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The WebWord Content Management System

by John S. Rhodes

Summary

The WebWord content management system is not technical, it is human. In fact, the technology is minimal and the web site works because a human understands and maintains the content using very simple tools. While this approach consumes a lot of time, it is simple and cost effective. Small and medium web sites can get along without using content management systems.

Painting the Historical Picture

I've spent hundreds of hours working on the WebWord web site. I've done everything from writing articles to installing Perl scripts to doing interviews. I've learned so much about how the web works. I can now talk about how I've been managing WebWord.com over the last several years. In particular, I think that I am going to talk about the system that I use to manage the WebWord.com site. 

This is an interesting story because it is a human story, as most of my stories are. I started with a very, very simple site. I think that when I launched WebWord.com in August of 1998, I had something like 10-12 pages of content. I launched with a home page, about page, recommended books page, hot links page, and four or five articles. However, you might be surprised to know that I spent hours deciding how the site would scale up. It just made sense to build a solid architecture. So, that's what I concentrated on.

In 1998 the purpose of WebWord was not to provide people with daily news, nor was it to offer my consulting services. That surprises a lot of people. Back then I didn't think I could do a good job providing up to date news and my consulting service didn't fit the site very well. I struggled long and hard with this decision. I didn't want to sound too much like a capitalistic pig. In some ways that was a bad move and in others it was a good move. My main comment on that position is that I am still here although so many other companies have died horrible deaths. At the same time, I should also mention that I am not rich and I need to start thinking about how WebWord does and does not generate revenue. 

So, back to the architecture of the site. I made a map of the various sections I would need to have: recommended books, recommended web sites, newsletter archive, articles, and interviews. There were a few other stray pages, but these were the big ones. I knew then that I'd have to stick with the architecture once things were rolling along. I knew that I'd be afraid to change the architecture once it was in place. So, I kept it simple. That approach has worked. Simplicity is the key.

In August 1999, I decided to start tracking usability news every day. I did not realize then that I was weblogging. People don't believe me about this, but it is true. I simply decided to track all the usability news I saw each day. I was mainly doing it for myself as a reference. Since I really didn't have a good place in my simple architecture for this material, I threw up my hands and decided to put it on the home page. I thought it was a good idea -- I knew then, as I know now, that people need fresh content. I think my solution to update the home page each day seem pretty damn innovative to me at the time. Only later did I find out that hundreds (but not thousands) of people were doing this. Cool.

The Slashdot of Usability

I have tried a variety of various things with WebWord.com over three years. I found that banner ads don't work for Webword. However, Webword readers don't mind that I point off to Amazon once in a while. You also don't mind when I throw a couple of  advertisements at you. I've found out that you enjoy polls, harsh comments, and usability-related interviews. The one thing that stands out is that you really like that I have a personality and I am willing to present it on WebWord. I don't hide behind my words; I use them to express how I feel and what I know. Time and again I get comments from readers who tell me that they appreciate my comments, suggestions, and ideas. I guess that I am not that boring and that people learn a thing or two while they are here at Webword. That's just jolly good if you ask me.

Some readers will remember some of my failures. I've tried to deviate from my standard design a few times. For example, I decided, based on some very limited feedback (of course), that WebWord would be the "Slashdot of usability". I mean that literally. I contracted with a hosting provider to set up Webword as a Slash site. Slash is the code that runs Slashdot, and I thought it would be perfect and people would hate it. It offered personalization, an article submission form, polls, discussion forums, personalization, and much more. Really, it offered a lot. Well, the WebWord veterans know what happened. People hated the design, the sign up procedure was a pain in the ass, and basically nothing went as planned. It was a failure (see Item #1).

I loved it!

Oh, I didn't love the site. I loved the failure. It was a great experience. that was a time for me to fail and suck it up. That failure cost me money, time, and effort. I spent countless hours configuring that site. I was excited like a little child the night before Christmas. For days I waited for traffic to go through the roof. I waited for the praise -- but it never came. It was the kind of failure that sinks most people. 

To use a tired cliché, I decided to make lemonade from the lemons. The experience was good. Failure is good. Consequently, I returned to simplicity. I restored all my old pages, my old architecture, the whole ball of wax. I brought back WebWord. 

No one was really that happy or sad when I brought it back. But it was comfortable. People made comments again about the nasty green bar at the top of every page. They made comments about how WebWord was the cool version of useit.com, and that the site was once again useful. You live and you learn. The WebWord.com site has not fundamentally changed since that time. I'm not sure when I am going to be willing to make a huge change again. 

Managing Over 300 Web Pages

This whole article is the result of a couple of simple questions that a reader asked me a couple of days ago. He wanted to know how I was able to manage so many pages, with such diverse content streams. He wanted to know how I dealt with growth too, which is an important question. Indeed, it is a critical question. These questions are all about managing content. These are questions about WebWord.com's content management system. 

So, I thought about it. I took some time and thought about it some more. I think that I can explain my content management system this way. I am a dedicated son of a bitch. I hope that really caught you off guard. The idea is that my content is not managed by any system, unless you think I am a system. I don't use a system. I don't use any tool specifically built for managing WebWord.com. It simply takes time and dedication.

