new website for client

[Violet_82]

Hi peeps, I was wondering if you can hep me at all with this.
I have to create a website for a client, he's a drummer and he wants to promote himself. He gave me a rough idea of what he wants - here some examples (sorry for the links but it is just to give you an idea): http://www.peteraybiggin.com/, http://www.rodneyholmes.com/fr_home.cfm, http://www.brianblade.com/, http://www.drummike.net/ - and I was wondering what's the best way to proceed. Should I develop it from scratch or should I use something like wordpress? The thing is that I will only build the website for him, I will not maintain it, it will be him updating it and adding stuff (probably every week) to it, so I am thinking about using wordpress. He will be adding content, videos, pictures, and I need something really easy he can use to update his website, something he can learn very quickly (he's not into IT by the way)
What do you guys reckon?
The thing is I don't know how much freedom wordpress can give, in that, can I code from scratch, get my own colour theme, use my own templates etc.
ANy help is very much ppreciated as usual
cheers

[JorgeM]

Well, I think you are on the right track with Wordpress or something similar based on the description. If you build a traditional website, you would also have to build in admin pages to allow this user to add content. As you may be aware, the admin pages could be more work then the site itself.

It sounds like this person will be publishing promotional information, pictures, events, etc which are all social in nature. I would tend to think that your solution should be a product that lends itself to social activities.

With Wordpress, you have a lot of options with regard to themes and add-ins. I am confident that there is enough out there that will not require too much on your part to implement and maintain.

[Violet_82]

Hi JorgeM,
thanks for that. I have never used wordpress before, so do you think I will have enough freedom with it to do pretty much what I want in terms of templates, embedding videos etc etc.
Also, where would be the best place for me to learn a bit about it?
Or, how about building the website from scratch and then use a cms, like drupal or so to let the client do the updates? what's best?
cheers

[JorgeM]

Well, actually both Wordpress and Drupal are CMSs. I dont think one is better than the other. Both are well supported and are available to implement and customize. I tend to beleive that Wordpress is easier to install, manage and use.

You may want to do a bit more reading up on the various CMS solutions out there. If you are planning on hosting this with a provider, many of them have scripts that can be run to do the installation and initial config for you. There are alot of templates out there, add-ons, etc...

In the case of Wordpress, there is a hosted and self-hosted version... read more http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

[Violet_82]

hi JorgeM, thanks for you reply. I am actually looking into it, I have started to use wordpress, but really, there is something I don't understand about all that. I posted a bit on their forum to gather as much info as possible and also on the drupa forum, and it turns out that if you want to use drupal/wordpress you have to build the whole site with them, and then, clients can use them to update the site. But, I am looking at the wordpress interface and I am sorry but it is terible, editing the HTML and CSS is a nightmare it is all text based. I mean, I find hard to believe that I can't build a website as I usually do, from scratch using just notepad and then, when everything is ready, "plug in" a cms so that the client can do his own updates. I mean I don't want neither Drupal nor WOrdpress to do the job for me, I enjoy building sites and I want to do it myself, all I need is a cms for clients...sorry I am really frustrated because the more I post on the wordpress forum the more I understand that there isn't that much flexibility in editing the actual HTML and CSS...
ANy advice?

[JorgeM]

Just to clarify, you can host with them or get the software and do it on your own. In the case of Wordpress, the .com site is hosted and you are limited where .org allows you to get a copy for your own use.

I am not necessarily suggesting that either is the best option. If you want the most flexibility and control, nothing beats you building something from scratch. With any packaged solution, your limited to what is offered. Te key is are either of these two options too limiting.

I still would tend to think if you want a limited or hands-off approach after this is deployed, this type of system will tend to work best. The more customization and control you put into it, the more you will marry yourself to the life of this implementation.

[Violet_82]

thanks, I am working with wordpress now, I will see how that goes for now
thanks