Hi, for the last 5 years, i have been designing and coding my own custom built sites... custom design and a custom CMS. A few clients have asked lately whether i use any "off the shelf" systems / platforms such as Joomla / Presta Shops / Wordpress etc... I develop my own CMS for each site as i think it offeres greater flexibility... however i think it may be time to start reviewing and using some of the these "off the shelf" platforms, however: My worry is, how do i approach projects like this... 1 - can i still design a completely independent custom design (i know it depends on what platform i plan on using...) and then try and fit it into the platform (i don't want to design a site, then code it (html / css) and then find out that it is impossible to install it into the chosen platform 2 - or should i get the client to pick a template and then just customize that as much as i can I really appreciate your help on this as it has been something that i have thought about for a while but i just don't know how to approach it, thanks in advance
First, let me say I would definitely recommend using a pre-built platform, as they will continue to update the system and it will lead to a better overall secure product. If I put my two cents in I would recommend WordPress, as it is much easier to use and is easy to install, integrate and program for. You could go one of a few ways. You could start by using a free theme and tweaking it, making it your own base theme. However, I tend to design a website and write my WordPress themes from scratch. I started by looking at other WordPress themes and reverse engineered the various functions to build a theme. I can program a theme in a few hours time, making it an extremely profitable business.
ok cool, thanks... is wordpress really a fully fledged CMS... as i am still under the impression that it is used mainly for blogs... (getting ready to hide...)
It is definitely a full fledged CMS. My entire website is built on WordPress. The great thing about it is they have plugins to do a ton of things, like e-commerce, contact forms, SEO and more!
Cool, i will give it a go... can i ask why you chose wordpress over other CMS platforms such as Joomla etc...
Wordpress is great. There are lot of plugins available in online for enhancing the functionality of wordpress. And great forums are too there for helping wp users. I'm recommending to use wp...
I will like to add one more feature of wordpress is that it is widely being used and free help & support is available very easily. You can create your own themes or get tons of free from the internet. They also have an active forum to support their clients.