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Josh Miclette
Courses Plus Student 6,227 PointsLarge website without using a CMS
Hi team - I have a question regarding a site without using a CMS. A client of mine requested the build of a large site without using a CMS. I know this is possible using .php, but does anyone else have another solution?
Thanks! Josh
2 Answers
Anthony Babich
5,505 PointsHTML and Javascript maybe? CMS seems to be an awful alternative to just taking the time to build something nice.
Anyway, I have favored Ruby on Rails for ease of website creation. Once you get the hang of RoR you can build super complex sites in a matter of minutes using gems and other resources.
Kevin Korte
28,149 PointsWhy would they not want to use any sort of content management system for a large website. This seems like it's a very bad idea.
I think that in this case, it's your responsibility as the developer here to explain to them they're getting ready to cost themselves thousands of dollars of money in the future.
The CMS can be custom, and it doesn't have to be complex, but there really should be some sort of way to manage content without having to write code each time.
The reason why I'm afraid it will cost them thousands in the future, because if you're ever unavailable, moved on, no longer coding, etc, I think they'll have a tough time finding anyone to touch this site, and if they will, their price would be astronomical simple for the PITA factor.
Rant over - any language can do this. Php, node, ruby, python, whatever. Languages are not tied to CMS's, and CMS's are not tied to languages.
Are they okay with frameworks? If you know php, what about Laraval or Slim, and than just build a barebones CMS with that.
Anyway, that's my two cents. I hope that's helpful to you.
Josh Miclette
Courses Plus Student 6,227 PointsThanks Kevin. The client is completely against the use of any CMS, which I tried explaining to them before the project. When I say large, it's roughly 60 pages, and they won't be adding any more content once it's launched. They pretty much just wanted a refresh. I will look into your suggestions and appreciate your feedback.
Kevin Korte
28,149 PointsWell, that's all you can do, at least you can (or me in your shoes) could sleep well at night knowing that. Depending on the complexity and what not though, a framework that provided some database interaction, routing, views, etc may or may not be needed. But as far as language goes, run with what you know and make it happen.
Php is probably the lowest entry bar for hosting/servers. Almost every host will deal with PHP well. The rest can be hit or miss, it's certainly not impossible to find a host for whatever tech stack you use.
Anthony Babich
5,505 PointsI agree with this. I was re-visiting the topic and noticed his client is basically saying "We want a very large website, but no means to manage it."? Even at it's very least, so like, a simple page that you can log in to and maybe click an "Add+" button to post a new article using a user interface.. that would be Content Management System too. So ..nothing particularly dynamic.
Josh Miclette
Courses Plus Student 6,227 PointsJosh Miclette
Courses Plus Student 6,227 PointsThanks Anthony for your reply. I am unfamiliar with RoR. My only concern is that I want to create the site but also be able to update one 'function' file if I ever need to make an update to the menu or something that is global.