Updating Tools & Services, Including
Contribute Software
You don’t need to go to your web designer for every change to your
site – there’s some great software out there that can help
you make basic changes quickly and easily. The trick is knowing which changes
are basic…and which are better left to the professionals
Contribute
Cost: onetime $150 fee and your own time
Convenience: high, no communication or waiting
What Contribute Can Do: Let you update text and
photos on sites built in Dreamweaver
I highly recommend Contribute to our clients because it's so cost effective
and convenient. It allows you to do your own updates from your office whenever
you want you want. Contribute works on all Websites built in Dreamweaver,
which is most of them – your web developer will be able to tell you
if it’s right for you. It’s wonderful to be able to fix typos,
add new content, or change a picture without waiting for a developer to
get around to your updates. Plus, with Contribute you don’t pay a
consultant’s fee – there’s no cost to you once you’ve
purchased it.
Get Contribute by going to Adobe online, and paying for the download
with a credit card. It’s very easy to use, but if you’d like
guidance there are several Contribute manuals available from Amazon.
When I polled the Contribute users among my clients, they all gave it
between 8 and 10 on a scale of 1-10.
Your Web Designer or Virtual Assistant (VA)
Cost: hourly rates vary $50-90
Convenience: depends
What the Web Designer or VA Can Do: update text,
photos, add buttons, add charts, add keywords, links, probably
anything you need
I recommend using your Web designer to change buttons, add features, add
keywords and other tasks more complex than adding text and photos. These
days, many VA's will also be able to add buttons, links, keywords and other
medium complex .html changes..
Email or fax is the best way to communicate changes to your Web designer
or VA. Give them clear and detailed instructions about what you want. Clear
communication keeps the cost down, and facilitates timely changes.
Content Management System (CMS)
Cost: large upfront cost; most cost effective option
for complex information
Convenience: high
What CMS Can Do: ideal for information that gets
updated frequently and has a particular format…like a table
It's a good idea to consider a custom CMS when your site has an event
calendar, news ticker or something like that. The CMS is designed so a
non-techie can enter the data into the fields and upload it. The custom
table is made once and the data replaced as needed.
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