Drupal CMS Development

One of the most powerful tools in a web developer's chest is the content management system (CMS). Prior to using a CMS, most of our clients had to rely on us to make revisions to their websites. Not only did this cost them a considerable amount of money, it also made our clients less apt to update their sites regularly. (Making regular updates to your site is one of the most effective ways to improve your search engine ranking.)

Our CMS of choice is Drupal. We based that choice on Drupal's extensibility, its broad base of users and developers, and our ability to customize the website... not only how it looks to the user, but how it interacts with the person maintaining it.

Factors in Choosing a CMS

Before you choose a web development partner, it's a good idea to ask a few questions about their development platform.

• Is your CMS a propietary system? We recommend against propietary CMSs, in that high costs usually prevent the developer from keeping up with the latest technology.
• Can your platform grow with my web needs? Sure, there are a lot of simple management systems that work quite well. But what about when you want to begin posting regular updates directly from your website to Facebook and Twitter? Is there a module available for that?
• Speaking of Facebook, does your CMS enable me to integrate social networks and viral media? All of your media sources and marketing avenues should work in sync: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and your blog.
• Will my site be optimized for search engine placement? Too many developers treat search engine optimization (SEO) as a line item... an "after-the-fact" add-on to a website. In fact, great search engine presence begins with how your site is initially laid out, and it continues with each page you create and edit. A good web developer will configure the CMS to force you into best SEO practices.
• Will my site conform to commonly accepted web standards and be accesible to those with disabilities? From a development standpoint, these two items go hand in hand. Following web standards ensures that your website will look and act nearly identically on most modern web browesrs. Those same standards also help aid those with disabilities view your site without frustration.
• What parts of my site will be editable by me and my staff? One of the biggest challenges we face as web designers is to create a site that is easily editable by our clients, but that is structured in such a way to maintain the initial look and feel. A good developer will strike a happy medium between design consistency and allowing control over all content.

When you work with a competent, conscientious web developer, you should feel empowered to communicate more effectively with your existing and potential customers. And you should be proud of what you create each time you hit the submit button.

As we have mentioned in several other places on this site, we know that 99% of our clients don't really care what technology is behind their websites. What they care about is that we created a web presence that exceeds their expectations and that will evolve alongside their marketing and communications needs... on time and within budget.