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Online publishing

Basic website maintenance is discussed in the ‘Managing Design and Implementation of websites’. However, more publishing-oriented sites have specific issues with their management and may require more specialised tools. Publishing tools and systems (often referred to as content management systems or CMSs) may be sourced from an ASP, or purchased for installation on your own servers, which may be hosted offsite or on your network.

Elements of online publishing

Publishing models
There are a number of key stages in online publishing. They focus on the concept of a workflow, which typically follows these stages:

  • Material (copy, information, images and possibly time-based media) is created and then posted, often onto a staging server.
  • It is then reviewed by an editor to ensure it meets the brief, and is well written and structured.
  • The material may be reviewed again by the creator, then fact checked and edited for grammar, style and formatting (rather than content).
  • It is prepared for publishing, which may involve creating new pages, converting it to appropriate formats (including optimisation for time-based media), and perhaps integrating materials (most often text and image).
  • The pages are then reviewed to ensure they display as expected, load efficiently, and any links work as expected.
  • Once any problems have been corrected, they are moved onto a live server and can be accessed publicly.

Broadband’s bandwidth and always-on aspects will support the frequent accesses to the publishing system that are required by the people in these various roles, some of whom may be accessing it externally. This ease of use should allow an increase quality of material you publish. Broadband’s bandwidth will help when uploading large files possibly including PDFs, photographs and detailed product images, and time-based media.

System performance
As a publishing system is essentially an application, with frequent screen updates and regular uploads, performance is critical. Your staff should be able to treat the system as if it is any other resource on your network. They will lose a lot of time - and patience - if they are constantly waiting for the system, and will be less inclined to post updates and new material if it does not seem to be ‘at hand’. The high bandwidth and always-on aspects of broadband are vital here. If you have a known and stable group of people editing the site, then client-side editing software is the best choice, as it gives better performance. However, they do need to be installed on the user’s computer, unlike web-based editing interfaces.

Server hosting
If either the staging server or live server are hosted on your network (subject to your ISP’s terms of use), you will need the always-on and high bandwidth aspects of broadband so that external parties can post to the staging server, and your audience can access your website (see the ‘Managing Design and Implementation of websites’ white paper). If either is hosted externally, you will need the always-on and high-bandwidth aspects of broadband for posting and editing material and moving material from the staging to the live server. The high-bandwidth aspect of broadband is crucial for backing up the server if it is externally hosted.

Weblogging
Weblogging is a form of online publishing. While weblogging tools are technically content management products, their ease of use and low setup cost have helped individuals and businesses to understand that online publishing is not difficult, and can be managed via a simple web browser. Good publishing tools help motivate staff involved in maintaining your web presence.

Tools and services

Content management and publishing
Tools tend to have two components: a server component that manages content, workflow, and publishing; and a client-side component that is used for posting and editing content. The client-side component may be a standard application or may be a web-based ‘application’.

CityDesk
CityDesk automates the process of formatting pages and placing images, creating a home page and navigation, and publishing your site to a web server, which can be done with one-click. It supports the creation of basic templates, speeding site creation and facilitating site-wide changes. It is aimed at small companies.
Platform: Windows on client-side
Ease of use: high
Cost: £100s
www.citydesknews.com

Macromedia ColdFusion
ColdFusion is a rapid web development tool designed to work with the Macromedia family of products.
Platform: Windows, and MacOS
Cost: towards £1000
www.macromedia.com/software/coldfusion

Kitsite
Kitsite is aimed particularly at news and information-based websites. The server software is remotely hosted. All interaction and updating is done via a web browser.
Platform: browser-based on client-side
Ease of setup: high. Ease of use: high.
Cost: typically around £12,000 in the first year and £6,000 per year thereafter (including hosting and bandwidth costs)
www.kitsite.com

