CMS Launch

One of my Ultimate Form Mail clients named Julian asked me a few questions this morning:

Hi Jack,

we talked about your CMS before. I am glad you have still been working on
it. Good to hear it is getting close. The only suggestion that I have
apparently has already been covered. “Ease of Use”
Oh OK I do have two things on a wish list, but before I share them I have
one question.

What is the back end based on? Is the content housed in MYSQL or is it a
file based CMS?

Julian’s question goes right to the heart of one of the biggest flaws I find with most content management systems:

Most CMS Are Really DMS - Database Management Systems

As a web designer, sometimes it’s really useful to write out some html or php, save it as a file, and upload it to the server.

What’s really frustrating is that most content management systems ignore static files and force you to store all of your content in a database.

For a blog that might be fine… but in my opinion, a REAL website management tool would make it just as easy to wrap a true html or php file inside of the layout.

In other words, whether you create an html page and upload it to the server or use a WYSIWYG editor to add content to a database, they should both display beautifully inside of the chosen layout.

Demonstration Video On The Way

While I’m working on adding two great suggestions I collected from Ultimate Form Mail clients, I will edit some live motion video and put it online so you can see exactly how easy it is to upload a file and have it work within a template.

I’ll also be releasing other videos so that you can start to see how this tool really could help you take your business to the next level.

It’s got to look a little hypocritical to be using an Open Source blogging tool (WordPress) to tell you about the upcoming launch of my proprietary content management system.

But it’s not… and here’s why:

A product launch follows a natural chronological order and is best done when there’s feedback from interested future clients and critics.

What better tool to use than a blog? It puts information in a nice chronological order and makes it very easy for visitors, fans, and critics to discuss.

The Right Tool For The Right Job

But a blog is not perfect for every project. And the project I find myself involved in most often is the rapid development of a website that has no chronological structure and no open discussion.

Any carpenter will tell you that the right tool to remove a screw is a screwdriver. You can do it with a hammer… but even an average screwdriver will outperform a great hammer at certain tasks.

Tiger Woods can probably drive a golf ball with his putter twice as far as I can… but during a tournament he tees off with a driver. It’s a tool designed to do that job perfectly… nothing else.

I think you get the picture… so I’ll let the analogies rest for a moment.

How Blurred Is The Line Between CMS and Blog?

In my opinion, a blog is not a CMS.

Sure, you can hack away at WordPress and make a valiant attempt at turning it into a CMS…

But I think that when you have an opportunity to judge for yourself, you’ll agree that my tool gives you advantages for certain projects and jobs that WordPress and other blogging tools just weren’t designed to do.

Soon you’ll have the chance to judge for yourself.

As you’re well aware… there are approximately two thousand different content management systems already available and most of them carry an attractively low price tag (free).

Some of these products are exceptionally good at what they do and really don’t compete with the tool I’m creating.

So I thought it would be wise to answer some questions before they come up by telling you what this is not.

My content management system is NOT…

• A community portal
• A blogging system

If you are looking for a blogging system… I like WordPress.

If you want a community portal… I can’t help you. I’ve tried a few but never found a use for one.

A Pig In a Dress Is Still A Pig

I’ve tried to use blogs as a content management system and I can hack code with the best of them.

But my experience over the years tells me that a blog is a blog.

A big part of what I do involves building high end websites for small-ish businesses willing to pay top dollar for custom work.

And one of my big selling points… the one that gets my clients signing on the dotted line… is that they have two options after the site is built:

1. Call me to make a change
2. Log into the simple-to-use admin and change it yourself

They like knowing they’re not dependent on me.

They like to know they have control.

They like to know that if I get hit by the milk truck tomorrow that they can still make changes to their site.

(Whether they ever use that option is beside the point… they still want it.)

And in my experience, there are major drawbacks to trying to make a community portal or blogging system do the work of a true content management system.

Do You Fit Either Description?

You’re a webdesigner that needs a fast, reliable, flexible tool that is client friendly…

You’re a web-based entrepreneur or web-savvy entrepreneur that needs to be able to roll out multiple websites quickly, hire any designer or programmer (instead of ones that specialize in XYZ management tool), and manage these sites easily…

Then you’re just who I’m looking to serve.

