[TYPO3] OT: client wants to drop typo. What should I do?

[S. Teuber]

Hi there,

> Jody, I adore the page you designed for me, and I don't want the
> design to change at all.  This is much more about me being able to
> edit things myself and not have to fight that editor in Typo anymore. 
> It sometimes takes me 3-4 times to finally get the font to be what I
> want it to be.  And I can never get the darn thing to space the text
> the way I want it!  I am hoping that even though I don't use Typo,

This paragraph caught my attention, because it shows an approach many 
self-taught Frontpage-using website owners have regarding websites, which 
is far from being professional or, if it's not some small private fun 
site, adaequate. 

What's a website about? Providing content, of course. But wait, there's 
more. Like providing content in a userfriendly way. Or providing not just 
literal, written content, but something like a brand, an image, an 
emotional experience, a representation. Just like a library is not just 
represented by the books it stores, but by the friendlyness and 
appearance of the personell, the presentation of the books (using 
shelves, placement, "room sections" etc.), or even the building it 
resides in.

That's why "corporate identities" were invented. That's why you can 
actually *study* design. It's not just choosing a font or spacing 
according to what day of the week it is or what mood someone has in a 
particular moment.

TYPO3 helps, aside from all the technical stuff it manages (like 
generating HTML, Imagefiles, menues and other stuff, or even provide 
complex functionalities like a search engine, guestbooks etc. at the tip 
of a mouseclick), to maintain a consistent design and thus a consistent, 
professional and hopefully appealing appearance of the website. 

Yes, to make sure the CI/design is not broken by someone who may be a hot 
shot in some other field but not in layout, it may limit the options 
available. Compared to Frontpage or Dreamweaver, maybe even a lot. 
Instead of making the choice of a font or spacing difficult, TYPO3 can - 
and propaply should - make such a choice impossible for the ordinary 
editor. Some of them will have a hard time understanding why this may be 
something good because they feel limited in their freedom of choices.

But then again, not every limitation is a bad thing. Enforcing people to 
use stone instead of wood to build houses in a crowded inner city area 
can prevent the whole city from being burned down by just a lonely, 
forgotton candle in the neighbours house. Speed limits, enforced by 
police patrols and radar, can save peoples lifes in case of an accident 
(or better yet, by preventing an accident). 

Of course, no one will get killed because someone used a different font 
in TYPO3, but I guess you get the point. ;-)

Again, looking at the mail:

> This is much more about me being able to *edit things* myself and not 
> have to fight that editor in Typo anymore. 
> It sometimes takes me 3-4 times to finally *get the font* to be what I
> want it to be.

In my opinion this is not about the definition what software should be 
used to edit "things", but about what "things" need to be edited in order 
to built a good website. With a fitting layout (CI) and a good 
Stylesheet, why would he need to change the font anyway? Concentrate on 
the content!

My two cents,

Sven