Thread

If you had a client who was not terribly computer-savvy (although I definitely would say they aren’t complete newbies) and wanted a website where they could easily add content - text, quick links, images, audio, video - what would your recommendation be for a good combination of EE add-ons, browser extensions, etc. to make it as easy as possible.

Add-Ons
Wygwam?
eeSiteKit?
Structure?
Channel Images?

Browser Extensions
My dream is a browser extension that would facilitate some form of drag-and-drop adding of content to fields.

Other
EE Bookmarklet?
SAEF?

The client is very much an entrepreneur and wants to be able to add content quickly to multiple websites (so I’m sure we’ll be implementing MSM at some point) with a minimum of complexity. I’ve wondered from time to time about whether a traditional blogging platform (WordPress, Tumblr, etc.) might be better for him, but I love EE so much and don’t want to sacrifice future power and robustness for short-term ease. One of the robust features he/I insist on is the ability to push content out to social networks automatically - I can do that with EE, but I’m not sure how effective the more traditional blogging platforms would be at that.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Frank

It really depends on how the site is set up. Most of our clients like the Structure addon, and do most of their editing in wygwam.

A large part of how easy the site is to use rests on how you set it up. Don’t create unnecessary fields, and strip down wygwam to its most basic functions (“Don’t make me think”).

I would also recommend building it in EE2, because the new customizable publish pages can really simplify the whole content entry process.

Also, make sure you set your client up with a good set of instructions/webcasts.

-Adam

Thanks 454. I’m using Wygwam (probably need to slim it down, though!). And EE2 (although I haven’t customized the Publish page yet - I’ll add that to my list).

I’ve never used Structure, although I like what I see in their description of the add-on. Can it easily be added to a site that already has a more traditional structure of template groups and templates?

Webcasts are on my list too.

I was playing around with Tumblr the other day and fell in love with the simplicity of adding new content (although it obviously would involve sacrificing a great deal of robustness and flexibility). I’m toying around with trying to create a series of SAEFs in a tabbed interface that launch in a modal window to sort of replicate the Tumblr experience. But I’m just mulling it over in my mind right now.

Thanks again!

Frank

I haven’t had great luck integrating existing sites with Structure, although it can be done. The level of complexity depends on how many existing entries and channels you have.

There was a great post on how to set up EE to work like tumblr… ah, here it is: http://shapingthepage.com/journal/how-to-build-a-simple-tumblr-blog-with-expressionengine

-Adam

Only 2 existing channels and no real entries yet (there are placeholders that will be deleted before launch).

Thanks for the link - that looks very interesting.

Frank