Loaded DWT Question (long)

[Steven Banks]

Hello FrontPage Fanatics,

Huge loaded question here. Apologize for any length issues.

Scenario:
Professional organization that has a stagnant web presence
Professional org is volunteer based
Same as with company newsletters, getting people to submit content is
arduous

Current Status:
Web page hosted by University for the Professional org
One person responsible for updates, not working due to illness
They have no domain
The site detracts from an otherwise extremely intelligent group of
professionals

Proposal:
Obtain domain name
Use a professional hosting service
Teach volunteers how to use the software
Maintaining site through shared responsibility
Entice participation by offering: chats, forums, newsletters (email), polls,
surveys, calendars, etc.

So, I'm comfortable with FP 2003. Not an expert, but comfortable, (I also
teach software). Initially, I was going to go ahead and suggest training a
group of these folks to administer their own website after I got it up and
running for them.

Now, I'm convinced DWT is the way to go! But... I have been hearing, reading
about possible nightmares concerning DWT's. Now, I know that could be filled
with a lot of "conversion" of regular sites to DWT that failed. However for
this project to be successful, it needs to work with nil to zero frustration
for the contributors.

Can I assume that using a DWTIG Compliant web package (template) from a
reputable company e.g., FrontLook, TWC Graphic Designs, and using it to
start with, helps eliminate these issues?

Lastly, does anyone know of a web site that helps a person experience the
editing of a DWT like a contributor would? I can see how it all goes
together, but would like to put myself in the shoes of a person editing
their own region on a webpage.

I know this is long, and may not make sense... but I'm just trying to get a
better handle on all this DWT stuff.

Any and all comments appreciated!

Thanks, enjoy your weekend!
Steve Banks

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

Using a DWT based site will require all contributors to have FP2003. You really need to look into a
database driven site where content is added via a back-end manage application, where the
contributors would only need to have a browsers and no knowledge of HTML, etc. to manage content.
The DWT can be use to manage the page layout/site design.

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[Jim Cheshire]

Steve,

I think that the problems surrounding DWTs are going to exist whether you
use one you create yourself or one created by a third-party. As I see it,
the problems are not numerous and easily mitigated:

* You cannot update all pages easily unless you are on a disk-based Web or
a WSS site.
* Minor changes to pages (such as form actions, inclusion of scripts, etc.)
can be overwritten easily by applying DWTs.

In my work with DWTs (and that work has been substantial) those are the
problems I encounter. As an example for the second bullet, if I insert a
Spawn popup on a page, it adds JavaScript to the page to create the pop-up.
That works fine, but if I reapply the DWT at a later time, it will remove
the script. That causes the link to open in a regular IE window instead of
a pop-up. I can easily resolve that, but it's just one more step.

With all of that said, I'm not convinced that simply using DWTs is your best
bet. I would seriously look into a content management system that would
allow people to edit the site and make changes right within the Web browser
itself. Here are examples:

http://www.contentseed.com
http://www.telerik.com/Default.aspx?PageId=1586

telerik also offers r.a.d.designer. It will blow you away! It uses the
r.a.d.editor as it's editor, but it allows you to do more than any other
content management system I've ever seen.

http://www.telerik.com/Default.aspx?PageId=1612

--
Jim Cheshire
JIMCO Software
http://www.jimcosoftware.com

The premiere add-in and software source
for Microsoft FrontPage.

 

[Steven Banks]

Thomas, thank you for pointing me in the correct direction CMS!

Jim, Thank you for an in-depth explanation and supplying resources!

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! Sure am glad I posed my questions
here before doing anything. Can't thank you enough...

Steve Banks