Easy website updates without html. Possible?

dante

New member
Here is the situation:

I am making a website for a company, so far it is just html, css and a tiny bit of Javascript.
What they want is to be able to easily add periodical updates to their website without having to delve into html. They need to be able to simply type what they want, arrange the pictures as they want and then submit it.
The website is for a company that repairs and maintains boats and the updates are meant to be tips on small repairs and guides on how to maintain your boat. So they are going to want to add text, some photos and maybe even a video or two.
They probably won't use the video function but it should be there just in case they try to down the track. I am thinking that they will pretty much not even use the updates at all and it will become a dead page, but the customer is always right huh?

Anyway, I have looked at making a blog for them and embedding an RSS feed but that would only show the few most recent posts and no photos (I think?) I am now thinking about using Blogger or Joomla to style the blog exactly like the website so that when the user clicks through to the tips section, they won't even know they have left.
Still not sure whether this will be possible to implement properly, I know I have had trouble styling blogs in the past, they are very stubborn. The trouble with using a blog at all is that there is less control and it just seems like a more messy and troublesome solution overall, not professional. A simple addition to the webpage would be much nicer and easier to fix or maintain if necessary.

If anyone out there has any suggestions as to how I can set this up without it costing too much for them then please let me know. This isn't really going to be a large feature of the website so it shouldn't be too hard or too expensive. The easier it is, the more likely they are to use it. The solution would have to be as close to WSYWIG as possible with a simple submit button. Anything harder would be confusing to them.

Thanks everyone.
It seems I was mis-informed about what Joomla is and what it does, it just might be what I need.
Anyone have any tips about it? Will it do what I want it to if I install it for my clients?
 
Why don't you develop the site for them, then they can use dreamweaver / frontpage / visual web developer to edit it? You could have the webserver make periodical backups so that if they need to revert to an older file, they can.

Other than that, I guess you could make a webform in PHP that lets the user change the contents of a particular file HTML file. Thats a fair bit of extra work though; unless they're willing to pay extra for it then go with option A. Or just tell the client to call you whenever they need an update.
 
Wordpress.com gives you nice tools to easily get ur site up and running without having to upload anything. Its popular with blog sites so thats how their templates are set-up. You can add media with pay options for video sharing. Could be Perfect for what they are looking for. You can easily set up admins, all is web based editing from your homepage.. without them needing you. Also its free w/ advance options. 15$ a year to point the word press site to their domain..otherwise basic service and you can show them a close to final product for free.
 
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