Paper to Pixel

Couple of days ago I wrote about few things to check before the site goes live. The post, as the title suggested was really intended for static sites. This time I’d like to mention few additional elements you should remember about before you publish a Content Managed site.

Before we do that let’s see what is a difference between the two types is?
On a basic level, the difference is that with a static site you know what type of content will be published there. When it comes to Content Managed sites the content can be anything that a particular CMS you use can output.

And even if a client agrees to use only the type of content they discussed with you they most likely would not keep the promise. The rule of thumb with CMS systems is that the minute your client realizes they can do more with the System, they will.

Therefore you should always think ahead and include at least some generic styles for all types of content the client can output on their site.

In most cases that means making sure that you have styles for image gallery, blog etc.

Although there are certain elements wildly forgotten when it comes to CMS sites. Most of those items are ones that you can often output through rich text editor online and this is in fact the area your clients will be using the most.

So in your text content make sure you have styles for:

1. bulleted lists
2. ordered lists
3. images in post
4. block-quote
5. all 6 headings
6. links in paragraph
7. definition list
8. forms
9. tables

Also, most systems these days allow to place youtube (or any other service) video within the content so make sure that you have at least margins separating the player from other text set up. In most cases the way the player look can be controlled on the site you are embedding it from but the position of it is your task.

You could of course go further than default styles and create various sets for different containers your client can put the content into. In most cases though having a one default style will suffice. This of course depends also largely on design.

Last but not least, a 404 page. For Content Managed sites is crucial to have one. Most CMS system work in a way that changing a page name changes it’s URL as well. If the page has already been picked up by Google, after the name change the link will lead to nowhere. A 404 page will ensure your visitor that the site is still there and direct him how to at least get to a home page.