How much is a CMS?

CRenegade

It may be a general question but I was wondering what the price ranges for a content management system is in addition to building a website.

My dad has one for his website buts its a free version of software and not the most user friendly.

What do companies usually charge to set one up on a website?

Let me know if this question is too wide ranging and maybe more specific details are needed regarding how detailed the site is?

Cheers.

nellyshark

Its difficult to say without specifics regarding the project tbh.

However just to give you some ballpark info I would include CMS integration with a designs that I make (brochure designs note that this would be an ability to manage the content yourself and contact/gallery, any additional features would be extra). How much that costs depends on the specifics of the project. Other people charge for design separate to development so its difficult to gauge

snuggles09

^^^^ same as above but a simple one can be got for around 100 euro

Dave!

Might as well stick this into this thread...

Anyone know a good tutorial that shows how to build your own CMS? Using PHP and MySQL I suppose

Goodshape

Have you looked at the open source options available? WordPress, Joomla, ReallySimpleCms, Drupal, etc?

sheesh

modx is a good cms that i have found easy to skin.....


back to the question the serious ones can cost €70,000 just for the software licence!

then there are a couple of pretty good free ones like joomla or drupal that can be difficult to set up right.

TitoPuente

It's virtually impossible to say. Many excellent Open Source CMS's are completely free and if you're willing to take the time to learn how to install, integrate and extend them to do what you want, then you can do it all yourself at no cost (except time). Having said this, if you're looking to really extend the CMS and add sophisticated functionality that might not be available as an installable plugin, then you've got a serious challenge on your hands as this generally requires the ability to amend the core CMS code. Which you'll have serious difficulty with unless you're a savvy programmer.

Most professional agencies will usually charge several thousand Euro to install, integrate, extend and deploy an Open Source CMS if there's any level of customisation involved but it all depends. WordPress, for example, can be customised and integrated seamlessly into a site for next to nothing. Expression Engine, Drupal or ModX are going to be considerably more costly because of what's involved for anything more than a very basic website.

Scotty #

Don't confuse 'free' with 'open source'.

While both are often 'free of charge', there is often a big difference in each product.

'Free' is often something developed by one person/company with the hope that you will like it enough to purchase their commercial, fully functional, supported, version.

'Open Source' is something usually developed with the collaboration of hundreds or even thousands of developers within a community. And is often a serious rival (or superior) to the commercial equivalent.

Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress, are all 'Open Source' CMS. You can find a complete list of Open Source CMS here and order then from Best to Worst. (Interesting that Drupal is so far down the list.)

CRenegade

snuggles09 wrote: »

^^^^ same as above but a simple one can be got for around 100 euro

Ok then, how about a high quality website in a magzine style with images, videos, text, etc.

Which will need to be user friendly to update with Adobe indesign documents among others.

What increases the price from €100 up to €500 to €1000 etc?

Cunning Alias

I use Blacknight to host all my Joomla sites and they have an option to automatically install the Joomla system to a domain. They also have Drupal but I haven't tried it. It's also just one click to update a Joomla installation to the latest version.

The design would be one cost. There are loads of free templates (of varying quality) which you could use. There are also professional ones that cost between 30 - 200. If you have a set design in mind it could cost more as it would add a fair amount of time to development depending on the design.

As far as pictures and videos go, there are loads of extensions for joomla that would cover this area. There are free ones as well as paid ones. I would image most people developing sites would charge extra for these features even if they don't take much time to set up.

The text would be the easiest part to manage one the settings are correct in the template. The only problem I have ever had was with a client that wanted a strange page layout.

Remember the domain and hosting costs. This shouldn't cost more than 100. And be sure to check what the annual costs would be. I have heard of companies charging silly amounts like 800 a year for doing sweet FA.

Not sure if I understand what you mean with indesign. Do you mean you would do page layouts in indesign and then have them made? Or do you want to be able to create a page in indesign and then have it appear on the site (after the site has been made and is live)?

CRenegade

Cunning Alias wrote: »

If you have a set design in mind it could cost more as it would add a fair amount of time to development depending on the design.

Not sure if I understand what you mean with indesign. Do you mean you would do page layouts in indesign and then have them made? Or do you want to be able to create a page in indesign and then have it appear on the site (after the site has been made and is live)?

It would probably be a custom design so this will bring the cost up then.

Regarding Adobe Indesign: New documents would be made with indesign containing text, pictures, videos, etc. and these would be added to the website on a regular basis after its up and running.

Cheers for the replies.

Cunning Alias

Pretty sure there is no option to add pages like that in Joomla. I did a quick search and I couldn't find anything that allows indesign to be ported to joomla pages.

Haven't heard of sites being updated like that, except for giving the indesign page to a developer and having them create the page. This takes away the point of managing a site yourself.

Creating a Joomla page with those type of elements would normally involve uploading the pics and video, setting up the video using a video managing extension, then adding the text and pics to the final page. This could be something you could learn over time or do if you have a good guide.

If indesign is the only way you want to update the site, I would try some indesign forums and see if anyone else is doing it. There is no point in deciding on a CMS now if it can't be updated that way.

CRenegade

Cunning Alias wrote: »

If indesign is the only way you want to update the site, I would try some indesign forums and see if anyone else is doing it. There is no point in deciding on a CMS now if it can't be updated that way.

Other people are asking this question also. I found this on the Indesign forum but I dont quite understand the answer. Anyways thought id share it here:

http://forums.adobe.com/message/2061832#2061832

Cunning Alias

Afraid im not much help when it comes to indesign. I have no idea about the features they are talking about, although it seems like its just for sharing work with a team.

I would look at that Woodwing CMS that was mentioned. It wont be exactly what you are looking for but if it is a niche CMS, focused at your industry, it will probably be closer than a general CMS like joomla or drupal.

Couldn't find much info on the other CMS's mentioned and the Scoop one has not been updated since 2007!