LebGeeks

Kassem

Member

Using Templates And CMS's?

Hey guys,

Do you think that using web templates and CMS's like Joomla or Drupal to develop websites for your clients is kind of "cheating"?

Joe

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

Is using PHP to build website considered cheating? PHP is nothing more than a C program, so not cheating would be using C. Or wait a minute, C is nothing more than high-level assembly, isn't it? ...

Your job as a web developer is to use the right tool for the job to present the best, fastest service at lower cost to your client.

My rule of thumb: only go with CMS if you find exactly what you are going for. But if you have to tweak it to get your way, you're better off building your own website using a framework like Cake or Symfony.

Also, never EVER write your website from scratch if you're not the only one who will maintain it. You don't want to spend hours explaining how your code works.

mrmat

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

As long as you meet the client's requirments, i don't think you'd be cheating. I try to stay away from using off the shelf web templates, but this depends on the client's needs, budget and deadline. As for CMS's, they are currently extensively used and they are highly flexible and customizable, but the same thing applies here, needs, budget and deadline.

You can always try to explain to the client what you are using, if it relieves you!!!

rolf

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

Hey guys,

Do you think that using web templates and CMS's like Joomla or Drupal to develop websites for your clients is kind of "cheating"?

Yes, you MUST develop in assembly code. Anything else is CHEATING :-)
And good luck staying competitive if you follow my ädvice :-)

Seriously? No I don't think it's cheating per se, but there is a fine line. For example if the client asks for a simple interface where he can do A, B and C, and you install a huge interface where he can do A, C, D, E, F, G, H, and W but not B - and try to get away with it, then yeah it is cheating.

And... web template? Well that's even trickier. Do you think it is cheating? What if you never mention whether it is a template or not - and the client likes it... and you are charging him a good price...

Kassem

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

Good points there guys. The thing is that last night I had a meeting with some guy who is also a freelancer. We're currently working together. He takes care of contacting the clients and this kinda stuff. So yesterday he assigned two projects for me to work on. One of them was a full-flash template he bought from TemplateMonster.com. The client already knows that and agreed on it. To be honest, I do not think I could build a better site than this template, or at least it would take me a LONG time before I get it done. The template is literally breath-taking! But I felt kinda guilty because it's not actually my work, all I'm going to do is just edit some XML files, and a few blocks from the code.

I complained to him about it, but he said we should be doing that if we want to stay competitive. He intends to buy a the template (usually costs around 60$ - 100$), and then charge the client for the customization. The low price would appeal to the client, of course.

He could be right but I do want to work on projects from scratch so I would get more experienced. Well, maybe I should focus on CakePHP now and use it whenever there is a PHP project. I guess using frameworks is the way to go. I wouldn't be using someone's finished product but I wouldn't have to start from scratch.

rolf

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

You can (and probably should) modify the temlpate a bit to suit the client's needs better. A template is never exactly what you need, but you can change it into that, and then you probably will feel less like you're cheating :)

Ayman

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

Interesting topic, IMO using a CMS is not cheating at all but using a template makes feel a bit like a cheater I don't know why. But I guess clients don't mind as long as what is needed it done, yet in case the client himself/herself says that he/she needs a unique design(unlike any other  on the web) that would mean no templates or at least some extensive modifications.

I personally like, like kassem, working on projects from scratch but if the competitors are using a CMS and modifying templates and clients agree, then I shouldn't be hindering myself in case I want to make money.

EDIT: A freind of mine told me about the joomla plugin: Sourcerer
What is does it that it enables you to place PHP and any kind of HTML style code (including CSS and JavaScript) right in to your content! Not only in your articles, but also in sections, categories, modules, components, META tags, etc. I think it can be quite useful.

Last edited by Ayman (July 8 2010)

Kassem

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

Ok now that I've checked the Flash template I decided no more templates for me what so ever! It is coded in Actionscript 2.0 which is kind of ancient, it is all done in the timeline which is a terrible way to develop a Flash website. Plus I cannot find anything I need to edit, it's all jammed up and the naming is terrible. I cannot believe that such dirty code and design could produce something that beautiful... That proves rahmu's point once again: a good programmer produces decent code, not only a decent software.

rolf

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

Some templates are awfully written, in this case keep the modifications to a minimum :-) Remember, the client wants it done!

Kassem

Member

Re: Using Templates And CMS's?

Some templates are awfully written, in this case keep the modifications to a minimum :-) Remember, the client wants it done!

That's exactly what I'm going to do! The site is supposed to be a portfolio for an interior designer (he's really good by the way - am impressed). He gave us too many images to display them on the website. After several attempts of getting it to work, I was finally successful. I still have no idea how the developer is loading the images - but at least I got it to load my client's images and that's all what matters, right? :). So now I have to do boring stuff like resizing images and the like. I also need to edit the content (the text) and the logo. And then I'll host the site and get done with it.

Last edited by Kassem (July 8 2010)