Microsoft Site Server
Site Server enables building and maintenance of content-focused websites, and includes workflow management. Microsoft Visual Studio can be used to build content elements. Site Server also ties into Microsoft e-commerce tools. It is aimed at medium and large companies.
Platform: Windows or browser-based on client-side. Editing of Site Server content can also be done via a web browser and from Word, using the Authoring Connector tool.
Ease of setup: medium. Ease of use: high.
Cost: up to £10,000
www.microsoft.com/SiteServer

Userland Manila
Manila employs browser-based editing, initiated directly from ‘Edit this page’ buttons on site pages. It is also supported by client-side applications such as NetNewsWire (ranchero.com/netnewswire MacOS) and NewsGator (www.newsgator.com Windows). It runs on a Windows or MacOS server. Websites can also be externally hosted, at Manila Sites (www.manilasites.com).
Platform: Browser-based on client-side
Ease of setup: low (if installed on your own server), high (if Manila Sites service used)
Cost: around £600 for per year for a license
manila.userland.com

eZ publish
Editing can also be done via a web browser. eZ publish is a platform- and database-independent publishing system providing simple publishing tools to people without particular technical skills.
Platform: Windows and a number of Unix/Linux implementations on client-side
Ease of setup: low. Ease of use: medium.
Cost: £10s-£1000s depending on setup and license purchased
www.ez.no

Weblogging

Movable Type
Movable Type requires a server that can run custom CGI scripts and Perl (common features of web servers). Alternatively websites/logs can be externally hosted at TypePad (www.typepad.com).
Platform: browser-based editing. Editing Movable Type is also possible via client-side applications such as NetNewsWire (ranchero.com/netnewswire MacOS) and NewsGator (www.newsgator.com Windows)
Ease of setup: low (if installed on your own server), high (if TypePad service used)
Cost: around £100 for a license (additional fees for help with installation and technical support), or up to £10 per month for TypePad service
www.movabletype.org

pMachine
Machine requires a server that runs mySQL, and PHP with XML support. Websites/logs can also be externally hosted at pMachine Hosting (www.pmachinehosting.com).
Platform: browser-based editing. Editing pMachine weblogs is also possible via client-side applications such as NetNewsWire (ranchero.com/netnewswire MacOS)
Ease of setup: low (if installed on your own server), high (if pMachine Hosting service used)
Cost: around £100 or under £10 to around £50 per month for pMachine Hosting service
www.pmachine.com

What you need
Some tools require installation on a shared server on your network, while others use an internet-based server, saving you investment and IT support hassle, and often making it easier to scale the service as you need it.

For all these activities and tools you will need a broadband connection to the internet if you are using externally hosted publishing tools or, if they are hosted on your network, the always-on nature of broadband will be required so that visitors can get to your website.

Next steps

Where to go
For specific advice on which applications discussed might fit your business needs, or on finding and evaluating suppliers and products, you can contact your local, government-funded, Business Link service (www.businesslink.org). You might also review the UK Online for Business website (www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk).

CMS Watch
An independent source of information, news, opinion, and analysis about web content management. Includes a directory of content management products, including low-priced, externally-hosted (ASP), and open source solutions.
www.cmswatch.com

Look for publishing software at:
uk.dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Publishing/Software/

Look for weblogging software at:
uk.dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/Weblogs/Software/

Look for website creating and editing tools at:
uk.dir.yahoo.com/computers_and_internet/software/internet/world_wide_web/HTML_Editors/

Look for content publishing tools at:
uk.dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Communications_and_Networking/Internet_and_World_Wide_Web/
Software/Development/Content_Management_Systems__CMS_/

Learn on

Content Management Bible
Bob Boiko (John Wiley & Sons, 2001)

Managing Content for Dynamic Web Delivery
JoAnne Hackos (John Wiley & Sons, 2002)

Content Critical
Gerry McGovern, Rob Norton (Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2001)

Watch out for...

Publishing insecurity
Publishing systems tend to allow even more access to your website, and files on your network (if hosted internally), than basic web management systems. They are also more likely to need external access, both for staff and contractors. You will need to ensure your firewall is setup appropriately (see the ‘Overview’ white paper).