Content Management Systems - Why pay thousands for features, ease, and control?

Open source means no secret problems – anyone can look at the code see problems, make suggestions, and make improvements in an organized way.

Content Management Systems are web-systems (software), which allow you to easily make changes to your website without being a total tech-nerd (nerds are cool by the way).

Many of the highest rated CMS tools out there are Open Source and are FREE.

We use Joomla! CMS, because it has thousands of supporters, contributers, and developers (227,000+ community members), and thousands of available plugins (3,890+ Joomla! extensions).  There is no need to pay to have a design company write code that only a few people know and understand.  Wouldn't you rather use one that is Open, free, and has an entire community supporting it?  No-brainer... Joomla! it is!

Templates are good for the consumer!

Don't be fooled by web-designers badmouthing templates.  The truth is...

• Templates look great and are professionally designed.
  
• Templates save you money!
  
• Templates offer more choices than the usual 3 others offer.
• Millions of sites use templates.
• We customize every template used (logo, colors, etc.).
• Templates can cut launch time by half or more!

Templates are often talked down by other web design companies because template designers are undercutting their business.  Don't buy it!

Would you even know if your design company used one and then charged you for the design?  Not likely, but many do!

Here at OpenPotion we love and recommend templates, because we want to save our clients money.

Royalty-Free Stock Images - Why pay thousands for professional photography?

Hiring a professional photographer can cost several thousand dollars.  Sometimes websites need some professional photos.  LEA Capital spent $3000 on a photographer for a photoshoot of their principals, which we used for their website. No web-design company's in-house photographer can match the low price and variety of the royalty-free images availble online.  There are thousands of photographers that sell pictures online for a few bucks and you can use them as often as you want without worrying about licensing or getting sued!  So unless you are incredibly good-looking or your face is super-important to your business, royalty-free images are a great way to look good for less.

Checkout iStockPhoto.com to see what is available...

Extensions (Applications) - Why pay thousands to reinvent the wheel?

Adding plugins into your site such as an image slideshow, user profiles, a shopping cart system, an event calendar, etc. can get really expensive if you are paying for it to be coded from scratch.  Would you be able to tell if the other guys charged you extra for things they get for free? Websites have been around for a while now and programmers have been writing software for websites the entire time.  There is little need to reinvent the wheel anymore.

Joomla! has the largest amount of extensions (add-ons), many of which are free.  There are over 4,000 plugins or extensions available for Joomla! It is always a good idea to see what is out there first, before agreeing to pay to have something written.

Admin Access - Why pay thousands over the course of a year for small changes?

Some firms may offer you a seemingly good deal and maybe even a low monthly hosting rate.  The catch is that they keep everything locked down so that even small, simple changes in text or wording must be done by them and then they charge you. Here at OpenPotion we give you as much or as little control as you feel comfortable with.  With your site we will provide someone at your business with training at no extra charge and give you the ability to log in and make simple changes using an editor similar to MS Word.  Also, as long as you are our client and we are hosting your site, we will provide you with a certain amount of live support as part of your monthly fee.  As time goes on many of our clients find they need our help less and less to do more and more!  And the best part is that the changes are instant!