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Sites like Wix and Squarespace really undermined Drupal and other similar OSS offerings. There are still things you can only do with a custom sytem, but for mo

by muglug 4y ago

Sites like Wix and Squarespace really undermined Drupal and other similar OSS offerings. There are still things you can only do with a custom sytem, but for most use-cases commercial site-design tools can get you up and running with much less upfront cost. I designed & built about 20 websites from 2007 to 2014 or so, all with custom designs and backed by an off-the-shelf CMS. Except for the few I maintain for close friends & family, everyone has moved to Squarespace. While I'm incredibly happy with that arrangement — nobody's pestering me about code I wrote a lifetime ago — it means a whole bunch of sites look much more generic. For example I wrote some custom JS to dynamically tile pictures on this site: http://web.archive.org/web/20130722050828/https://www.firstchairpromo.com/ http://web.archive.org/web/20130722050828/https://www.firstc.... Now it displays photos in a generic fashion: https://www.firstchairpromo.com https://www.firstchairpromo.com

1123581321 4y ago
I think Drupal had largely retreated to being a tool for larger sites before Squarespace’s ascent. That end of the market has increasingly been eaten up by moderately author- and marketer-friendly commercial enterpriseware from providers like Adobe and Progress. It’s a shame, because they are expensive and inhibiting tools, but security and integration demands and the relative prestige of buying blue chip, expensive software have been faster growing primary considerations.
pancrufty 4y ago
As someone with similar history as yours but with WordPress, while I appreciate a well-designed website, I think custom websites are a gigantic waste of human resources. Very few need a custom Magento, WooCommerce, or even just a generic WordPress.org install. Every website is much safer with a PaaS, and I believe prices for these will eventually come down. Just think that before WordPress people were coding a whole website from scratch for the local photographer or news agency, with often sub-optimal and/or overpriced results. > a whole bunch of sites look much more generic. True, but that's just a consequence of letting the customer deal with it directly rather than a professional. Most PaaS still allow custom designs, nobody is stopping you from adding a Flash intro page.

by muglug 4y ago

1123581321 4y ago

I think Drupal had largely retreated to being a tool for larger sites before Squarespace’s ascent. That end of the market has increasingly been eaten up by moderately author- and marketer-friendly commercial enterpriseware from providers like Adobe and Progress. It’s a shame, because they are expensive and inhibiting tools, but security and integration demands and the relative prestige of buying blue chip, expensive software have been faster growing primary considerations.

pancrufty 4y ago

As someone with similar history as yours but with WordPress, while I appreciate a well-designed website, I think custom websites are a gigantic waste of human resources. Very few need a custom Magento, WooCommerce, or even just a generic WordPress.org install. Every website is much safer with a PaaS, and I believe prices for these will eventually come down. Just think that before WordPress people were coding a whole website from scratch for the local photographer or news agency, with often sub-optimal and/or overpriced results. > a whole bunch of sites look much more generic. True, but that's just a consequence of letting the customer deal with it directly rather than a professional. Most PaaS still allow custom designs, nobody is stopping you from adding a Flash intro page.