Content Management System - Choosing The Best Developer

There are loads of benefits of choosing a content management system. If you have a website, you should definitely opt for suitable content management software. You can install such a software on the website. Such a system allows the website owner to change and modify the data present on the website as and when he wishes. He does not have to hire the services of a web developer every time there is a need to make changes or modify the information on a website. The website owner can use the password and user name of such system to make the necessary changes. So, if you are searching for a tool that can allow you to change and modify the data on a website regularly, you should opt for a web content management system. With the help of such a system, managing and maintaining the information on a website is easy and convenient. However, when it comes to choosing a suitable CMS website, the first thing you should do is to choose a suitable developer.

There are a number of developers of content management systems. Most of them have websites, from where you can find information about the. There are also sites of companies that provide CMS website development services. You should research well before choosing such a developer. Given below are a few useful tips to choose the best developer:

Content Management System

The first thing you should check while choosing a developer of CMS is whether the professional has valid registrations and licenses. You must check whether the developer you are choosing is accredited by the state. In addition to that, you should know that you should know that the professionals you are choosing should have permits to develop such software.

The developer you are choosing should be experienced enough. You should check whether he is competent enough to develop the best quality system for your website. Find out whether the professional you are choosing has been in the profession for a considerable number of years. Make it a point to find out whether the professional has developed software for reputed companies' websites. You must also find out information about the background of the developer.

Do not forget to compare the cost of hiring such a professional. As there are a number of developers, you should check whether the cost of hiring the professional is well within your affordability.

So, you can see that if you know what to look for, it is easy to look for a developer of content management system.

Content Management System - Choosing The Best Developer

Choosing the Right Mobile Application Developer Isn't for the Lighthearted

The mobile App ecosystem is experiencing tremendous growth and the demand to produce these valuable pieces of real estate on the Phone-top has created an abundance of new application development companies. Although the number of new developers is not in short supply, choosing the right one isn't for the lighthearted.

Unlike choosing a web developer where there is generally one accepted language, "HTML" and one platform, "World Wide Web" that reaches 99% of web users, mobile Apps are radically different. There are 7 languages and 4 major platforms that reach about 90% of Smartphone users collectively with each operating system having about equal share i.e. no one platform or language will reach more than 25% of users;

Content Management System

The most common type of mobile application developer is the one-off variety where a developer writes code in each different language for each platform (iPhone®, iPad®, Android®, Blackberry® or Windows® Phone) one at a time. If you wish your content to be published to all 5 devices, then there will be 5 sets of code in 5 separate languages. If your content will come from an integration to your existing content management system, then there are an additional 5 "integration bridges" to be maintained in 5 languages or 5X entry to update data through a portal or multiple portals manually. If you update the App in any way, each instance of the code has to be changed and then recompiled and resubmitted to each App store for approval. Unfortunately, this not only takes time, but often, end users never download and update the App so you can have multiple versions (some dated and some outdated) in the marketplace at the same time. Most firms only offer this type of development due to limited experience in the Mobile App industry or inability to invest millions into a platform infrastructure in advance of Mobile App demand.

The "platform" is the name of the game in this technological ecosystem. It's the engine that creates the App and keeps the App operating in a very dynamic environment. Of the latter, consider this. A significant hardware and/or operating system change occurs in the smartphone market every 90 days. How will the Apps consume these rapid changes in technology? After all, terms like "iPad" and "Droid" didn't exist just a few years ago so the question must be asked--what new device will consumers rush to buy to consume your valuable content? Answer: We just don't know. But we do know that the right platform can provide future proofing technology by shifting most of the content management into a cloud server to maintain hardware compatibility (present and future).

So how do you find a mobile application development company with the right platform? Simply ask the following questions without deviation. First, make sure they deploy their technology using a platform versus the one-off approach. Second, get references and actually call them. Yes, I know. References are usually self-appointed cheerleaders but with this technology, you'll be surprised by the conversational openness, especially since references were once App virgins too. Also, make sure the mobile app development company employs a partnership and consultative approach which can be easily determined by the number of clients that continue to work with them beyond the first App development project. Next, ask for a case study and certainly, ask if they've received any media recognition for their work. And by all means, make sure there's an ongoing support and maintenance program. While the fees associated with ongoing support plans are hard to swallow at times, think of the costs and headaches if the App fails or breaks.

The good news about the bursting marketplace is that there are reputable mobile app developers doing terrific and leading-edge work. So the extra effort spent upfront in qualifying will not only provide you with a rich, robust and sturdy piece of technology, but will also save wasted time, energy and money.

