Manage your website?

[tmcd35]

Do you write raw html/php/asp/etc code and produce all the pages yourself or use a CMS? If you use a CMS which one? Is there a team managing the site or just one person? Who updates content and how?

 

Big questions I know but I'm struggling here.

 

This is our current site: linky.

 

Pants, I know. Part of the reason is nobody manages it. Another is that the Pluck CMS was the only one I could find that didn't require an SQL database and thus would work on our LEA's servers.

 

I'm bringing the website in house now. So we can use whatever we like internally. I'm torn between Sharepoint and EduJoomla.

 

To give a wider picture - we use Fronter as our VLE and that is not likely to change in the forseeable future. We have SIMs and use Sharepoint for the SLG, I'm investigating Eclipse.net and Fronter Web Parts and how they might be used. We also use GoogleDocs for our e-mail system.

 

Any thoughts on where we should go from here? How integrated can we be? Part of me doesn't like having lots of different sites (googlemail/fronter/homepage/slg/etc). Is sharepoint the right tool, or would a dedicated separate website using a CMS like Joomla be better?

[dayzd]

Well, currently ours is hand coded PHP/HTML/JS etc by me. It gets updated as and when content is emailed to me by the people responsible for actual updates (each page is assigned to a relevant member of staff). It's all hosted by our ISP, EMBC.

 

Over this academic year, we're looking at overhauling the site, moving to a CMS so staff can update it directly and possibly self-hosting, too. I already have a draft design on the go, but have yet to choose a CMS. I do have one in mind to test first, though! (MODx. This tutorial makes it look nice and modular, which I like.)

Hopefully there'll be plenty of suggestions in this thread to help the decision!

[tmcd35]

Hopefully there'll be plenty of suggestions in this thread to help the decision!

 

Thank you, that's what I am hoping. My head is spinning and I can't see the wood for the trees at the moment!

[mbird]

Currently im not sure what we use, but we will be using...eek. Sharepoint

We have just redesigned our VLE / LGW whatever you want to call it, and the company doing this - is going to run our website off it internally.

It will be primarily managed (incl LGW) by me, but staff members can edit there own parts using permissions built into sharepoint - which is the part i really like.

MB

[mbird]

Also, why do you have a heart as your favicon - or is that just me?

[CESIL]

All hand crafted by your truly in PHP/HTML/JS/AJAX.

 

Updated when the SLT can be bothered to ask...

 

Admin staff upload newsletters and policy docs as PDFs through custom FTP app.

 

I am considering a CMS but our LEA hosting package is a bit stingy and SLT don't want to pay for hosting.

[LiamH]

We have a person dedicated to designing and maintaining the school website (designed in dreamweaver eek) and VLE (Moodle) both of which are hosted externally.

 

Have used a fair few CMS's out of work. Joomla is good and has fantastic support.

 

I would recommend playing around with it first on your local machine. Use XAMPP to set up a local sql/apache server that can be flicked on and off with ease. apache friends - xampp

[featured_spectre]

We use HTML for our current site but I am working heavily to get our Beta site up and running on the Edugeek Joomla package. I modified the CSS a bit to suite our colour scheme and so far it works well

[plexer]

We are using the edugeek joomla 1.5 template and now moving the content over from the old site and gettting new pictures uploaded that were taken by a local photographer.

 

Got 2 members of staff on board to update stuff like policies and school news at the moment.

 

Ben

[tmcd35]

We are using the edugeek joomla 1.5 template and now moving the content over from the old site and gettting new pictures uploaded that were taken by a local photographer.

 

Got 2 members of staff on board to update stuff like policies and school news at the moment.

 

Ben

 

Interesting to know. I'm having a browse around your site now? You using Fronter VLE? I take it that is kept as a separate entity?

 

Is anyone doing anything with VLE/MIS/etc integration. I can't help thinking there some data duplication and the biggest job is pulling at that data into one centally managed easy access location?

[plexer]

We are keeping fronter as a sperate thing at the moment.

 

It all depends on how you want to use the website really, is it just the corporate face of the school or is a whole more ingrained teaching tool that brings into play you vle and mis as well.

 

Ben

[tmcd35]

Does anyone have a group/committee responsible for their website - perhaps with student involvement? I'd be interested in hearing how/if that works and what sort of things staff and students do on/for the website.

[p858snake]

I have used Website Baker a long time ago and it was nice and simple back then (and easyish to theme). But i'm aware that one or two people around here use moodle for their public site so that they could combine their vle and website into one service.

[morganw]

If you are using GoogleApps and wanted something neat and simple you make the entire thing in Google Sites and have it hosted with Google. Doing it this way also makes it easy to delegate responsibility for the pages out to other people as you give permissions based on their account (which must already exist if you are using GoogleDocs / Gmail). The editor is basic but neat, and you can embed a few types of objects into the pages.

[tmcd35]

If you are using GoogleApps and wanted something neat and simple you make the entire thing in Google Sites and have it hosted with Google.

 

Now that is an interesting idea...