WordPress Sandbox

How do you get a state of the art dynamic web site up for X# of volunteers,
with $100? and keep it running for $100 a year?

With my guidance your organization will find possibilities are endless.

Step One, Approval of Concept:

Architecture
Site Layout? content type(s)? frequency of postings and updates?
Who decides? Who contributes? How many pages?
What relationships do the pages have to each other? to other pages?
One way data flow? or interactive?

Why Use a Content Management System or Blogging platform?
theopensourcery.com/keepopen/2010/blogs-for-website-design-in-general/
10 good reasons (besides “everyone else is doing it”)

Leo Laporte; CMS Content Management Systems Joomla & WordPress
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNR1qdgarIQ&feature=related
“and really easy for the person creating the content,
so my strong recommendation is to at least look at WordPress”
“otherwise it’s a write once site”
“everybody wants to update their website, and CMS is the way to do it.”

Which One? Joomla vs Drupal? or WordPress vs Blogger?

www.theopensourcery.com/keepopen/2010/best-open-cms-wordpress-vs-joomla-vs-drupal/
freebloghelp.com/wordpress-vs-joomla-vs-drupal-who-wins/
designmess.com/article/wordpress-vs-joomla-vs-drupal-what-cms-best-you
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNR1qdgarIQ&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzl_Y0a-nqY&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onf_SUv61i4

On this web-server:
Joomla sites: montesite.net/joomla/, montesite.net/sample, montesite.net/, necedahharvest.org,
WordPress sites: montesite.net/wordpressdefault/, montesite.net/wordpress/

Off site:
A Drupal site I manage: wigp.org
Two of my social blogs, @ geanark.wordpress.com, and geanark.logspot.com

Drupal is more complex and adaptable,
with interactive pages and back-end Database functions;
it can become the organizing backbone of your organization by automating,
and replacing(!), essential interpersonal organizational processes.

Unfortunately, Drupal is not worth the effort without a program developer.

Joomla can do more than just Blog, but will make your programmers cry.

WordPress is always best when just a basic blogging application will do,
but it so widely written for that for many it has become more a CMS for many,
than just a blog application.

Long term, Joomla is often a great compromise between usability and flexibility,
but among the CMS’s WordPress has the largest following and longest run by far.

Do we want Joomla’s photo galleries, integrated polling, contacts, and many levels of access?
or Drupal’s ability to plug in custom PHP scripting more easily, and custom access levels?

WordPress is best for just a few pages with static HTML content,
with only admin and user types of accounts.

Drupal will cost more time, which is only worth it if you spend more money AND everyone uses it.

WordPress will cost the least in time, money, frustration, and learning curves.

Joomla can give much that blogging platforms won’t.
Instead of just a site you can have a magazine;
with different levels of permissions for different roles,
with integration of management of contacts, donations, and other functions.

Blogger has more basic templates I like, but that does not compare with WordPress
having the most free templates made for it, the longest run, and the most people using it.
Then again, being the most commonly used application has it’s big security downside.

Blogger is not at all a CMS, WordPress is now being called one.

WordPress will put out Calendar info and collect Paypal donations just as well as Drupal,
and probably do it faster.

Sometimes Posterous.com is all one needs to make a usable blog,
I advocate it as the core of user friendly free site promotion.

Graphic Design

With access to Artisteer, which we have a registered copy of,
design and layout are very easy.
Otherwise one must choose from among the many free templates available,
and a similar look and feel across different platforms is impossible.
Artisteer is why I stick to Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, and Blogger,
because it works for all these.

CMS and blogging platforms use CSS templates to control the look and feel.

http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/ (WordPress Templates)

There are so many free templates to choose from that no one could review them all.
I have a registered copy of the powerful freeware download called Artisteer.
It is the fastest and funnest way to learn the elements and choices in these templates,
or custom design one.

http://montesite.net/wordpress/ (my page about Artisteer templates)
http://montesite.net/wordpressdefault/ (default WordPress template)

Interested in playing with Artisteer to learn about how to design a template?
or just long enough to understand the terminology of the elements for discussion?
or, just send us a choice of colors and pictures, we’ll design a template.

As an artist I tend to belabor graphic design questions, esp. on my own time.

This is where the most web development time and money usually is actually spent, for good or ill.
With good upfront understanding and communication, we can make it negligible.

