If you’re seeing this page, it’s because you’ve found the new site that Awake In America is in the process of developing.
While this section of the Awake In America site is not “secret,” it isn’t advertised, nor linked from our primary site.
After more than three years of working with an ever-growing HTML-based site, Awake In America opted to move to a new site, one that is based on a content-management system (CMS). The new site will give us the opportunity to allow volunteers to add content to the site, while maintaining total control of the site.
Awake In America has tested 14 different content management systems, beginning just over one year ago. In the past four months, we’ve focused on extensive testing of three platforms, which include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. For a variety of reasons, most of which having to do with “virtual” (online, video and audio) training for volunteers who will be involved with various aspects of the site, it could become a nightmare for the organization.
During our testing, we used a variety of prepared training documents and videos, providing step-by-step directions for use for specific tasks. People who have a background — especially those with a strong background with content management systems or advanced Web development — didn’t have much challenge in learning any of the platforms.
Since the majority of the people who volunteer for positions such as writers, editors, and other positions which require the use of the site’s backend, a familiar and easy-to-use platform was essential.
In all our testing, WordPress ranked high among all users, though scored somewhat lower in the eyes of users experienced with full-fledged, mature content management systems. By the end of our testing, with advanced coding and plugins added, WordPress was garnering equally high scores from all involved in testing, as the WordPress platform was able to hold its own in our extesive testing.
So why the change?
As any organization, company, or, for that matter, any Web site grows, the volume of content on that site continues to grow, as well. At least, in theory, it should.
When content is added to a site, that content should remain on the site permanently. When it doesn’t, linkrot begins to erode the site, making many of the links in search engines little more than bad finds. After awhile, visitors become frustrated with continually finding “404: page not found” errors every time they click a link to visit your site. In addition to the site, you will be able to get all of our content through RSS or ATOM feeds.
The benefits of using an RSS or ATOM newsreader is that you no longer have to actually visit a site to see if there’s new content. Instead, you open your desktop- or Internet-based newsreader, such as Rojo, Bloglines, Google Reader, among others. As sites continue to grow, other issues become relevant, such as who will add content and who may approve content, just as two examples. Specific people need to handle the content of the site, often using specific software tools, such as Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Dreamweaver. Using such tools takes time, money, as well as the technical skills to properly use the tools to their greatest potential.
When site updates are in-progress, or even something seemingly simple as adding a new directory and additional content, specific people must be involved, as they are the ones with full server permissions. Generally, when you allow specific people in an organization, or, in our case, volunteers, to manage or handle portions of the site, you give limited permissions, such as to specific directories only. If someone needs additional permissions, it takes time to add the appropriate permissions.
In the big scheme of things, adding permissions takes but a few minutes. But this is where the problem comes in: factoring in those few minutes in an already busy schedule for those with full server permissions.
Bringing CMS into the picture
Bringing a CMS solution into the mix brings a variety of tools that can help alleviate a lot of stress, as well as various concerns with permissions. In fact, using a CMS platform gives you a built-in tool that allows the site administrators to assign “roles” to authorized users. Some may be “authors,” meaning they can write as much content as they want, and all of it will be stored in the database, awaiting a review by an editor, which is another role. “Editors,” in the role of CMS platforms, have the authority to review content awaiting final review, as well as previously published content, and remove, edit, or add content.
From there, additional roles exist, overseeing the editor. In fact, there are several other levels of roles on the back end of the site, all transparent to our site visitors. The various roles — all filled by different people — have different permissions. Some people can create content. Others can editor or approve content. Some can only edit previously published content. In the big picture, the various roles allow sites to work more cohesively, similar to a newsroom.
Using a CMS platform doesn’t really take a lot of experience or training. In face, no real technical skills are necessary to begin using a solid CMS platform.
On the back end, where all the “power” is at, there is a “content” or “text editor,” with buttons and icons similar to many word processing tools, such as Microsoft Office and OpenOffice. If someone is familiar with using a word processor, adding content to a CMS platform will be almost second nature.
By bring a CMS platform into the mix, sites also manage to eliminate the cost of specialized software, such as Microsoft FrontPage or Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Dreamweaver. Everything needed to create new content, as well as upload various types of content, such as Flash videos, mp3 files, and other types of media, is already built into the system.
Once content is created, it is all stored in a database, waiting for users to call it from specific pages. Once a page is opened, the database recognizes what content is needed, and in no time at all, delivers all the coded material to the visitor’s browser, just like any other page on the Internet.
By moving to a CMS platform, Awake In America has more fully embraced the idea of working collaboratively, in equal partnership, with others around the country, and in some cases, around the world. We are also opening the door to additional opportunities to more easily integrate other business processes into our site.
Improving efficiency
Bringing a CMS platform into the mix is also helping Awake In America be more efficient in adding additional content, as well as time-specific content, to our site. In the past, without adding HTML code to literally hide specific content on certain pages until specific dates, we can now schedule articles and other information to appear on our site — then remain permanently — by using the CMS more appropriately.
When we have, for example, a press release about a new product for the sleep market, but it cannot be made public for two weeks from the time we receive it, we used to have to create the page, save it to the server, and on the date allowed, either add it into the mix of pages already published, or, simply, make it “appear” on a different page, such as the front page of the site.
Most of the “magic” happened on the server, using various scripts, but it still too time to create and edit the content, as well as schedule things. Then, too, there is the trick of using “comment” tags to simply hide content. While we didn’t use commenting to hide things, it is a practice that’s used by too many sites.
With our new system, representatives of a major company tied to sleep, for example, could ask for an account on our server, allowing them to add content. This way the content would be on the server, scheduled with a date it should appear on the site, and all we would have to do is review the content, editing it to meet our style, as well as approving it to appear, which is another great feature.
Our new system allows us to operate the site just as a newspaper or magazine operates: one person enters the information, another reviews it, does any editing, and then approves it for publication. Another person may be involved in the process, ensuring everything is in-place, such as spelling has been checked; hyperlinks are added and working; tags are added; and that it’s assigned to the proper category. In most cases, the entire process will be handled by one person doing the writing, then another doing the final review.
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