Macromedia Upgrade

[bjm027]

I also posted this in the Macromedia Dreamweaver Forum, but thought that maybe I could get some solid responses in this forum as well.

----

My work is upgrading. They stress the ability for non-techy staff people to be able to update web pages without the knowledge to do so. I have recommended Macromedia Contribute 2. I have used the trial version of this and I love it. I think it will benefit us greatly. My work wants to research web portals that have functions similar to Contribute 2. I personally don't think thats the way to go.

I know this isn't a true Dreamweaver question, but I was wondering if anyone out there has good experience with Macromedia Contribute 2 and could give me pros and cons and maybe comparisons to using a web portal service.

???

Thanks in advance.

 

[Duplicity]

Some designers who do a lot of work, especially where they host many sites on their own servers, write their own CMS for this kind of thing. It can be useful and sometimes even necessary to have quick and easy access to generate new pages, update existing page text copy or add/remove or otherwise molest your site.

On the one hand you get exactly what you want because you build it to do what you need it to, on the other, I've yet to see any off the peg or bespoke system (my own included) that has the ease of use and sheer volume of features that Contribute offers.

I set up Contribute recently for a medium size business of just over 300 employees. They do a lot of media work and information delivery using secure log in for clients to access some material for download while the rest is freely available and their site plays a crucial part in their business strategy and product delivery.

Installing Contribute and training two of their staff to use it has saved them a small fortune. The original two trained staff have, in turn, trained four others so now there is a small group who can all use the system directly or train others if required Currently they operate a one (or two if required) person per week rotation so the skills are being used regularly enough that they don't become forgotten.

Their site is updated daily and as such the webmaster fees prior to Contribute were expensive to say the least. Now though, they manage their own site almost entirely with a small amount of input from one individual.

This possibly sounds like an advert, but in all honesty and in the right circumstances I'd be lying if I said Contribute wasn't one of the best business tools to be released in a long time, purely from a cost effective point of view.

 

[bjm027]

Duplicity,

Thanks for the input. Your opinion on this matter is greatly appreciated. I think Contribute is the best option for us at this time. It fits all the demands by our staff. And cost effective I agree. It saves time and money on many parts. As the business grows, I believe this will continue to benefit the business.