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WordPress

Posted by Michael Thomas
Michael Thomas
10,910 Points

Client doesn't like WordPress. What do you do? Drupal, Joomla, or custom build a Laravel CMS

Hi Guys

Have you ever had a situation like this? We have a project given to us by this agency, but they have a negative perception of WordPress and say its a bargain basement route.

We need a database and a user admin panel so that the client can log in and make updates themselves.

I have no idea how much a custom built CMS would cost, and even though I'm a fast learner, the prospect of building a custom user admin panel in Laravel is daunting to say the least. We'd probably need to hire a back end developer for that.

I'm open to a quick Skype call if anyone is up for that. Perhaps I could return the favour one day.

Kind regards, Mike

2 Answers

austingilmour
austingilmour
3,980 Points

Building a custom CMS is almost never the answer. The site will become a nightmare to maintain if you build a custom CMS. Even CMS solutions like Joomla and Drupal are receiving updates monthly to patch errors and improve security. I would recommend showing them a previous project you've completed in Wordpress. Let them know that you can customize the admin panel and place their logo on the wordpress login screen. If they're still against wordpress, try to steer them towards Joomla or Drupal rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

Michael Thomas
Michael Thomas
10,910 Points

Thanks Austin, you've just help to confirm for me what I thought. Customizing the admin panel is a great idea! I'll be showing your comment to the designer who will be submitting a proposal soon.

Jeremy Castanza
Jeremy Castanza
12,081 Points
Jeremy Castanza
Jeremy Castanza
12,081 Points

On a side note, I would try to get to "Why?" your client doesn't like Wordpress. A lot of times Wordpress has a stigma attached because of its beginning as a blogging platform. Once people understand its build and it's possibilities and the fact that there are major businesses, such as Time and about 25% of websites are currently using Wordpress... they warm up to the idea.

Another option for consideration with a steep learning curve... Sharepoint.