In the past, building websites required advanced skills in internet technology and various programming languages. Webmasters needed to be well-versed in HTML, PHP, CSS, and other programming fields, in order to create even a relatively simple website. Many times website owners would have to pay web developers a hefty fee to set up their website for them, and in many cases this still happens today. However, as the the internet has become more user-friendly, and with the advent of web 2.0, website owners can now use what are called CMS (Content Management Systems) to build, organize and maintain their websites. Some of these content management system let users upload preset themes that can be customized easily within a user-friendly interface. One of the most popular content management systems available is WordPress.

What is WordPress?

Although WordPress is actually a blogging platform, it is commonly used to create static web pages and complete websites. WordPress is basically a website administrative interface that lets you control every aspect of the site using tools that even the most novice users can utilize. These tools let you post text, images and any other kind of media quickly and easily without having any programming knowledge whatsoever. WordPress is updated on a regular basis you don’t have to worry about it becoming obsolete at all. WordPress can be installed by a complete novice using tools provided by your web host such as Fantastico or Simple Script.

Wordpress Plugins

One of the most appealing aspects of WordPress is it’s expandability. By using a vast array of plugins, users can do just about anything they desire with ease. New plugins are being created everyday, and they can be installed in less than one minute by even the most inexperienced webmaster. Once installed the plugin resides in the left side of the WordPress interface in the navigational bar, where you can easily adjust the plugin settings and control every aspect of your site’s functionality. Using plugins like the All-in-One SEO pack, you can even automatically optimize your site’s pages for the search engines.

Creating Static Web Pages with WordPress

Since WordPress was originally a blogging platform, creating a regular website can present some challenges to the novice user. The main problem is that the latest post will always be displayed at the top of the main page, which makes it hard to design a website as you would like it. Every time you add a new post, the order of your content will be disrupted since the latest post will be displayed at the top of the front page. This obviously is not desired if you want to have your content arranged a certain way. So how do you fix it? Well the answer is actually quite simple – use a plugin! There is a plugin called StickyOrderer that will let you organize your posts in the fashion want them, and you can do this on every page of your site! Using this plugin alone you can create well organized websites, instead of scattered blogs.

Most of the security risks on the internet today are the result of faulty programming and exploitable code. Many developers do not place security high on their list of priorities, as they’re often rushed for deadlines that they must meet in order to finish a paid project. Sadly, most of the security flaws within their programs are not discovered until the flaw has been exploited and the program is the cause of a compromised site or network. Of all the programming types, PHP is the most common, and is said to be the most useful. PHP is also easier to use than any other programming tool, and as the popularity of PHP programming increases, more new programmers are becoming interested in using PHP. This  influx of inexperienced programmers designing web applications has resulted in an internet full of unsafe websites.

Web Applications and Security

Web applications enhance the functionality and productivity of websites in a variety of ways, and have therefore become very popular amongst website owners. Unfortunately, website owners don’t realize how much of a risk they’re taking by installing and using these applications. Web applications are installed directly into your control panel, which makes them part of a your administrative interface. If a hacker can gain access to your user interface, they can basically do whatever they’d like with your website, including deface it with questionable or inappropriate content. In fact, some web applications are designed by hackers specifically for this purpose. Before you install a web application you should make sure it is from a reliable source, and only install applications that are absolutely necessary towards the progress of your site. If possible, try to work with professional developers to have your own web applications made.

BruteForce

Another way hackers can gain access to your administrative interface is by sending requests to your website’s server repeatedly in order to receive certain information. Many times this information will be something as simple as a password or nickname. They use the information returned to see if they’re guessing the right password without having to wait for a long time. This method is incorporated into hacking programs called Bruteforce programs. These programs repeatedly input information into your sites login fields, in order to guess a correct username and password.

