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Plan B - Custom vs Bespoke CMS and Website solution

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    Plan B - Custom vs Bespoke CMS and Website solution

    As with all contractors, I am constantly keeping my eyes peeled for a plan B. It is possible that I may have found something worth trying (through business contacts) and which will not cost very much. The solution will require a CMS and a public facing website - There are so many routes to take to get this i.e. technology. PHP/MySQL or SQL/.NET and bespoke or get open source solution and tailor it. From the start I am wanting to get this one right so need to make the right decision. Any experience would be much appreciated.

    #2
    there were some really good links about start ups, what makes a good approach and software pricing a few posts back.

    http://forums.contractoruk.com/gener...-software.html

    well worth a read.

    someone I know is just doing a plan d, he found them very useful.
    Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

    Comment


      #3
      A bit technical for general don't you think?

      But...to cut costs go with LAMP. There are lots of CMS solutions on PHP you can adapt here.
      McCoy: "Medical men are trained in logic."
      Spock: "Trained? Judging from you, I would have guessed it was trial and error."

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by NorthWestPerm2Contr View Post
        As with all contractors, I am constantly keeping my eyes peeled for a plan B. It is possible that I may have found something worth trying (through business contacts) and which will not cost very much. The solution will require a CMS and a public facing website - There are so many routes to take to get this i.e. technology. PHP/MySQL or SQL/.NET and bespoke or get open source solution and tailor it. From the start I am wanting to get this one right so need to make the right decision. Any experience would be much appreciated.
        With a Plan B, you probably want to start off as cheaply as possible with the scope to expand if it takes off. For this reason i would always use an open source CMS with an active user base (have used several if you need any recommendations). This way you can build custom modules as the needs for you project change.

        One thing that is worth spending money on is the interface, despite what a lot of people say, this can be the difference between a succesfull site and a failing one.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by lilelvis2000 View Post
          A bit technical for general don't you think?

          But...to cut costs go with LAMP. There are lots of CMS solutions on PHP you can adapt here.
          Building databases and software in SQL/.NET is second nature to me as I have been doing it for 7 or 8 years. I have done some PHP/MySQL work in the past but I would have to learn a lot more - would that be worthwhile?

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by NorthWestPerm2Contr View Post
            Building databases and software in SQL/.NET is second nature to me as I have been doing it for 7 or 8 years. I have done some PHP/MySQL work in the past but I would have to learn a lot more - would that be worthwhile?
            PHP/MySql is the chaper option, but would be a bigger learning curve for you. For the sake of £100 month in hosting costs, if the extra time spend learning worth it (assuming you are doing dev yourself)?

            Comment


              #7
              I have 3 plan bs, one is a CMS solution and I think it has a lot of potential, I wrote something a number of years ago for a big client and what I have is miles more advanced.

              I had a reasonable whiff of a big sale last year but I struggled as I did not have a full demo that I could base my pitch on. So this summer (finishing today) I am spending a good few months getting it refined and creating something that I can show off.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Ketchup View Post
                PHP/MySql is the chaper option, but would be a bigger learning curve for you. For the sake of £100 month in hosting costs, if the extra time spend learning worth it (assuming you are doing dev yourself)?
                There is little value in me learning it for other than these kind of plan B projects - market pays peanuts for these skills...

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by NorthWestPerm2Contr View Post
                  There is little value in me learning it for other than these kind of plan B projects - market pays peanuts for these skills...
                  Also £100 is quite excessive, I am considering trialling it on a 1&1 Windows Virtual Server with 4GB guaranteed RAM... £30/month

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by NorthWestPerm2Contr View Post
                    There is little value in me learning it for other than these kind of plan B projects - market pays peanuts for these skills...
                    Really? flipping through job ads I see little difference in the rates. PHP might be slightly less but not massively. For permanent jobs the pay appears pretty well the same.
                    McCoy: "Medical men are trained in logic."
                    Spock: "Trained? Judging from you, I would have guessed it was trial and error."

                    Comment

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