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In this post, we will be discussing the advantages of Joomla, a free open source content management system over more conventional static web design techniques using web editors such as Frontpage and Dreamweaver.
We're going to consider this in the context of developing a Bed and Breakfast (B&B) website or an independent Hotel's website.
The majority of websites for B&B's and small Hotels are made up of static html pages, often developed in editors like Dreamweaver and Frontpage, but is this the right choice?
Even if you’re not directly concerned with the accommodation industry, keep reading as this analysis is going to be applicable for developing websites for other industries too.
Bed and Breakfast website features
First off, let's think about what a good B&B website might have as key features on its website.
Obviously, a good B&B website will definitely have a very clean and appealing design and layout. We found a couple that we especially liked here
and here.
More-a-less every B&B or independent Hotel website will probably also have a small number of low maintenance web pages, one or two photo galleries and a contact form.
If the B&B or Hotel is pushing to have an interactive website which is kept up to date, they may consider having a blog which discusses local events like this example. Another key option that a small B&B or Hotel might want to offer is a room vacancies calendar and/or the possibility of receiving online bookings.
The features that the owners of the B&B or Hotel will want on their website will be dictated by: the market they are targeting, how much they are willing to spend on the website's development and the amount of time they are willing to put into maintaining and adding content to their website.
A static website or a Joomla website?
So if we take these key features we might want to implement for a Bed and Breaskfast or an independent Hotel, lets now have a look at how Joomla lines up against developing a static website using software like Frontpage or Dreamweaver:
Developing a website for a small Hotel or Bed and Breakfast|
| Creating an attractive template from scratch | Difficult | More difficult | | Adapting a purchased template | Moderate | More difficult | | Initial setup | Easy | More difficult | | Creating static pages | Easy | Easy | | Creating photo galleries | Easy using a plug-in | Easy using an extension like Simple Image Gallery | | Creating a contact form | Moderate | Easy | | Integrating a blog | Difficult (e.g. Integrating a Wordpress powered blog into site) | Easy using Joomlas blogging system or using an extension like Azruls MyBlog
| | Integrating online booking | Difficult and expensive to get a truly integrated solution | Moderate for beginners using an extension like JomRes | | Updating the website | | | | Ease of update of content for the owner | Difficult | Easy through the Joomla administrator back-end | | Ease of update of template according to season | Moderate | Easy | | Making the site visible | | | | SEO potential | Excellent | Excellent with extensions | | Meeting accessibility standards | Excellent | Moderate |
* If you would like to add something to this table or suggest changes, please use this form.
In the next blog post on this topic, we’re going to breakdown this table and discuss each point in detail...
Are there any other features that would be useful to Bed and Breakfast websites that we should consider?
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February 23, 2008
Votes: +0