Choosing the Right Mobile Application Developer Isn't for the Lighthearted

Choosing the Right Flexible Circuit Supplier - Five Critical Considerations

Do you see flexible circuitry as a possible design solution for your application, but lack experience with circuitry suppliers? Being new to flexible circuit technology doesn't mean that you are destined to climb a steep learning curve and make expensive supply chain mistakes. However, it does require that you choose the right partner to meet your requirements.

Choosing a flexible circuit supplier can be a hit or miss proposition for companies inexperienced with flexcircuit technology or the supply chain. Often times companies view flex circuitry as a "commodity" and award the business to the lowest bidder. This can be a costly mistake. To make the best choice, you need to understand that very few circuitry suppliers are good at everything; rather, they tend to develop a specialty. Ideally, you want your supplier to have a developed capability that dovetails with the requirements of your product.

Content Management System

There are five critical considerations to keep in mind during the selection process to ensure the "best fit". With these criteria in mind, you can make an informed decision with confidence.

1. Design and Applications Engineering Capability: Does your potential supplier have the technology and expertise to support your design needs?

Each circuit must function in a unique environment so it is important to identify key product characteristics for the application. This will need to include any manufacturing processes it must withstand. Key product characteristics will include:

Mechanical: If bent, what is the radius of the bend, the location of the bend, the number of cycles, and what direction? Is mechanical abrasion possible?

Chemical: What chemical exposure will this see both during assembly and during operation?

Thermal: What thermal exposure will the part see both during assembly and during operation?

Electrical: How much current is being carried? Is there shielding or controlled impedance? Does the circuit rest against a conductive surface?

Dimensional: How big is it? What size are the conductor traces and spaces? What is the cutline to edge tolerance? Maximum or minimum thickness?

Surface finish: How will this be connected to the rest of the world? What assembly processes will be employed?

The above information will allow the flex supplier to make good recommendations for tooling, processes and materials so the product meets the end use requirements. Various films, adhesives, and metal types perform best in certain applications, driven by key product characteristics

Many customers will supply the flex circuit manufacturer with completed Gerber files or a detailed schematic for the electronic design. Some of the more sophisticated suppliers can take a net list and convert it into a circuit lay out or redesign a wire bundle into an alternative flexible circuit design. The customer need for design assistance will vary considerably and is a key consideration when choosing a flexcircuit supplier. Make sure your potential flexible circuitry supplier has the design software and engineering expertise to support your design needs.

2. Volume Capabilities: Do your volume requirements match with your supplier's capacity?

With initiatives to adopt lean manufacturing, suppliers are claiming to reduce cycle time, minimize waste, and improve set-up time. Are you looking for very high volume, quick-turn low volume, or something in between? Manufacturers of high volume circuitry tend to be highly automated, using processes and materials geared toward lowest possible costs in very high volume consumer markets. High volume tends to be roll to roll, with specialized equipment to handle continuous rolls of thin, flexible material. These suppliers minimize labor content and may get better pricing on raw materials. Tooling costs are quite high and production run sizes are based on minimum roll sizes. Capital equipment costs are high, so square foot throughput is a necessity. These suppliers provide low volume and quick-turn circuits to support programs on the path to high volume serial production.

Low to medium volume suppliers process flexible circuits in rectangular shaped panels and employ equipment designed to support a wider variety of process flows and materials. Low cost tooling and compressed cycle times are more available with panel processing while the machine operations tend to be more flexible and operator intensive. These suppliers are more likely to build a diversified range of flexible circuitry. Extended length circuits, multiple plating surfaces, reverse bared flex and multilayer flex are examples of parts that generally require panelized processing.

3. Fabrication Capabilities: Can your supplier routinely handle your fabrication requirements?

There are four broad types of flexcircuits: single sided, double sided, multilayer and rigid-flex. These types are characterized by the IPC (Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits), as Type I, Type II, Type III and Type IV respectively. Definitions from the IPC are:

Single-sided (flexible printed wiring containing one conductive layer, with or without stiffener). Double-sided (flexible printed wiring containing two conductive layers with plated-through holes, with or without stiffeners). Multilayer (flexible printed wiring containing three or more conducting layers). Rigid flex (rigid and flexible material combinations containing three or more conductive layers).
Fabrication of any printed circuit consists of 20-40 sequential processes. As layers are added, the manufacturing complexity goes up significantly, as do the number of process steps. Multilayer circuitry requires process specialization with fixturing, plasma etching, registration, and inspection capability. Material stability is a key consideration in both tooling design, trace pattern layout, plating parameters and through hole drilling processes.

