Why Adobe Contribute? Because Contribute works well with other applications . . . with ease! What we accomplished in this new client site, Netblaze.us, could very well have been built on another platform, but not with all these features packed into the budget.

The design for this site was drawn up and then coded from scratch. Using Contribute as the base for the site platform, all the special features chosen for integration, like flash animation, multiple javascript elements, web forms, Google Maps and more, could simply be plugged in where needed. Unlike the considerations with other database CMS (content management systems), Contribute allows us to start with a blank canvas and quickly build according to our best practices.

To back up really quickly, for those who aren’t familiar with Contribute or how it works, here’s a quick overview. Contribute is a workstation-based computer program (like Microsoft Word for lack of better example) that accesses websites via an FTP (file transfer protocol) connection over the internet. The real power features of Contribute are realized when the websites being managed are built on the Adobe Dreamweaver templates structure. So start to finish, the process would be 1. an experienced Dreamweaver template developer builds the website and launches it; 2. a website owner edits, publishes to and manages the website with Contribute.

I have to plug the Contribute platform once again for being virtually bulletproof. When I launched this site recently, I did so with full confidence that it—like the Contribute client sites before it—would be stalwart. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of several server-side database application, like WordPress and ecommerce templates. But with databases and server-side components, comes added complexity and the need for more maintenance down the road.

So in short, when the project calls for a custom design, client publishing capability, integrated applications and a long, long life span between developer intervention, Adobe Contribute is the hands-down platform of choice.

Netblaze Systems, Inc., located in Walnut Creak, CA—inland from the San Francisco Bay Area—is a network consulting and integration services provider.

Dominic Taverniti is the owner of Applied Web Vitals, a web design and development company specializing Dreamweaver templates and the Adobe Contribute CMS. Please feel free to contact us any time to explore your next web design or development project.