i have a very general question to ask. what kind of site needs a CMS? can these sites survive without CMS? i installed joomla on one of my site but am still trying to make sense of it. and i know next to nothing about CMS (other than what it stands for)
If you have a lot of content and think you might EVER change even one item for your design, you should use a CMS. Having content in a database makes it MUCH easier when it comes time to change your theme or design. I have a couple sites that don't use a CMS, but that's because the content is pretty static and I'm not going to be changing any theme items on it. CMS = content management system
my content is rather fixed. it's like, once i type up everything, there won't be new things to type anymore (for example articles like "how to save money"). the only way i can update the contents is through "latest news" from some news service.
Unless it's a brochure site, like something with 5 pages that you would put up and then walk away, I would use a CMS. At this point CMS's are just so easy to use and setup that it's hard to justify not using one. That said, if your site is simple Joomla might have more features than you need, you can get something custom made pretty cheap at RentACoder or checkout opensourcecms.com
I tottally understand your pain with Joomla/Mambo, ive used mostly every CMS, and i just cant make any sense or Joomla/Mambo at all? I not sure if its the way the phrase things, but jeez, i need a good few more months before i can maintain a Joomla/Mambo site effectivly. Allow me to make a suggestion, if your sites only small and they are fixed articles, go with something like http://minisitemanager.com/ Demo: http://hagency.com/minisitemanager/demo/admin/index.php User: admin Pass: password This allows you to easy manage your site via your browser with a built in WYSIWYG editor, and all the pages are search engine friendly and organised effectively, lol this isnt a plug for this product, ive actually used it and found it good for my small content sites. Hope this helps Good Luck Tony
http://hagency.com/minisitemanager/demo/admin/index.php here is the correct username & passwd User: demo Password: password