Web management for dummies: You'll love this new content management tool

AnchorDesk

Web management for dummies: You'll love this new content management tool

Bill Machrone
Contributing Editor PC Magazine
Tuesday, February 13, 2001

Add your opinion

Forward in

Format for

Yeah, sure, anybody can put up a Web site. But then you've got to maintain the darn thing. And you quickly discover that the flexibility of HTML becomes a curse when you're updating a site frequently and trying to maintain page-to-page consistency. You need to separate content from page design, and that's the job of a content management system.

THE CMS MARKET IS a small, specialized one, and prices can take your breath away. A leader, like Vignette, can cost anywhere from a few hundred thousand dollars to a couple of million for a significant-sized site. I would rail against the complexity and cost of these systems, but it wouldn't do any good. There's a lot of complexity, coding, and specialized knowledge here, and the people who need CMS hardly bat an eye at the pre-dotcom-bust pricing.

That's why Atomz Publish might actually be a bargain, starting in the $50,000 range. Unlike most CMS, Atomz Publish is Web-hosted. You can use it from any browser, and users who provide content don't have to know the first thing about HTML. Page design is controlled by templates, which you can lock down to prevent tampering or unintentional changes. Users type content into forms windows or upload edited text and graphics.

Our reviewer found a lot to like in Atomz Publish. Click for more. The biggest sites may need more power and sophistication, but many mid-sized sites that have outgrown their pure HTML underpinnings would do well to consider it.

Does Atomz Publish sound like the right solution to you? Do you know of a better way to build and manage your Web site? TalkBack to me.

Special sponsor stores

Dell Home