Comparing Technical Suppliers

The publishing solution is one of the largest single costs in a web development project. A publishing solution is a tool (preferably net-based) that allows you to upload articles, update content items, etc. without programming. The publishing solution will allow a number of people to upload and edit content online (so-called "distributed interface"), and ensures that all of the individual pages fit the site's established layout and design ("templates").

I know from my own personal experience (earlier in my career) that poor choice of supplier can lock you into a poor, slow, limited and inflexible solution, which is delivered behind schedule and complete with a number of bugs. To avoid these pitfalls, you should complete a thorough comparison of different suppliers. The most important criteria are, not surprisingly, functionality and price, but considering the solution's overall compatibility and the provider's longevity is also wise.

I would encourage anyone to set up a matrix by which to compare different solutions. An extensive matrix is available below. You can download this, adjust it to your needs and fill it out with whatever suppliers or solutions you want to consider.

Comparison of publishing solutions for the web - free template (word document)

(This document is also a good place to start when developing your list of technical specifications.)