If you do want to spend $200-500+ to get the real full deal,
buy the program that can build a custom full power CMS
just by way of designing a site.
It is very well supported, and thus very popular,
despite the resulting cost, so it must be a breeze to learn:

http://expressionengine.com/

http://expressionengine.com/overview/pricing/

https://secure.expressionengine.com/index.php?ACT=volume

This program is the essential element of teams making cutting edge custom sites,
and is dirt cheap compared to the power it delivers and the work it replaces.

If someone bought me the multi-site non-commercial version ($230),
they would have my services in earnest for the full duration of it’s usefulness.

At 120$/yr., might as well also have the awesome hosting designed for it:

http://www.enginehosting.com/

Step Two, Approval of Design

montesite.net/X would be set up as a sandbox enabling more collaborative development.

Artisteer’s free download makes collaboration on design much easier.

Additional training content and links can be assembled @ montesite,
and on site, to enable full participation in all aspects right from the start.

Step Three, Assignment of Address/Domain/URL

Server space and domain name are best seen as a package deal, but they do not have to be
(dot5 hosting charges me 13$/yr for domain names).

On WordPress’s or Blogger’s server space
Your site is actually only part of their site, but
it’s most free, most easy, least flexible, most cheesy, and most free!

It’s a good idea to also do this, to link to a site on a dedicated server,
so as to make use of the social communities these “sites” bring to the table.

On my server space
While in the long run I recommend a dedicated space,
I currently have much excess space and bandwidth that i am not using.
Thus I recommend that for the first year, I host, which would be at no additional cost.

On a dedicated server space
The site would probably serve faster,
and a Super-bowl ad could not crash us (if we pick the right server).

I recommend GoDaddy.com; esp. if only using WordPress (which is the only free installer),
for their shear size of market share, demonstrable speed,
and low domain and server hosting costs;

or Dot5.com for a very much more powerful set of free management utilities and installers.

At the end of this step, when you are using the new site,
only then a modest payment will be asked.

From most of those with experience that I’ve heard from,
and from the Green Party US experience as well,
the battle is only half done t this point.

Step Four, all remaining training and support needed

The site has no real dynamic lasting usefulness unless all your people can use it.

Promotion may also be an important consideration.

I can train a team to use Posterous.com to broadcast every article to dozens of other pages,
most of which broadcast auto feeds that can be plugged into a potentially unlimited number of sites.

Support materials that are kept up to date are a critical problem for membership focussed orgs,
for passing on an institution requires good documentation of critical processes.
Luckily, few things are easier to make videos of, or google up material for,
than how to use open source CMS platforms.

Not only is free material widely available,
I am an expert at assembling a well organized list of useful and authoritative links,
and am also handy at making screen shot voice over video tutorials.

I am personally and politically committed to building a public resource,
to be used for just this kind of support.

We can help each other by developing the materials you need to fully utilize
your CMS site.

In short, if someone has the inclination, or the inclination to develop one,
for learning a couple of new powerful but simple interfaces,
all you’ll need me for is to help plan it, and support the planning,
and help support it, and develop custom material for an institutional memory.

With luck, my actual work can boil down to a one afternoon turn key operation,
with a consult prior, and one after, and probably
some follow up to make sure everybody is fully aboard.

I like to aim for 15-20$/hr for active work, but usually fall far under that target,
especially when doing something the first time.

I don’t count time figuring out things for my first time, and will do worthy non profit work gratis.

A quick follow up to ensure support materials are sufficient to your needs,
and maybe a yearly check-up, are good ideas.

When it is clear that we have replaced the need to consult, with a catalog of materials on site,
then an additional, similarly modest, payment may be in order.

I am not interested in making work, just in reducing it.
I aim to have many clients that need little of my help for very few hours a year.
Yet I’m happy to fill any role that your organization needs,
including from training, promotion, expansion, and on going consulting,
to just posting, or even writing, content.

This article also found @ montesite.net/joomla & geanark.posterous.com/.

Monte Letourneau
WIGP Rec. Sec.,
GPUS NC Alternate,
wigp.org
montesite.net
necedahharvest.org

Battle Royale: Drupal vs. Joomla vs. WordPress vs. Blogger
very representative sample, smaller sample size.

WordPress Tutorials