Since the process is done remotely, the hacker will need to know when they have successfully logged in to the account in order for the program to stop sending information. If they fail to realize they are logged in, then the program will continue sending login information which will reverse their success. Hackers avoid this pitfall by getting your site to send them a line of code when they have successfully penetrated the user area of the site. To prevent this from happening you’ll need to change a few settings in your administrative interface to restrict HTTP requests from unknown sources. You can also limit the amount of requests per a certain time frame, to stop the Bruteforce program from receiving information from your website repeatedly.

Building a website by yourself is a very difficult task. So difficult in fact that it is rarely done. If you do decide to build the website without assistance, unless you have extensive experience in website design, and you’re an excellent author at the same time, then chances are your site will be mediocre at best. Cooperation and collaboration is standard in the website creation industry. There are very few people that can establish a professional website without at least seeking the knowledge of another person before hand.

When you work on a site building project with multiple users, having the ability to set restrictions and delegate website duties is imperative. You’ll need to be able to run the operation with precision and authority, in order to same yourself time and frustration. To do this you’ll need a good content management system. Selecting the right open source content management system be a difficult task in and of itself. To make the task easier on yourself, perform the following steps.

Assess Your Needs

The first step is to find out what kind of features you’ll need in a content management system. Will you be delegating work to authors? Will you be working with multiple programmers and designers? If so then you’ll definitely need a secure administrative interface that will give you the ability to designate certain tasks to each of your team members. Write down what kind of features that will be most essential and then you can begin the search.

Look For Compatibility

It is important to remember what kind of operating system you’re using and remember that not all content management systems are compatible with all operating systems. You’ll also need to remember what kind of operating system your sever operates on. It is also important to note which programming language your site uses. The most combination that you will find is PHP language and MySQL databases, being run on an Apache servers. If you don;t want to go through the hassle of finding a compatible content management system, then you may want to find a host that has these features, which most content management systems will be compatible with.

Compile a list of Suitable CMS

Now that you know exactly what you’re looking for it is time to compile a list that will narrow your options and make the final decision easier for you. Open a word processor  or pull out a sheet of paper and a pen and get ready to do some web searching. Finding the top content management systems will not be as hard as you would think. There are many review sites that have already compiled long lists of all of the top content management systems for you. All you have to do is eliminate the content management systems that are not compatible with the needs we assessed above.

Narrow Your Options

Now that you have a large list of CMS to choose from, all that is left to do is to narrow the list down to one CMS. One by one, check of each one as being compatible or not compatible. When you’re finished you should have a list of about 3-5 content management systems. Next visit each one of their websites and test their support team. The final decision will come down to reliability and cost efficiency.

Frog is an ideal CMS for users who are not afraid to get down and dirty with a little hands on development.  While it doesn’t necessarily require that you learn PHP, it does help that you pay attention and expand your knowledge of the language if you want to make the most of the platform.  Aside from that, Frog is straightforward and relatively easy to manage for the savvy user.

Features

Frog is pretty basic in terms of features.  The most notable features are related to the flexibility of page design.  Everything from the homepage to articles and beyond are organized in hierarchical fashion.  Pages are easy to move around and snippets of code can be added to provide added flexibility where needed.  Frog offers a built-in file manager, but has no viable facility for managing images.  Luxuries such as this must be provided via plugins.

Ease of Use

The major selling point to the Frog CMS is simplicity.  It offers built-in drag-and-drop functionality that makes content creation a breeze.  This feature helps you save a lot of time and can actually add a little fun to your project.  Image resizing is also made easy, provided you have installed the free plugin that enables this functionality.

Content Management

Frog gives you a default administrative back-end that includes two tabs: plugins and settings.  The plugins tab offers a menu of all the plugins you have installed, including the most recently installed version, and options that allow you to easily enable or disable it.  The setting tab allows you to choose from two administrative themes, which Frog considers layouts, 20 different language options, an administrative site title, and various default options.  If your website is configured to receive comments, a comments tab will be automatically added to your administrative back-end.

