sutterbutter
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Advice needed on CMS/coding platform
We are doing a major refresh of our website, and want to use Wordpress to do this, but our developers are resisting this, wanting to use something called Zend Framework.
Is there any sort of website that Wordpress is not capable of handing?
We are a travel company and so are pretty heavily image and video led, which I am sure Wordpress is fine with, yes? We will also have a database that users can use to refine their searches - can Wordpress handle this?
We are not taking bookings online, so don't have to worry about payments.
Is there any functoinality/design that can't be done in Wordpress?
Thanks so much for any advice you can give!
Is there any sort of website that Wordpress is not capable of handing?
We are a travel company and so are pretty heavily image and video led, which I am sure Wordpress is fine with, yes? We will also have a database that users can use to refine their searches - can Wordpress handle this?
We are not taking bookings online, so don't have to worry about payments.
Is there any functoinality/design that can't be done in Wordpress?
Thanks so much for any advice you can give!
SOLUTION
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Well Wordpress is basically a CMS, how you implement and plug into it is upto you.
Obviously some of the things on the site are not going to be available as a plugin e.g. the map but since you have it already coded then it should be fairly simple to implement into the wordpress site.
As for most of the other pages they look like fairly static html.
After seeing the site now I would definitely say Zend is not needed especially if this something you would rather maintain yourself in the future.
Obviously some of the things on the site are not going to be available as a plugin e.g. the map but since you have it already coded then it should be fairly simple to implement into the wordpress site.
As for most of the other pages they look like fairly static html.
After seeing the site now I would definitely say Zend is not needed especially if this something you would rather maintain yourself in the future.
ASKER
Thanks again Gary!
Is there anything else from the Audley site, besides the map, that we are not available as a plug-in, or cannot be coded in Wordpress?
Is there anything else from the Audley site, besides the map, that we are not available as a plug-in, or cannot be coded in Wordpress?
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ASKER
Thanks Graham,
By "developers" I mean external, freelance people that we have contracted with to bring the designs we have had professionally created to life.
As such, the designer is distinct from the coder.
The coder/developer does not have a travel background, but I do understand the need for us to do what we do, and leave them to do what they do, but am also not keen to have to go back to them each time we need changes made.
Do you know of alternatives to blogging platforms such as Wordpress or Drupal that enable flexibility but still allow us to make changes in-house?
Thanks for your advice as well!
By "developers" I mean external, freelance people that we have contracted with to bring the designs we have had professionally created to life.
As such, the designer is distinct from the coder.
The coder/developer does not have a travel background, but I do understand the need for us to do what we do, and leave them to do what they do, but am also not keen to have to go back to them each time we need changes made.
Do you know of alternatives to blogging platforms such as Wordpress or Drupal that enable flexibility but still allow us to make changes in-house?
Thanks for your advice as well!
By "change in-house" do you mean change the content of your website - or change the "code"?
Assuming the former, then you should ensure that your developers create a custom content management system for the wesbite that allows you to (at the bare minimum):
If your developer is not able to meet that requirement, then ideally you should seek someone who can.
What is perhaps causing you difficulties is that you have seperated the design and build - when the ideal for a company of your size would have been to have commissioned a media agency to handle both the design and build as a turnkey project.
Using a "freelancer" is wrought with potential problems for the "long term" - in that they may not always be available if and when something goes wrong, or you want to make changes at the coding level. Additionally, it usually means that the resulting website will be hosted by yet another company. Essentially resulting in 3 different entities having contributed to the website!
It is probably this aspect that is worrying you, and why you are looking at the open source alternatives like Wordpress, but in all honesty that is not the answer.
Try to take a step back, think why your clients come to you when they are planning their vacations - the trust that they place in your judgement and experience.
Now apply the exact same principals to your decision to revamp your website.
That you are coming to Experts Exchange to ask whether Wordpress or Zend Framework should be used for your website surely tells you that you do not trust the "judgement and experience" of your chosen developer.
There are many alternatives to the likes of Wordpress, some of which are free while others are subscription based. However, at the end of the day, you will still need an experienced developer to be able to make them work for your business.
Assuming the former, then you should ensure that your developers create a custom content management system for the wesbite that allows you to (at the bare minimum):
Add main navigational elements
Add sub navigational elements
Add/Update ALL textual content
Add/Update ALL image/media content
Add/Update ALL search engine related meta content
If your developer is not able to meet that requirement, then ideally you should seek someone who can.
What is perhaps causing you difficulties is that you have seperated the design and build - when the ideal for a company of your size would have been to have commissioned a media agency to handle both the design and build as a turnkey project.
Using a "freelancer" is wrought with potential problems for the "long term" - in that they may not always be available if and when something goes wrong, or you want to make changes at the coding level. Additionally, it usually means that the resulting website will be hosted by yet another company. Essentially resulting in 3 different entities having contributed to the website!
It is probably this aspect that is worrying you, and why you are looking at the open source alternatives like Wordpress, but in all honesty that is not the answer.
Try to take a step back, think why your clients come to you when they are planning their vacations - the trust that they place in your judgement and experience.
Now apply the exact same principals to your decision to revamp your website.
That you are coming to Experts Exchange to ask whether Wordpress or Zend Framework should be used for your website surely tells you that you do not trust the "judgement and experience" of your chosen developer.
There are many alternatives to the likes of Wordpress, some of which are free while others are subscription based. However, at the end of the day, you will still need an experienced developer to be able to make them work for your business.
ASKER
thanks so much!
One final clarification - would you mind taking a good look at www.audleytravel.com and ascertaining if the functionality of this site could be run on Wordpress?
Cheers,
Rog