I think you’ve been overlooked by the CMS creators. I also think that your needs aren’t met by the tools that are commonly used to create blogs and community portals.

You want something created for your needs.

It’s a story you’ve heard before…

Unknown programmer (or team of yet-to-be-discovered geniuses) creates the new “it” website, sofware, or service.

We can’t resist to tell you how cool “it” is… how cool we are for making it. (And we get extra points if we get to use the words “AJAX” or “Web 2.0″)

But that’s why most content management systems suck… they’re built for the glorification of the programmer… not the person using the tool.

Most website tools fail to answer these simple questions:

• Who is this tool designed to help?
• What do they want?
• How can it help them achieve their goals?

The “Who” Is You

Most startups love to dedicate a lot of web space talking about “Who we are”. Reality is… no one truly cares.

I want you to know… I get it. This isn’t about me, my background, or some amazing story of perseverence over insurmountable odds.

This is about you, how you build websites, the frustrations you have with existing tools, and how you wish things could be… if someone actually listened to what you wanted.

The Million Dollar Car - That Only Makes Left Hand Turns

Here’s an analogy of how I view the current state of content management system choices available to web designers and entrepreneurs:

Imagine CNN announces that Detroit has created the world’s most expensive and technologically advanced car to ever touch asphault. It’s got GPS, DVD, autopilot (think Knight Rider), goes from zero to sixty in two seconds flat, runs on tap water… on and on…

But it only makes left hand turns.

Doh!

All the bells and whistles in the world don’t mean squat if the engineers started with a flawed concept of how you’re going to use the tool.

If I’m competing against an industry of car makers that have all started with the same “left turn only” viewpoint of the end user then all I have to do is create one that makes left and right hand turns… not another “me-too” vehicle with better bells and whistles.

How I Discovered What You Want

1. I do what you do 7 days a week
2. I asked for feedback from others like you… and then I listened

If you consider yourself to be a website designer or an entrepreneur that’s computer savvy enough to create even a basic website, then I have a feeling I know what makes you tick, what gets you upset, what your goals are, and what major obstacles stand in your way.

I make my living designing websites for clients and running other internet based businesses - unrelated to programming or web design.

Since we have a lot in common, it’s easy for me to know what you want and why the existing website tools don’t give you everything you need.

But just to make sure I wasn’t overlooking anything… I asked for feedback from folks like you and paid close attention to what they told me.

Another product I sell online is purchased by website designers and entrepreneurs. I recently told them about the upcoming launch of this content management system and asked for their feedback.

I got lots of emails… tons of encouragement… some cries for help… and fantastic ideas.

Two of those ideas I’m putting into the content management system right now.

Here’s What Others Like You Have Told Me

Some of this I already knew because of what I do 7 days a week. But some of it came from asking the right questions and then listening. (Amazing what you can pick up when you listen!)

If you’re a webdesigner then I think you’re looking for a website management tool that’s

• Easy to use
• Has almost no learning curve
• Works with any layout or web design style (think css, divs, tables, Flash, whatever you want to use)
• Simple as hell to “skin” — in other words, a super-easy template process
• Is “client proof” so you don’t have to go behind your client and constantly fix their mistakes
• Is so easy for a “newbie” to use that even the most computer-phobic client can learn it in 5 minutes or less with one arm tied behind their back
• Allows you to “private label” the admin panel so that your logo (or your client’s logo) can be proudly shown
• And makes it painful for clients to leave you for another web designer

If you’re an entrepreneur that uses websites to promote a business (or the website itself is the business) then I think you want a tool that is:

• Reliable and secure
• Quick to use
• Simple to learn (say, five minutes…?)
• Flexible enough to use any layout created by any web designer you hire
• Smart enough to use custom code created by any programmer you hire (with zero learning curve on the programmer’s part)
• Intuitive enough to hand over to an employee to manage

With each post leading up to the launch of this content management system I’ll always bring it back to “what this means for you”.

If I forget, slap me up side the head and remind me.

And in the meantime, please chime in with your thoughts about what you would want if you could make the perfect website creation and management tool.