Security

Frog does not offer a state of the art security system.  In fact, the only security features built into the software are granular privileges.  However, this is a great security to have.  The permission system allows you to create groups, assign users and establish privileges for different users from the menu in the administrative panel.   This makes it simple for a user to delegate work regardless of their experience or the technical aspects involved.

Community Support

Frog is an open-source CMS, so the only support you get for the software is provided by the community.  There is help online in the public forum where both developers and users hangout.  Unfortunately, nothing is guaranteed here as community support can be less than desirable depending on the situation.  Right about now, the lack of support is the biggest knock on the Frog CMS, but hopefully this changes as the project progresses and the community grows.

Final Thoughts

Frog isn’t necessarily the complete CMS that will meet all of your needs, but it is serviceable for many of them.  The software is small, lightweight and enforces good design and development practices.  While it is not the solution for everyone, it makes a fine choice for the niche market of developers who need to build a content rich site for themselves, or clients.

One of the more popular reasons to have a web site is blogging.  Blogging allows web users the ability to report news, express commentaries on various subjects or simply write about their personal experiences.  Online companies and businesses are beginning to see the usability of blogs and not only are incorporating them into their web sites but also expanding and desiring to be able to produce multiple blogs.  This is where a product like B2Evolution steps in – a multi-blog program that is free and open sourced.

All user types

B2Evolution caters to several different levels of bloggers.  There are many types of bloggers – those that are new and those who have been at it for quite some time.  This program works for all.

For the absolute virgin in the world of blogging, B2Evolution allows users to simply type in what they wish to say into a form, click “post this,” and the new post is automatically placed on the web site.  No fuss, no muss.  All posts are arranged by date and category within themes that users can choose and customize.

B2Evolution works well for those who are old hats at blogging as well as IT professionals.  It allows for multiple blogs, full user management, internationalization, and more.  The program utilizes PHP  and MySQL and is stable in its latest release.

Features

B2Evolution comes stocked with many great features.

First and foremost, it is one of few blogging software programs freely available that allows for the creation of more than one blog.  Whether it be one or 1000 blogs, B2Evolution can handle it.  As such, multiple users and authors can be created to maintain and administer the program.  Users can be restricted to specific permissions such as read, write, moderate or fully customize one or more blogs.

Statistics are integrated into the program.  Activity graphs clearly indicate referrers, searches, keywords, user log-ins and many other bits of data.

Blogs can be sub-divided into categories and even sub-categories.  This allows users to be able to organize posts by subject or theme.  Posts can even be assigned across more than one category or more than one blog.

B2Evolution is also completely compliant with W3C standards – it is even used by W3C.  The program has an XHTML checker that allows for validation prior to posting included as well.

Extendable

The B2Evolution program can be extended with several hundred plug-ins that cover spam, advertising, widgets and more.  To ensure that no two web sites are exactly alike, there are over a hundred different themes to choose from.  B2Evolution also offers an AdSense plugin for blogs to generate income.

For language extendability, the program current offers language packs in German, French, Russian, Spanish, Finnish, Icelandic, Dutch, Portuguese, Turkish and Chinese.  If the language needed is not present, the company provides information on how to translate the program into one’s preferred language.

Final Thoughts

B2Evolution truly is as its web site touts – a multilingual, multi-user, multi-blog program that is easy to use and sure to be an online business favorite.

In a market saturated with content management systems that basically do all the same things, it is important for software vendors to come up with new products that stand out from the rest.  Every other product is advertised as “easy to use”, rarely ever do you see one blatantly catering to webmasters rich in development skills.  A hosted software solution, BitsyBox is proof that the landscape could be changing as this CMS caters to experienced users with features that aim to make life much simpler for the savvy developer.  While the software requires an advanced skill set to maintain, it does offer a great deal of simplicity for site users.

