Webmaster in need of help

[Fodera]

Hey guys,

I'm a webdesigner, mainly graphic artist. Though I do have talent with site visuals and getting HTML how I want it, I'm clueless to scripting.

It tends to frustrate me, and its so overwhelming to learn (especially because of my crazy schedule)

I'm going to open a web design business, but I want my customers to be able to update their site without having HTML knowledge.

I'd like to use a CMS of some sort, but all of them constrain your layout. Is there anything out there that I can plug into the websites i've designed and have controlled by an administration panel? For example, all of the text that the site contains, a few images, and news.

I reaaaaaaaaaaalllllly appreciate any help. Thanks in advance 🙂

much love,
Sam

[kkobashi]

Unless your customers understand how to use HTML, they are not going to get the results THEY want. Its like giving a user Windows Notepad and asking them to create a Microsoft Word document - it just won't work.

You cannot give someone so much flexibility in a canned web portal/cms solution. Design itself has infinite possibilities. The best you can do is offer templated solutions.

Ask yourself, as the webmaster, do you really want to let the customer shoot themselves in the foot? Why would you want to give them that much flexibility and have to answer tons of support questions out of your expensive time?

Do you want to be a web designer getting paid? Or a technical support monkey?

[Fodera]

good points in there, but are there any ways I could atleast make a news section automated in some form? Rather than all of the sites content.

edit: and is there any CMS that you would recommend thats relativley flexible when it comes to style (not phpnuke)?