Content Management

Drupal vs WordPress

WordPress vs Drupal

The conventional wisdom has it that when it comes to usability, WordPress blows Drupal away. If you're looking for power and flexibility, Drupal reigns supreme. But is the conventional wisdom really true? 

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10 Essential Drupal 7 Modules

Drupal 7

With the release of Drupal 7 in January of this year, more than 50 modules were moved into Drupal core. With so many changes, I thought it would be a good time to go over some of the modules that (almost) every Drupal site should have installed.

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Module Review: Drupal Workbench

Drupal Workbench Module

One common concern for Drupal sites with multiple content contributors is how to deal with editorial workflow. My organization faced this issue when migrating to Drupal a few years ago and after reviewing the options, I implemented a workflow using the Rules module. This has worked fairly well, but it has always seemed like an inelegant, convoluted solution.

We recently began to consider migrating our sites to Drupal 7, so I took the opportunity to refresh my research on the subject. It was at this point that I discovered Workbench.

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Web Content Strategy Techniques

Content Strategy Techniques

Web content strategy is an important tool for designers and developers to have in their kit, particularly if they work in an environment where there isn't someone on staff dedicated to it. If you own or manage a website, it's an essential discipline to understand. It can help inform critical design choices and business decisions that will impact how useful our websites are to users.

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The Roots of Web Content Strategy

Elements of Content Strategy

Content strategy is a child with many fathers. Although the discipline is new as it is currently understood, it has its roots in a number of fields that have been around for centuries.

This is the second post in a three-part series that reviews the ideas in Erin Kissane's book, The Elements of Content Strategy. We'll take a look at the fields she identifies as having influenced web content strategists, and along the way look more deeply at the role content strategy plays in website management

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Web Content Strategy Basics

Image of keyboard

Let's face it, a lot of the content on the web is junk. And I'm not just talking about all the blatant scam sites and discussion board blather filling the nooks and crannies, but the content on mainstream websites as well. Over the past few years, there has been an increasing focus on quality content among web professionals, and from this has emerged a new discipline, web content strategy.

In her book, Content Strategy for the Web, Kristina Halvorson argues for web content strategy as a, "legitimate, necessary practice in the web consulting, design and development industries." Her call to action has pushed the conversation about web content firmly into the spotlight and caught the attention of nearly everyone who makes websites for a living. 

But what exactly is web content strategy? Halvorson defines it as a discipline that, "plans for the creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content." Sounds great, but where to begin? Enter Erin Kissane.

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Choosing A Content Management System
Content management system smackdown - Drupal vs. Wordpress vs. Joomla

There is a secret your web consultant may not want you to know. The content mangement system (CMS) he recommended to you? It may not actually be the best choice for you - but it probably is for him.

You see, there is a big investment that a web designer or developer makes when they choose to become expert with a particular CMS. There are APIs to learn, modules or plugins to become familiar with, interfaces to master. It's a lot of work.

So when a potential client comes to them and asks to have a website built, they have a natural inclination to recommend the CMS they have spent so much effort learning inside and out.

But how is a client to know which solution really best fits them? If you're on the other side of it, what are the considerations that you need to make in order to give your clients the best advice? There are a number of things to think over, but the first step is understanding the goals for the website.

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