Flexible API

The major selling point of BitsyBox is that it offers an API that allows developers to easily manage their data and programming code.  This hosted API outputs commonly used parse-able formats such as XML and JSON, which spares developers from having to learn a new skill.  BitsyBox also offers support for a PHP 5 client that ties everything together by giving developers the ability to manage the connection, caching and of manipulation of API data.  By simply adding a couple of lines to the code, authorized users can easily update content at their leisure directly from the dashboard.  This PHP client can be downloaded freely and easily incorporated into the BitsyBox framework.

BitsyBox’s API data can also be integrated with iPhone apps and sent to just about any location.  The API offers support for a wide range of technologies, including XML, JSON and PHP, enabling developers to perform their own tweaks and implement new features as needed.  For the most part, the goal of this CMS is the provide a simple way to transform a static website into a dynamic site that developers can make more flexible and one users have an easier time editing.

Robust CDN

BitsyBox users with static image hosting receive a free content delivery network to increase the speed of their site in major browsers around the world.  The CDN is powered by Amazon CloudFront and its extensive global network of servers to enhance the delivery of images to web pages.  The dashboard has been notably improved with enhancements that appeal to the less experienced user.  Features such as sliding windows make sure the content you need is always available, helping users work faster and more efficiently.

Scott Rocher, BitsyBox co-founder, explained that its main competitors are currently, Drupal, WordPress and CushyCMS.  He says that right now, BitsyBox is somewhere between Drupal and WordPress, yet a compelling package that appeals to developers.  Rocher also said that unlike other hosted CMS solutions, BitsyBox does not offer web page creation; just a platform for storing text and photos in a structured manner.

The BitsyBox CMS is available in three flavors.  The free package supports one five-page website and a single users, while the Basic Package is $10 with support for 5 users, up to 20 pages and 500 hits per hour.  Those with more demanding needs can build their own custom package at varying prices.

When looking for a content management system (CMS) to create and manage a web site, there are literally hundreds to choose from.  One that stands out from the crowd due to its ease of use and simple implementation is Wordpress.

Installation

The few items that should be checked prior to installation is whether or not PHP and MySQL are installed on the server where the web site resides and whether FTP access is enabled.  Wordpress relies on PHP and MySQL in order to work and the site must be accessible via FTP in order to upload files.  Once these items have been attended to, Wordpress can be downloaded and unzipped onto the user’s computer (not the web server at this point).  A database must be created on the web server as well as a user with the privileges set to access and utilize this newly created database.  Once the database has been created, the file named wp-config-sample.php needs to be renamed to wp-config.php then opened up and edited to reflect the details of the database previously created.  After the wp-config.php file is saved, the entire folder can then be uploaded to the web site at the root web location.

Configuring and adding

The installation of Wordpress is the hard part.  The easy and fun part is configuring and adding to the program.  There are a large number of plugins and themes available to make a web site one of a kind.  Plugins range from statistical gathering to comments to polls and much more.  If there is a need, guaranteed it has already been created as a plugin by someone.  At last count, there are over one thousand themes available at the Wordpress site and this number continuously grows.

The Wordpress site also has an extensive documentation area that covers installation, upgrading, file and plugin management and much more.  If a question can’t be answered within the documentation area, there is also a forums section overflowing with information from previously asked questions and people who are more than happy to help with wading through the ins and outs of Wordpress.

Showcasing

Once the Wordpress site is up, running and looking beautiful, Wordpress has a “Showcase” section on their web site.  This is a great way to show off a newly created site and gives peers a chance to review and rate different sites.  The Showcase area is also great for inspiration.  Some very beautiful and creative Wordpress sites are shown here.

Conclusion

Easy to install, simple and fun to add to and configure, great documentation and forum support, a way to show off new sites and free hosting – Wordpress is an excellent choice for managing web site content and building a beautiful new web site.

A quick Google search online for e-commerce solutions will garner a huge number of software solutions available for free or commercial use.  Among the free solutions available, and slowly losing its initial popularity, is osCommerce.  osCommerce is an extensive and quite possibly one of the most thorough out-of-the-box pieces of software you can find.  However, as all-encompassing as it may be, it is in severe need of a major overhaul to place it at the same level as its peers.