Density requirements can be a significant consideration. Many flex manufacturers struggle as conductor features approach .003" lines and spaces. This degree of feature density is often supplied by "running for yield", but limited capability will involve added costs and inconsistent vendor performance. Specialty equipment is available to handle such requirements and precision imaging systems with clean room manufacturing areas are musts.

An ability to accurately align features from among sequential processes is another critical requirement as density increases and circuit sizes shrink. Tooling to create precision features for zero insertion force connectors (ZIF) is critical as feature to feature requirements at 4. Post Fabrication Assembly: Has your flex supplier invested in the technology and expertise to adequately handle your component assembly needs?

Many users of flexible circuitry are also looking for a supplier to do component assembly. A flex circuit fabricator also providing assembly eliminates supply chain handoffs. Several manufacturers assemble circuitry requiring low component counts. As volume increases, pick and place automation, reflow soldering, wire bonding, through-hole assembly and functional testing are required to cost effectively provide assembly services. Key variables for process control are quite different for assembly versus fabrication. In addition, supply chain management and storage control of electronic components become increasingly critical. Does the supplier understand ESD and reliability issues? Are they able to supply RoHS compliant assemblies? Assembling on a flex circuit is much different than assembly on hard boards primarily due to unique material handling and fixturing characteristics. Fabricators need to invest in the equipment, systems, and expertise to effectively assemble as well as fabricate.

5. Certifications and Quality Systems: Has your flex supplier demonstrated its capability and commitment by achieving certifications that are important in your industry?

Certain applications and industries may require adherence to specific protocols and requirements. While in some cases, the sub component supplier does not need to meet all the requirements and protocols that the end producer must meet, it still is vital that the supplier understand the end needs.

Companies that achieve certifications have demonstrated the ability to design and build product with quality and manufacturing systems adequate for a specific market. Probably the most common certification is ISO 9000 and ISO 9001. Below is a list of other certifications that a supplier may have or need:

ISO 13485:2003- Medical device AS9100, AS9110 and AS9120- Aerospace ITAR- Military ISO/TS 16949, QS 9000- Automotive Market FDA Registrations- Medical Device TL 9000 - Telecommunications

Achieving the above certifications is not a trivial matter; it means that the flex supplier meets certain quality standards and is audited to those standards. The standards require a common discipline from the quality, operations and management functions of certified suppliers

Other Criteria There are many other criteria to consider when choosing a flex supplier. While it may seem like common sense to ask these questions, they can be extremely important considerations.

Is the supplier willing to show you their customer list or share information about targeted markets? The industry and markets that encompass their existing customers is often revealing.

Does the supplier have many years of real experience building flexible circuitry, or are they a printed circuit board manufacturer "dabbling" in flexible circuits?

Is it possible to have a direct link to personnel within the manufacturing facility? Are you dealing with the flexcircuit manufacturer, or is the supplier buying the product and reselling? Touring the facility can tell you a great deal about capabilities.

Choosing the Right Flexible Circuit Supplier - Five Critical Considerations

Choosing the Right CMS For Your Web Site

We all have seen a few different content management systems I am sure. But with all the different CMS solutions available how do you choose the right one for your Web Site. This article will go over the main points to consider when choosing a content management system and what to look out for.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is what type of web site am I creating?

Content Management System

There are many different CMS solutions out there to you and each one is best used for a different type of web site. So to choose the right CMS you need to find out what purpose your web site will have and what the main required functions of the content management system will be.

For example if you are planning to create a web site that simply will be used to post articles or guides, Wordpress may be the right solution for you. However if you are looking at creating more of a community that focuses around dynamic content and users, a portal like CMS may be what you are looking for. Popular portal like content management systems include PHP Nuke and Joomla, as they offer a wide range of features for community based web sites.

When choosing a Content Management System for your web site you also need to take functionality into consideration. You need the CMS to be able to be customizable and and expandable, if required in the future. Although newer content management systems may boast great features you need to take into account the low following they may have. The following a CMS has is very important mainly because it is these followers that will be creating modules/add ons that you may need in the future. Followers/users of a particular CMS are also great for helping with problems/questions that the CMS developers are too busy to answer.

