Over on the Reflect website, we are starting to feature websites being built using the CMS. The first of our showcased sites is from our good friend Jina Bolton. She recently launched a new website, Sushi & Robots that is sitting on top of our Reflect CMS. Congrats to Jina! The site looks great, and thank you for all of your great work, valuable feedback, and patience.
Many think of a content management system as a magic bullet that solves all of their content woes. Unfortunately the cost of a CMS is greater than its price tag. Before making a decision about whether to adopt a CMS, or indeed which CMS to choose, you first need to be aware of the hidden costs. These include:
- The cost of training
- The cost to quality
- The cost to functionality
- The cost of redundancy and flexibility
- The cost of commitment
It is important that you understand the impact of each beginning with the cost of training. (via)
Paul Boag recently wrote this article on Vitamin about the 5 Hidden Costs of Running a CMS. I think his article was very well put together and a good resource for those currently shopping for a CMS.
When it comes to a CMS there is no bulletproof solution. Take some time to do the research to make sure the CMS will fit your business goals and needs. As a developer behind Reflect CMS, I fully believe that Reflect will not fit the needs of everyone. While I am very passionate about the work we have put into making it a great CMS option, we are realistic in knowing we won't be able to please everybody. Do yourself a favor and do the research when you are shopping. Ask yourself the questions that Paul lists in his article. If time allows, get in and play around with the different systems. Don't settle for something that won't fit your needs, and don't try and shoehorn your needs into a system that wasn't designed to handle those needs (Yes, I am looking at you, Wordpress).
We [Clear Function] recently launched a couple of websites for Grace Church, located in Memphis, TN and Woodlands Church, located in Plover, WI. Both of these websites are using Reflect and are two more great examples of what is possible when using Reflect. […] (via)
The last week or so I’ve been beta testing Reflect. Nate Klaiber and our friends at ClearFunction have hit the nail on the head with their hosted CMS solution. It’s light, agile and flexible. You can build your own website in a few minutes or have a professional designer put the look and feel together for you. It’s competitively priced and offers a few well thought out features [...]
Reflect recently went into private beta and we have already received some great feedback from many of the users. Thanks to Josh Walsh and Dave Goerlich from Designing Interactive for their kind words.
If you haven't heard of Reflect and are interested, you can check out the official Reflect website where you can sign up for the mailing list to receive updates and invitation to the private beta.
On a side note, I recently had a chance to meet up with Josh and Dave and check out their new upcoming app, Simpli5. If you are tired of e-commerce sites that do everything under the sun, but don't do what you need - sign up for their mailing list to get more information. I was blown away by the interface and R&D that they have put into building this application.