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Subject:
From:
Rachel Lam <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
UofMN Web Standards <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:54:00 -0500
Content-Type:
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> 1. Yes or no?
> We are evaluating the benefits of going to a CMS. What are the chief
> benefits? We are currently using Dreamweaver. Would Adobe Contribute suffice
> if all is going well with my team of web contributors now?

I'm definitely in favor of using a CMS. It has drastically cut down on
our web support time & made it much easier to ensure that our
college's sites are using the proper templates, etc.



> 2. UMContent?
> Does UMContent work well for anyone? It is centrally supported and free. Any
> problems with it?

I'd be happy to talk with you directly about CFANS' experience with
UMContent. We currently have 62 live UMContent sites & several more in
development.

We are using it for our college & department sites, but have chosen to
use WordPress for smaller (faculty lab & research) websites. People
seem reasonably satisfied with UMContent, but it definitely has quirks
& drawbacks. Not everything is easy or intuitive.

Main drawbacks of UMContent:
* No support for photo galleries, forms, etc.
* The code it puts out is horrible
* It took us a long time to get templates working properly for our
needs & there isn't much documentation, so we had to rely on what
other groups at the U had discovered.

Benefits:
* Free
* We have backups of previous page versions in the database, which is
helpful when someone messes things up and you need to revert.
* Can share content across multiple pages or sites
* Don't have to buy/install software like Dreamweaver on the computer
of everyone who maintains the site


-- 
Rachel Lam
Information Technology Professional
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
101 Coffey Hall
1420 Eckles Ave
University of Minnesota
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: 612-624-3619
Email: [log in to unmask]

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