits:

1. Open Source software

The “engine” that runs our website consists of open source, reliable and stable products with strong user support communities. This assists us with implementing desired features of the site, as there are a range of “plugin” features that can be added very easily as the site grows. It also means that any support issues can be solved pretty quickly through the extensive user knowledgebase and active support community.

2. Online updates

The website files are accessed via a regular web browser using a management “dashboard” to keep everything in order. This means we can login from any computer with an internet connection, not just one of the machines in our office network. The interface is also quite user friendly, so updates are easier and require less technical knowledge.

Whilst our old website files were on a network computer, and could be easily edited from several computers, it still required a more intensive process to update, connect and upload changes to the web server. This way, we’re working with the files on the webserver directly, so changes are more “instant” and can be made from virtually anywhere. We could be at a conference interstate or overseas and easily use a web browser to change/add to our website.

3. Separation of content and design

With the content management system (CMS), our website content is separate from the design of the website. The design uses templates to “drop in” the content for the user. Thus, for tasks such as adding pages or sections of information, as there is already a template, the CMS simply “populates” the relevant areas with the correct information. What that means is, if I add a page, next time the website is viewed, that page automatically appears in the navigation menu, without any need for me to manually adjust either a template or individual pages.

Later, too, if we want to change the design of the site, we can add/alter our templates in use and the change is reflected instantly in the whole site. Changes can be made much more quickly.

4. Plugin features

We can easily add extra components to our website with a range of 100s of extra downloads available to include in our site. Add a contact form? Easy. Just add a plugin and drop in some easy code. In our case, we even changed the plugin and updated the code in less than half an hour for our own tailor-made plugin. Image galleries, all sorts of extra features, as needed, can be added without complication.

In our case, we have a fairly straight-forward CMS in place, as our needs for technology are not huge. I’d rather then have a solution that is straight-forward without 100s of features I’d never want to use anyway in a site like this. WordPress is not the only option available to meet our needs when we look in future towards adding e-commerce components, forums and more. Whilst changing CMS is not often “seamless” it can be achieved. One useful way of tackling such issues is of course to PLAN for future needs, and then choose a solution that anticipates future growth. For our plans, WordPress suits just fine.

5. Client benefits

As we grow our own direct use and experience with CMS options, we can offer the same services to our clients with first-hand knowledge to back up our reasoning for this type of system.

This then puts the same benefits in our client’s own marketing system: easy to add/update content and not have to rely on external assistance for some easy things such as changing contact information on the website. Change can be “instant” and at the client’s convenience, whilst still having a professional, consistent look. And with a wide range of available resources, a CMS is not a large budget expense.