WebSite101 is built on WordPress, but we believe that different content management systems are appropriate to other types of business. Here are some reasons to consider Joomla as a CMS for your business website.
Why Your Site Should be Built with Joomla
The choice of the tool used to construct your Web site can make a huge difference to you over time. This article tells you just why that’s the case, and which tool should be used. The recommendation is for a tool that never costs you anything!
It’s valid for a Webmaster to use the same tool all the time, because these things are not simple to learn, and over time they develop expertise in the use of whatever tool they use, and can develop very quickly using it. This seems fine, until that day comes when you want to change Webmasters. You may find that there is no way that your new Webmaster can work with the information on the site and continue to change it–that really the “master” information for your site, that enables its continued evolution, is on the former Webmaster’s PC, and also locked within whatever tool she used to develop your site. So changing Webmasters often means redeveloping your site.
But that’s not all. It’s also the usual case that if you want to rewrite a page–and you should do this often, because search engines really like fresh content–once it’s written you have to pay your Webmaster, and wait for them to get to this small task, just to put the new content onto the site. Most site development tools keep the master for your site on the Webmaster’s computer, so only the Webmaster can make changes.
There have been very important new technology trends in the way Web sites are developed, though, and there are dramatically improved tools that are now used to develop sites, that address these limitations. Content managers give you this important capability. Happily, this tool runs entirely on the Web site, so the master copy of your site is on the site and not on your Webmaster’s computer. Once the design is complete, end users in your company can be given permission to edit the site’s content, and they can do it as easily as using a word processor.
So you can have your own marketing manager write copy for your Web site and actually put it onto the site. Change it every week! You won’t have to wait for the Webmaster to get around to it, and you won’t have to pay a third party to do the work.
There are a number of content managers out there. There are content managers that cost up to $1,000 or more to buy–but some are free, including one of the very best. There’s one that’s free for a site up to 50 files, and then when you hit 50 you owe them three hundred bucks.
One of these programs stands out from the crowd, and best of all, it’s open source, so it’s completely free to use. And it’ll keep getting better. It’s called Joomla. Joomla gets installed on your Web server, and it stores your site in MySQL, and delivers Web pages to visitors through your Web server just like any other site.
The really good news about Joomla is that it’s very widely used, for small business sites and for sites of the largest corporations. Because of this large following, a huge number of extensions have been written for it, and they range in price from free to inexpensive. The functions provided by these extensions are remarkable–they do a lot that you’d otherwise have to program.
So how to you go about getting a site developed using Joomla? The first thing to do is locate an ISP that specializes in hosting Joomla sites. These specialized hosting providers will host your site for ten or twenty dollars a month, and they will have Joomla all set up and running for you. And they will likely be able to direct you to experienced Joomla site designers.
If they can’t, though, just do a Google search for Joomla site designers in your area. Visit them, see their offices, and see examples of their work. And talk to a few customers–how was the experience of working with them?
Because of the popularity of Joomla, you’ll find that there are plenty of Joomla designers who can be hired to build your site. And when that time comes for you to change Webmasters, make sure that you have purchased the site hosting in your name, so that you can change the password for access to the site, and then give that new password to the next Webmaster that you hire to take over.
It’s good news that you won’t have to pay for any site development tools, ever, and your site won’t be the prisoner of a tool. The Bottom Line: For a major site redevelopment, find and buy Joomla hosting, and then find a Joomla Web design company to build the site. Be sure that you sign up for Web hosting in your own name, so that you maintain control of the site.
About the Author: Dave Roberts has a graduate degrees in computer science and engineering, and served as Marketing VP of Oracle. He uses these dual backgrounds to help small business Web sites meet their business goals. Free newsletter. https://webmarketingadvantage.com
