Internet Marketing 10

Contribute CS3, an Adobe product, is a program that Using Contribute takes away the need to understand FTP and users don’t need Dreamweaver to update their website.

I started using Contribute when the small business clients I had started asking for an affordable way to update their own website. Many of my clients are in the equine industry, and are even more behind the times than many other small businesses. Contribute make it as simple and easy for them as possible.

Want to know the pros of cons of using Contribute? Keep reading…

Easy setup

Contribute has many advantages, and setup is by far the easiest I have seen. The initial user simply downloads Contribute onto their computer; from

there, more users can easily be added to the website. Users are emailed a connection key, which includes FTP information for the website, passwords and usernames. The user simply clicks on the connection key that comes in the email, and after a few simple clicks, they are all set up to start updating their website in Contribute.

On-page editing

One of my biggest pet peeves is the content management systems (CMS) site structure setup. In many CMS, to edit a page you have to first go to the site structure, which is basically your website’s site map, then choose the page you would like to edit. The problem with this is that it can be difficult to figure out which

page is which. Contribute eliminates that whole problem. To edit any page in your website, simply paste the website address in the address bar in Contribute or use the left hand pages menu, which shows all your pages; its easy just click thru them.

Easy to publish pages

So your page is complete, you have made all your changes, now you need to put it on the website, right? It’s easy. Simply save the page to your computer (Ctrl + S) then click the publish button at top and your new page is live on your website.

Keeps the design intact

From a designer’s perspective, Contribute is an excellent tool as it makes it very easy for the design to

remain the same. As a designer, all you have to do is create a template in Dreamweaver (Contribute works seamlessly with Dreamweaver) and create editable areas on the website. This makes it easy for the client to keep your design but also have fresh content. When designing, keep in mind that other users will be editing the content and that some pages might be longer or shorter than others.

Multiple user capability

Contribute works well for both small and medium-size businesses, which may have different people responsible for different sections of the company’s website. Contribute enables multiple users, with four different levels of editing rights. Contribute automatically checks whether the pages a user is trying to edit are already being

edited by others, in order to prevent conflicts.

Difficult to add pages to main navigation

One of the downfalls of Contribute is that if you have locked the navigation for design reasons, it’s difficult to edit by other users. This is something I usually do to keep the design consistent - I lock the navigation and allow only text and images to be changed by other users. However, it is possible to add new pages to the main navigation, but not so web savvy users may have difficulty. Also, users won’t be able to find it unless you link to it from another page.

Dynamic websites, not so fun

If you have a website that’s database driven, don’t use Contribute.

Contribute outputs static pages. It is best suited for brochure-type websites. If you have a dynamic website, you either need a dynamic CMS or a webmaster.

Works only on your computer

The only way you are going to be able to update your website from anywhere is if you have Contribute installed on your laptop. A downfall of Contribute is that you can only update your website from the computer in which Contribute is installed.

Who Contribute is made for

Contribute is made for small business owners with static brochure-type websites. These websites may have content that changes on a daily basis. This gives the small business owner the hassle of having a webmaster or paying a design firm to

simply make small changes. However, if different departments of a small- to medium-size business are responsible for their area of the website, Contribute is perfect.

Over the past few weeks, I have been reviewing many content management systems, including Marqui, Ektron, IMIS CMS and others. After looking at many of those, Contribute is a breath of fresh air for the small business website. However, Contribute does have its limitations. It is simply an FTP program and page editor. It is not a complex CMS.

Alicia Harper owns and runs a [http://www.beseenwebdesign.com]Vancouver Web Design Company and publishs a [http://www.beseenwebdesign.com/news/]Small Business Online Marketing Blog.