As stated above the modules, add ons or extra functions are content management offers, is very important to take into consideration when choosing a CMS. You want to choose a system that offers download of additional modules that perform special features that you may want to use. For example if you also run a forum you may like a CMS that is compatible with that forum or offers a module that bridges the two together, which allows the use of single accounts etc.

Finally the history of the content management system also needs to be taken into consideration. A long running CMS that is updated often is a good choice as bugs are usually fixed when discovered along with security risks. An older CMS that has little or no updates may pave the way for possible bugs and security exploits so always look out for a CMS with an active developer base.

Choosing the Right CMS For Your Web Site

Ten Things to Think About When Choosing a Content Management System

Choosing a content management system can be tricky. Without a clearly defined set of requirements, you will be seduced by fancy functionality that you will never use. What then should you look for in a CMS?

When looking at a content management system, consider what features you should look for.

Content Management System

When selecting a content management system, without a clearly defined set of requirements, you will be seduced by fancy functionality that you will never use. Before you know it, you'll be buying an enterprise-level system for tens of thousands of dollars when a free blogging tool would have done the job. In order to correctly determine what you need for your site, you need a list of requirements.

How then do you establish your list of requirements? Although your circumstances will vary, here are ten things that are particularly important.

1. Core functionality
When most people think of content management, they think of creating, deleting, editing and organizing pages. They assume all content management systems do this and so take that functionality for granted. However, that is not necessarily the case. Nor is there any guarantee that such functionality will be presented in an intuitive way.

Not all blogging platforms, for example, allow the owner to manage and organize pages in a tree hierarchy. Instead, individual "posts" are automatically organized by such criteria as date and category. In some cases, this is perfectly adequate. In fact, this limitation in functionality keeps the interface simple and easy to understand. However, in other circumstances, the limitation can be frustrating.

Consider carefully the basic functionality you need. Even if you do not require the ability to structure and organize pages now, you may in future. Be wary of any system that does not allow you to complete these core tasks.

Also ask yourself how easy it is to complete these tasks. There are literally thousands of content management systems on the market, the majority of which offer this core functionality. However, they vary hugely in usability. Always test the system for usability before making a purchase. Most of the best systems have an online demo for you to try out. If all else fails, try on YouTube.

2. The editor
The editor is one core feature worth particular attention. The majority of content management systems have a WYSIWYG editor. WYSIWYS stands for "What you see is what you get". These editors usually have a similar appearance to Wordpad or Word. Strangely, this editor is often ill-conceived, despite the fact that it is the most used feature within the system.

The editor is the tool through which content is added and edited. Traditionally, it has also allowed the content provider to apply basic formatting, such as font and color. However, developers have recently moved away from this type of editor to something that reflects best practice.

The danger of traditional WYSIWYG editors is two-fold. First, content providers are given too much control over the design. They are able to customize the appearance of a page so much that they undermine the consistency of the design and branding. Secondly, in order to achieve this level of design control, the CMS mixes design and content.

The new generation of editors takes a different approach. Content providers use the editor to mark up headings, lists, links and other elements, without specifying how they should appear.

Ensure your list of requirements includes an editor designed on this principle and that does not give content providers control over the appearance. At the very least, look for content management systems that allow the editor to be replaced with a more appropriate solution.

The editor should also be able to handle external assets, including images and downloadable files. That brings us to our next point: management of these assets. 2 decent editors that have been used by Happy Dog Web Productions are JCE editor and FCK editor.

3. Managing assets
Management of images and files is badly handled in some CMS'. Badly designed systems can frustrate users with poor accessibility and usability. Images in particular can cause problems. Ensure that the content management system you select forces content providers to add attributes to images. You may also want a CMS that provides basic image editing tools, such as cropping, resizing and rotating. However, finding one that does this can be a challenge.

Also, consider how the content management system deals with uploading and attaching PDFs, Word documents and other files. How are they displayed to end users? Can descriptions be attached to the files, and is the search function capable of indexing them?

4. Search
Search is an important aspect of any website. Approximately half of all users start with search when looking for content. However, the search functionality in content management systems is often inadequate.

Here are a few things to look for when assessing search functionality:

Freshness: how often does the search engine index your website? This is especially important if your website changes regularly. Thoroughness: does it index the entire content of each page? What about attached files, such as PDFs and Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents? Speed: some search engines can take ages to return results. This is especially common on large websites. Scope: can you limit the scope of the search function to a particular section of the website or refine search results once returned? Ranking: how does the search engine determine the ranking of results? Can this be customized by either the website owner or user? Customization: can you control how results are displayed and customize the design?