How it all began

osCommerce got its start in March of 2000.  Created by Harald Ponce de Leon and originally called “The Exchange Project”, osCommerce quickly began to grow in both initial popularity and capabilities.  The software is created with PHP and uses MySQL for its database core.  It can be installed on any server that utilizes these two pieces of programming.  For the past nine years, the program has been in the development stage.  Officially, as of March 2009, osCommerce released its production ready alpha product.  This release, Merchant V 3.0, includes a template system, an object-oriented backend and the ability to define the administration user name and password upon installation.  To date, the osCommerce site claims over 12,000 online stores currently using their product.

The current problems

While it is a very good and all-encompassing shopping cart program, osCommerce is not without its issues.  Installation of the program by a novice may prove to be a daunting task as a basic knowledge of MySQL as well as other web server technologies should be at the ready.  The default SSL option is initially and automatically set to “no” which is practically an open door to nefarious entities trying to gather secure information on customers.  Adding new shopping cart products is no simple task either – there are several options and features that need to be dealt with before adding in a new product, quite possibly the quickest way to creating a lot of confusion.  When you do have the program installed and your cart up and running with all of its products, adding any additional modules or templating takes quite a bit of work and may end up breaking the core of the program.  Not to mention the creators of the software do explicitly state that additions to the core are not always endorsed.

One of the best ways to avoid a lot of this hassle is to either have a seasoned osCommerce professional install the program for you or, if your web host has this option, have it installed by your hosting company.

Conclusion

If you are in need of a shopping cart program that is capable of being search engine optimized, fully featured and very robust, osCommerce is a good choice.  However, it still needs quite a bit of work in as far as installation and add-on capabilities before it can be considered a simple ecommerce program of choice.  OsCommerce is ideal for the knowledgeable and seasoned web developer, not for the novice nor the faint of heart.

Determining the best hosting solution for your business can seem rather overwhelming when faced with the seemingly never-ending choices available on the web.  If you already have a hosted site, this can make the task a bit simpler.  But what if you are just now getting your business out there for all to see?  Going over exactly what your business site needs are can help make this less of a chore.

Space

The first thing to consider is how much web space your business will need.  Think about what you want to convey to the general surfing audience about your business.

If you plan on merely putting out an informational styled web site, you can figure about five pages in total – a home page, an about page, a news page, a contact page and possibly one miscellaneous page.  In this case, your space requirements will be minimal and you can choose a hosting company that offers around one to two megabytes minimum in web space storage.

However, if you will be needing a site that covers several aspects of your business, offers product information and purchasing options, will be disseminating a lot of information to the public, or will grow and expand over time, your best option is to choose a web hosting company that offers unlimited amounts of web space.

Bandwidth

The next thing to consider is how much bandwidth your business web site will need.  Bandwidth, or data transfer, is the amount of data that is transferred from your web site.  This encompasses page views, images, videos, documents and files.

If your biggest concern will be consumers visiting your web site to gather more information about your business, then you can easily work with a hosting company that imposes monthly transfer limits.  However, if you plan on allowing customers the ability to download files or documents or your business site will involve a lot of video embedding, check out the hosting companies that offer unlimited amounts of bandwidth.

E-commerce

If you plan on selling products, e-commerce is a big concern when determining which web host to choose.  Almost every hosting company on the web will offer some form of shopping cart and secured server access (SSL).  Be certain to choose one that includes this within the monthly price and that the e-commerce solution offered is simple to use.  Nothing can cause a headache quicker than when having to deal with the actual manual setup of shopping carts and connections to SSL.  Another item to watch for is hosting companies that allow you to choose from several different shopping carts.  Not every cart program is going to be suited to the type or amount of products your business offers.

