Redoing the school website

[timbo343]

At the moment we have our website edited via dreamweaver and would like to bring it back up to date in the modern world but we are feeling the Dreamweaver has just got a little too complicated for us now. The site doesn't have a backend database nor isn't responsive. We've been using Dreamweaver for a while (10 years) and just kept with the same old, same old.

 

I was wondering what others are using to create their websites. I understand its going to be a massive project but the site just looks very flat, if that's the right word.

[3s-gtech]

Ooh, this hasn't come up for a good while. There are so many options, so I'll just list a few ideas with positives and negatives:

 

Commercial solution/bought package (very easy, cost element, often a lack of flexibility/control)

Joomla/Wordpress/another CMS (variable learning curve, super powerful, free/cheap, flexible)

Third-party managed (super easy, expensive, totally inflexible, variable speed to update, commercial support)

 

Our main website is a combination of in-house landing page/CMS then Joomla (with Wordpress and Moodle also involved). I love Joomla, as we are only limited by our talents - so many plugins, constant updates available, very easy to use once you're familiar. We have a custom theme based off bootstrap, so it scales well and works in all tested browsers. You can also easily delegate logins for updates/news articles etc.

[forkies]

+1 Joomla. If you have been using dream weaver then you can probably modify a template relatively well to be the design you want too. We also use a URL shortening open source project installed on a short domain for linking letters and everything we want to text out or put out on social media. Saves people having to type out a full address.

[Guest MD5T]

+1 Wordpress

[speckytecky]

+ 1 Joomla and if you want to take the hard work out of it at a very reasonable cost - including maintenance and hosting I can highly recommend Steve Hill of this patch. I'll let Steve chime in with his handle.

[timbo343]

We've looked at word press & joomla and we couldnt get on with either of them - i wonder if its due to our WYSIWYG minds LOL!

 

We found WIX was the easiest one to use.

[Shadow_Walker]

We've looked at word press & joomla and we couldnt get on with either of them - i wonder if its due to our WYSIWYG minds LOL!

 

We found WIX was the easiest one to use.

 

Just sent you a pm

[TwistedHelixis]

I use Google Sites which even the teachers can update. It's also free and does a fantastic job.

[Chuckster]

+1 WordPress

 

If you want to save yourself some major headaches, and don't want the whole hassle of managing the updates and content on the website, then I would recommend you to look at paid-for solutions such as Primary Site, Schudio et al. It will encourage others to update the website without so much of your own input.

[mavhc]

Wordpress if you like plugins, Squarespace if you want someone to do all the hosting and CMS for you

[colly72]

+1 for Wordpress. Very easy to install and set up and there are some amazing themes like X theme, or Divi, that can be modified without any dev skills, to look exactly like you want. Plugins give you just about as much or as little extra functionality as you need. Need to be careful with security, as with any CMS, which normally involves keeping up to date with core and plugin versions but for ease of day to day use, it's a walk in the park, compared to Joomla or Drupal, for example. I create Wordpress sites for businesses, in my other life away from school, so feel free to PM me if you need any advice.

[AliG]

Paid for version provided by - e4education

[timbo343]

Thank you all for the responses

[Sylv3r]

We've used Joomla in the past but gone for WIX this time. Pretty flexible and easy to add content.

[webman]

I'm using the ProcessWire CMS a lot these days. Really great to give you total control over the structure of your data and pages.

 

There isn't a concept or ecosystem of "themes" as such, like there is with some , so you do have to provide your own HTML & CSS - be that through your own skills or a third-party HTML template.

 

Not for everyone, but it does mean you avoid plugin and theme compatibility issues often found with other CMSs, and the API is very very good, and inspired by jQuery.

[karldenton]

+1 for Wordpress.

 

Just be careful who its hosted with. On godaddy ours seems really slow. On 1and1 it works fine.

[SimonHooker]

We have used various CMSs and languages in the past for school sites, however the current favourite system seems to be Wordpress - if you spend some time on it you can make it do pretty much anything you want it to but with the benefit of a well supported base system.

 

Also has some nice plugins - for example Calendarize it! if you want to have a nice calendar ( http://calendarize.it/ )

Edited March 30, 2017 by SimonHooker

[rad]

Ours is a paid for site with CMS.