Patrick Shaw’s Weblog

We’ve been implementing websites for nonprofits for a long time, and we’ve been using Plone as a CMS for about three years. It’s no surprise that over that three year span - our websites are getting better and better, Plone is getting better and better - and sites cost a bit more, too. Here’s some of the why:

When we first started, there was a lot we didn’t know - so - as we learned how to implement effectively in Plone - we wrote off a lot of our initial costs to that learning curve. Some of those items were true learning - we had to acquire skills in web hosting, in writing user agreements, in understanding the open source model and more.

But some of those costs were related to implementing hard designs - and that hasn’t changed!

Here are some things that we’re doing now:

• We test to make sure that your website renders well in IE6, IE7, and in Firefox. IE7 wasn’t out when we started, and Firefox was barely on anyone’s radar. Now we have IE8 on the way, the browser by Google (called Chrome) and Firefox 3 to get ready for.
• We implement one (if not two) analytic tools to make sure that you can measure site traffic
• We add additional tools that you can use, such as Plone Form Generator -a tool that lets you create forms for visitors to fill out and send to you
• We create "quick tip" documentation sheets to go along with our overall documentation
• We’ve implemented a cache scheme that makes your site render more quickly

And there’s a lot more. On top of THAT - our customers are asking for more, too:

• Deeply tiered permission structures so that board members, volunteers, and others can view restricted content
• Connecting to Salesforce.com databases to display and get information
• Expanded typography, using Flash and other tools, so that your website isn’t "stuck" using standard website fonts only
• Custom widget building, such as for a Resource Library, highly customized Calendars, stylized blogs
• Extended tools for tracking Search Engine Optimization

And there’s more of THAT, too!

We’re still able to implement highly affordable websites, if that’s what you want and need. We’ve recently helped a pair of customers move their old website (couldn’t edit them) to Plone, keeping much of their existing design. And we’ve had a few customers pick an already designed site (so the feature set and design didn’t have any moving pieces) and re-use with their own color scheme and content.

So - there are a lot of options. After three years (and just about 50 sites) - we’re excited about the future of Plone and how nonprofits can gain access to editing and posting content with it!