That answer won't satisfy you obviously. You want to know how I do it. That's fine. I have managed WebWord using FrontPage. Don't take that the wrong way. I hate front page for everything it doesn't do for me. I hate how it generates bloated code. I don't use it for anything but editing the site. I don't use FrontPage extensions, nor do I use their templates. I use FrontPage because it is easy enough to use and it gets the job done. It is easier than Notepad. What else can I say? I just sort of use it and get on with life. I have no reason to change. The costs of changing are real and I don't want to suffer when I know that it works.

I survive because my web site architecture is solid. It is simple and I follow many implicit rules. Nothing is documented. It is a mess, but it is in my head. If another person tried to take over, it would not be smooth. I could make the transition, but it would be painful. 

After three years of testing and feedback, people finally have started telling me the site is extremely easy to use. I never get complaints about the site. People find what they want, people find what they need. What more could you ask for in a site? I practice what I preach, for the most part. I don't use Flash, Java, cookies, CSS, JavaScript, or any other technology beyond HTML. Well, except for a couple of simple Perl scripts here and there. I just keep it simple. 

Over time I have felt more and more pain with this approach, despite my efforts to keep it simple. I try to offer you a daily email newsletter of the fresh content, for example. This takes time. I have to cut and paste content from FrontPage into Listbot. Ack! The folks at Systems concepts set up an AvantGo channel up for WebWord and a mobile friendly page, but once again I have to cut and paste content. That is great, but it eats up even more time. Remember that none of this activity explicitly adds value to WebWord. People don't pay me for content or my efforts. Let me be blunt: I don't even get paid for original content.

A true content management system would be a blessing, but I don't see that happening any time soon. I could use something like Blogger or GreyMatter to manage parts of the site, but not the whole experience. Also, any tool costing money would be out of the question. WebWord cannot afford a content management tool. That's life. If I had enough clients then I would make enough extra money to hire someone specifically for this task, but that isn't likely to happen any time soon either. I have dreamed of a big sponsor throwing me some cash for WebWord. That would be great. However, I don't think that will happen soon either. Are you interested...?

Final Thoughts

One interesting thing about WebWord.com is that usability professionals don't talk much about it. That is really strange in my opinion. If you search for "usability" in most search engines, WebWord is near the top of the heap. WebWord is one of the only sites offering timely news on usability. With well over 4,000 newsletter subscribers and over 700 daily news subscribers, you'd think that WebWord was being watched by the usability community. It just ain't! Instead, WebWord is mainly visited by programmers, project managers, designers, technical entrepreneurs, and some marketing folks. There are other types of folks too, such as educators. But, my point is that I don't get many emails or much traffic from usability folks. It is kind of strange. I suppose that WebWord appeals to the "common" person interested in usability issues. That's fine -- I often feel that my mission is to take usability to the people. I'm here to spread the good word on usability, I guess.

With each passing day, I think that usability is dying. I don't think it is going away. Instead, I think folks like you are taking the lessons of usability and applying them to your work. While there is a need for skilled usability professionals, many usability ideas can be built existing processes. I think the structure of WebWord, with its articles, interviews and news, is ideal for this. It would be even better if I offered more checklists and guidelines. I'm sorry that I don't do this, but I would need to make money from that effort. Specifically, doing it right would require a ton of time and effort so I'd need compensation. I also think I should critique more web sites. Again, I would do that if it would generate revenue. That gives me some thoughts. Maybe a good WebWord premium service would be for me to offer access to guidelines, checklists, site evaluations, and related material?

I'm surprised that more folks don't ask for details about WebWord traffic. I don't mind telling people because when I offer that information I feel like I am following the Open Company Manifesto. Here are some interesting details from 2000. Below you will see a chart for the sake of comparison.

As you can see from the chart, traffic is up substantially while session length is down a slight amount. This is very good when you consider that so many web sites have failed. So many companies have not been able to survive. Not only has WebWord survived, it has grown! Costs have not changed much and there is no advertising. WebWord traffic and success is driven by word of mouth references and your goodwill. you tell people about WebWord and then it grows. The content is useful, I think, and that is why you tell people about the site. This is my chance to tell you that WebWord is successful because you have decided it will be successful. You have voted with your clicks, references, links and emails. Thank you. 

I'm going to end this article with a couple of small requests. I want you to remember that one person is the motor behind WebWord. This is not a large company with a large budget. Your email is sent to john@webword, and I answer those emails. Your questions and comments are important. While I am the engine of WebWord, you are the fuel. You help me better understand usability and you give me inspiration. I ask that you continue to have conversations with me. I also that you continue talking about WebWord. Tell a friend. Tell a colleague. Throw my name in the hat the next time you are talking about conference speakers. Think about how WebWord saves you time and money and effort. On the flip side, if you have ideas that will help me, I'm open to your ideas. Fire away! The content on Webword is your content. Let's keep it up. We're a team. We're in this together. 

Yes, I'm done rambling now so now let's talk about this article. Visit the discussion board. I'll see you there. 

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