greg smart

I recently created a MODx snippet using a technique described on CSS-Tricks. This little bit of PHP code calls in the Yahoo Weather RSS feed and allows you to generate output that can be styled using CSS and your own icons. You can modify the first line of the snippet below to output weather specific to your zip code.

I first created the snippet ‘Weather’ ( Here is the snippet code.), then simply placed the snippet call on the appropriate page: [!Weather?!]. I then used my CSS document to style the output and created containers that would display the appropriate class ( Here is my CSS document). I created a div tag that carried my icon as a background image. I figured if Yahoo generated a tag that was unaccounted for in my CSS then my scheme would continue to display the appropriate text while leaving the adjacent background image undisplayed (as opposed to the little red Xs if I had used an image tag). Since I am using transparent gifs, I figured no one would be the wiser should this occur. Gif’s were derived from Nordic Weather.

You can see it in action on the Batesville, Arkansas Area Chamber of Commerce website.

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I was recently reading the excellent Paul Boag article “The 5 Hidden Costs of Running a CMS” about the many pitfalls of Content Management Systems (CMS).

We all know content management systems (CMS) can be beneficial for most websites. However, they do come with five hidden costs.

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:

1. The cost of training
2. The cost to quality
3. The cost to functionality
4. The cost of redundancy and flexibility
5. The cost of commitment

In my opinion, the first two points are the most daunting and the hardest to relate to the customer prior to beginning the development process. Most recently we have been using the MODx system as a CMS. While training is always an issue I have found that the current incarnation (0.9.6.1) is fairly intuitive for a novice user. In a single, “light user” scenario I normally only need a single face-to-face meeting (if possible) and 1-2 short telephone support sessions.

The second issue I would like to address is the cost to quality. Although this can be a tricky topic, the TinyMCE default WYSIWYG editor present in MODx produces relatively clean code, allowing for easy modification to available tags to which my user(s) have access.

As far as functionality, redundancy and flexibility I think our capabilities have actually increased as we have implemented more of these systems. MODx is not just a CMS, it is a development framework that leaves me with capabilities I would not have otherwise had and it comes with a minimal commitment.

As far as MODx being the Pleth CMS of choice I would have to say that the jury is still out. There are many situations in which Wordpress or a custom CMS system is still appropriate, but to date, my personal preference is quickly becoming MODx.

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We have recently been going through the development process on one of our larger projects this year and seem to have hit the content delivery wall. As I have finished off the css, graphics, PHP framework, 3-tiered navigation (etc…) I began to look toward content delivery from my client. We have been talking about this for months, have repeatedly gone over how and where to start with the content development and have been following up consistently via telephone, email and in-person meetings. Still, no content.

First of all, this is not an issue limited to any single client. Content creation and delivery is always a difficult task. Here at Pleth, LLC we do not develop content in-house. We either leave this to the client or will bring in content writers from outside firms. The problems reside with the former. Clients often say they want to develop their own content, but rarely deliver on this in a complete and timely manner.

As I searched for resources on this topic I did come across an interesting article that spoke to effectively tackling these issues: The Cure for Content-Delay Syndrome, by Pepi Ronalds.

Most writers enjoy researching their topics and crafting their prose, and for this reason, many writers are less than enthusiastic about shaping someone else’s words… Editors are taught to weave disparate voices into something more professional, and they can quickly identify and prevent common errors—particularly on multi-writer projects. They are taught the fine art of helping writers improve their work and have a strong eye for detail. Where writers often like to start with nothing, editors expect to start with a pre-existing body of work, and generally enjoy shaping it into something stronger.

As I reviewed the article above I realized that what is required is a role player with strong editorial skills. Someone that can take content, provided in-part and haphazardly, and shape it into a finished product. Although the addition of this roleplayer does increase the bottom line for clients the necessity becomes apparent with an empty site and launch deadlines looming.

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