Support

When looking at the hosting companies on the web, one important aspect of their services to keep in mind is their support.  Look for companies that have a “one-stop” type of support section.  This should be one easy to find link on their main page that leads you to a section that offers (at a minimum) contact options (e-mail and phone), FAQs, a knowledge base and some form of tutorials.  An even better setup would include a ticket support system, a live chat option and 24 hours a day, seven days a week support.  Even if you’re an old hand at web hosting, knowing you can access support easily and have an array of options to choose from will give you peace of mind.

Extras

Extras to check out would include the types and number of add-on programs available – bulletin boards, social media plug-ins, and blogging software to name a few.  If your web pages are going to be built with PHP, Perl or Ruby on Rails, be certain the hosting company you choose has their sites already equipped with the proper scripting language.  One very popular extra and beneficial to businesses on the web is advertising credits.  Many web hosting companies offer this within their packages.  Decide which places you would be most likely to need advertising (Google, Yahoo, etc.) and choose your hosting company accordingly.

Wrap up

While there are a few things to consider when looking for the perfect web hosting company, it doesn’t have to be a daunting task.  Simply write down your requirements as far as space, transfers, e-commerce, support and extras and you are quickly on your way to finding the hosting company that will fit your business needs beautifully.

Whether your web site is a personal blog or a large business site, Drupal (http://www.drupal.org) is one content management system that can cover your needs.  Written in PHP and open source, the software is designed to allow for a dizzying array of add-ons (called modules) and themes to be added to its core.  New themes and modules are added constantly by third parties extending the program to allow for new and updated technologies.  The end result is a program that allows for easy creation and simple on-going management of your web site.

Drupal’s Beginnings

Dries Buytaert originally created the program as a message board and it was released as an open source project in 2001.  The name Drupal comes from the Dutch word “druppel” which translates to “drop”.  Apparently, Buytaert had originally created a web site (no longer utilized) called drop.org.  The intent had been to create the domain dorp.org (“dorp” translates to “village”) but a mix-up garnered drop.org instead.  Drop = druppel = Drupal.  Drupal has become one of the most widely downloaded CMS programs around – 1.4 million times from May 2007 to April 2008 and it shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

The Core

Packaged within the basic Drupal program are core modules that an administrator may enable or disable, depending on the needs of the web site.  The administrator may also configure which users are able to add, modify or delete content, as well as which areas of the web site are accessible by members or anonymous users.  Taxonomy is the key to allowing categorization of content or “tagging” with keywords to enable easier search of the web site.  Some of basic core modules you’ll find include blogging capabilities, forums, polls, RSS feed capability and a feed aggregator.  Also, Drupal includes several basic themes and a color module allowing the web site owner the ability to change the look and color scheme of their site right after installing Drupal.

Modules and Themes

At last count, there are over 4,800 different modules and over 550 themes available to add onto Drupal.  This huge assortment allows you to modify your web site to do exactly what you need.  From image galleries, content type customization, WYSIWYG editors, social media plug-ins, and much more, Drupal third party add-ons will allow you to create the perfect site.  With the available themes, a “plain jane” web site can be transformed into a work of art.  Most themes created for Drupal are written in the PHPTemplate or Xtemplate engines.  A few templates are all plain PHP hard-coded and do not require either engine.  It’s preferable to use one of the engine-based themes as these are designed to separate HTML and CSS from the PHP coding.

Security

As of its 6.x version, Drupal can be enabled to automatically inform the administrator of all new versions of the core, add-on modules or included themes.  This core modules is called the Update Status module.  This by itself is a very handy tool as Drupal is constantly on top of any security issues that arise and will update the core as soon as the security fixes are implemented.  For older versions of Drupal (5.x and lower), and auto-update modules is available for download as add-on module (not part of the core).  Drupal.org also has a mailing list available to alert subscribers of any security concerns and updates as they occur.

Conclusion

With so many CMS programs out there to choose from, the best bets are those that are continuously monitored for security and have a lot to offer in as far as add-ons.  Drupal is one such program and is highly recommended.