The issue of customization, of course, goes far beyond search.

5. Customization
I have had the misfortune of working with content management systems that are completely inflexible in their presentation.

Your content's presentation should not be dictated by technology. It is simply not necessary now that we have techniques to separate design and content. Unfortunately, like some Web designers, many CMS developers have not adopted best practices and have created systems that produce horrendous code. This puts unreasonable constraints on the design and seriously impacts accessibility.

You need a content management system that allows flexibility in the way content is retrieved and presented. For example, can you retrieve news stories in reverse chronological order? Can you display events in a calendar? Is it possible to extract the most recent user comments and display them on the home page? Flexibility makes a CMS stand out.

Speaking of user comments, all forms of user interaction are worth mentioning.

6. User interaction
If you intend to gather user feedback, your CMS must provide that functionality or allow a third-party plug-in to provide it. Equally, if you want to host a community on your website, then you will require functionality such as chat, forums, comments and ratings.

At a minimum, you will need to be able to post forms and collect responses. How easy does the CMS make this process? Can you customize fields or does that require technical expertise? What about the results? Can you specify who they are emailed to? Can they be written to a database or outputted as an Excel document? Consider the kind of functionality you need and look for a CMS that supports it.

Also ask what tools exist for communicating with customers. Can you send email newsletters? Can recipients be organized into groups that receive different mailings? What about news feeds and RSS?

Finally, consider how you want to manage users. Do you need to be able to reset passwords, set permissions or export user information to other systems?

But user permissions are not the only things that need managing. You should also consider permissions for those editing the website.

7. Roles and permissions
As the number of content providers on your website increases, you will want more control over who can edit what. For example, one group may need to be able to post job advertisements but not add content to the home page. This requires a content management system that supports permissions. Although implementation varies, permissions normally allow you to specify whether users can edit certain pages or even entire sections of the website.

As the number of contributors grows still further, you may require one person to be able to review content being posted to ensure accuracy and consistency in tone. Alternatively, content may be inputted by a junior staff member who requires the approval of a more senior person before making it live.

In both cases, you'll need a CMS that supports multiple roles. This can be as simple as having one "Editor" and one "Approver" role, or more complex with customized roles and different levels of permission.

Finally, enterprise-level content management systems support entire workflows in which page updates have to go through a series of checkpoints before going live. These complex scenarios require the ability to roll back pages to previous versions.

8. Versioning
Being able to revert to a previous version of a page allows you to quickly recover if something is posted by accident.

Some content management systems have complex versioning functionality that allows you to roll back to a specific date. However, in most cases, this is overkill. The most common use of versioning is simply reverting to the last saved state.

Although this sounds like an indispensable feature, in my experience it is rarely used expect in complex workflow situations. That said, although versioning was once a enterprise-level tool, it is becoming available in more and more content management systems.

The same can be said of of multi-website support.

9. Multiple website support
With more content management systems allowing you to run multiple websites from the same installation, it is possible you may use this feature.

Although you may not currently need to be able to manage more than a single website, that could change. You may decide to launch a new website to target a narrower audience.

And with the growth of the mobile Web, you may want to create a separate website especially for mobile devices. Whatever the reason, having the flexibility to run multiple websites is important.

Another feature you might not require immediately but may in future is multilingual support.

10. Multilingual support
It is easy to dismiss support for multiple languages. Your website may specifically target the domestic market, or you may sell a language-specific product. But think twice before dismissing this functionality.

Even if your product is language-specific, that could change. It is important that your CMS be able to grow with your business and evolving requirements.

Also, just because you are targeting the domestic market doesn't mean you can ignore the issue of language. We live in a multicultural society in which numerous languages are spoken. Being able to accommodate these differences gives you a significant edge over the competition.

That said, do think through the ramifications first. Having the ability to add multiple languages doesn't mean you have the content for them. Too many of my clients have insisted on multilingual support and yet never used it because they neglected to consider how they were going to get their content translated or pay for it.

Conclusion
Consideration of features is an important part of the process of selecting a CMS, but it is not everything. It is also important to consider issues such as licensing, support, accessibility, security, training and much more.

I leave you with a word of warning: don't let your list of requirements become a wish list. Keep your requirements to a minimum, but at the same time keep an eye on the future. It's a fine line to walk. On the one hand, you don't want to pay for functionality you will never use. On the other, you don't want to be stuck with a content management system that no longer meets your needs.

Ten Things to Think About When Choosing a Content Management System