Thread

I’m relatively new to EE, having built (or in the process of building) a few sites so far. As such, whenever I get a job, I want to use EE so that I get more used to it (it’s been a slow learning curve, but fortunately it’s starting to make sense to me!).

So the question: I sometimes get small, simple sites to do that won’t be updated all that often. For something like that, would you still use EE or just make a static site? I guess I’m wondering if EE is overkill for a small site with just a few pages.

Any thoughts?

http://mojomotor.com/ 😉 if you want ‘up the site down the line’ to EE.
I just recently tried http://get-simple.info/ and looks pretty cool for simple database-less site that can be edited and themed pretty easily.

I automatically install EE. Because generally, clients immediately start asking for more features. I might not even TELL them I’m putting a content management system in, but I put it in anyway. Every time that I haven’t, I wish i had.

Depends on….
- How much will you charge for a 3-5 static pages…now consider $250 of EE ‘gift’.
- EE is easy to setup so doing in the down the line is not a big deal.
- Now to mention that would need to meet EE requirements for server/mysql and that they might not need.
- What if it is an IIS? (Worth the hassle?)

Thanks for the replies!

Two follow-ups:

I automatically install EE. Because generally, clients immediately start asking for more features. I might not even TELL them I’m putting a content management system in, but I put it in anyway. Every time that I haven’t, I wish i had.

Do you bill your clients separately for the EE license? Or just throw it in in the total? I’ve been billing that as a separate charge to keep the design fee lower…

and lebisol,

Depends on….
- How much will you charge for a 3-5 static pages…now consider $250 of EE ‘gift’.
- EE is easy to setup so doing in the down the line is not a big deal.
- Now to mention that would need to meet EE requirements for server/mysql and that they might not need.
- What if it is an IIS? (Worth the hassle?)

I guess it’s actually a $300 “gift” now, no? Also, pardon my ignorance, but what is IIS?

If I tell them in advance, I bill them for it. Otherwise, I just put it in as an hourly cost. Generally, if I have to do 1 contact form, the cost of EE makes up for itself in time savings.

@Chris
Fair enough
@strudel
IIS (Internet Information Service) is a webserver on a windows box 😊

I usually slap EE on the backend just set some restraints for myself (restraints are GOOD!) I’ve even used it on a flash site for content delivery through XML.

@lebisol: EE on IIS is a pain, but I’ve managed to get it to work… (or had to actually).

Greetz,
Wouter

@Wouter
I know (and sorry you had to 😊)that is why I said it adds some much overhead in time that it might take you longer to make it work than actually doing the work of design/dev. Cost goes up as far as I am concerned.

I used CMS made simple for a recent quickie site - turned out pretty good for a low budget site…...
http://www.atrafireplaces.com

I would use it again - it did everything I asked of it. I also want to try the mojomotor thingy since it would allow upgrade to EE.

In almost no cases would I suggest a static site these days…....although realistically a 3 page site based on a single decent template might suffice a client that never wanted to expand and only wanted once a year updates.

The only time I would consider not using EE is for the very small sites - single page with zero functionality. An EE license is 2-3 hours of work at our rates (depending on the particular client) so it is a no-brainer in almost every case where we have to do anything more than slice up a single page.