Client wants to 'play' with site

Any software to accommodate this?

[peewhy]

I have a client who has just taken on a part-time marketing assistant who wants to 'play' with the content and add pics to the website.

I don't want to upset my established client, equally I don't want the new boy destroying my work ... bless him!

Is there any software that will allow him to alter/add/delete permitted areas, whilst not effecting the site too much?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[treeline]

Look at Macromedia Contribute. It's designed for this type of situation, and you can lock out your templates, etc.

[peewhy]

Many thanks, I'll take a look.

Any other offerings would be appreciated.

[tjhorne]

What type of webserver are you running? Certain servers allow you to control the content of certain directories and that way he could only access the directories you grant him access too.

Just a thought...

[vincevincevince]

How about a local copy of the site, let him play with that, and then ask your client "ok boss, which do you prefer" and keep the copy he likes.

If the client prefers his staff's modifications then the kid's just saved you some work.

[peewhy]

I had in mind something like this;

Imagine a used car dealer, all he wants to do is add and delete his stock.

His software only allows him into that area, so he can't break the site but he gets to change the stock and add the pics.

Does such a thing exist?

[tjhorne]

Some server configurations will allow such things, but I imagine your probably not hosting this website, more than likely using a 3rd party for a host.

If you are hosting on you're own webserver this is possible, but you haven't given me the details of that yet.

[abbeyvet]

Take a look at interactivetools. It will do as you describe, not the cheapest solution to your problem but works out of the box and is very easy for clients to learn.

[incrediBILL]

Simple solution is to create a staging area, move a copy of the site to the staging area and let the new guy do whatever. if he doesn't break it move it to the live site, if he does break it make the appropriate changes yourself to integrate what they want into the live site.

Bottom line: bill for your time to test and integrate the two sites.

[encyclo]

You should see this as a sales opportunity rather than a threat: the client needs a decent CMS, and this is your chance to get a nice fat contract to build it for him. A content management system where the client can make minor content changes, upload photos, add articles etc. without touching the underlying templates is ideal. OK you lose out on a few tiny jobs adding content, but they are little more than cutting and pasting, and your client will be so much happier with a dynamic site anyway you'll still get lots of work.

It's difficult to recommend a particular CMS without knowing the kind of site, but you could set up a quick demo of something like Mambo, get a meeting with the client and show him just what they could do with a dynamic site. I find that they sell themselves in less than 2 minutes when the client sees the level of control they can have.

[lZakl]

I agree with encyclo, I created a pretty powerful CMS system recently. The client loved it, and I love the paycheck...

-- Zak

[peewhy]

Thanks for that. It was ideas as to the best software I was seeking. Thanks for the input and ideas all the same. Your time is appreciated.