Excitingly, I discovered that Textpattern, an open-source software, offers a very powerful content management system (CMS) for small to medium websites. In fact, I have used TXP to build three live websites, with another two in the final stages of production now.

Although I won’t turn this post into a full-scale review of Textpattern (TXP), I will talk about some of the functionality that Textpattern offers – functionality that would be of interest to my clients over at lbdesign.

Adding a blog to the company website

Textpattern is ultimately geared as blogging software. Yet, just like WordPress, it actually offers a powerful CMS for running a whole website. As such, adding a blog to an existing website, or incorporating one into a new one is what Textpattern is all about. It’s easy to use that same functionality not only to run a blog but also to add a separate news section to a site. Check out The Governance Partnership website to see an example of a TXP-powered blog. For news functionality, please visit the Horspath Pre-School Nursery website.

Of course, any blog or news section could be accessed via RSS.

Dynamically placing content throughout the site

Another key feature of TXP is its ability to place dynamic content around the site. Listing recent blog posts in a margin column, highlighting company news on the home page or filtering case studies on multiple pages is easy to incorporate.

Updating or adding new content

Perhaps the most valuable feature of TXP — the one that really sets it apart — is the ease with which website content can be edited. Adding a new blog post, editing the About page content or updating the company contact details takes only a moment or two, with just a few clicks on the mouse and keyboard. The simple UI (user-interface) of the CMS will surely be a comfort to even the most radical technophobe.

So, as you can clearly see, I am a convert to TXP. Robust and flexible, it offers a quality and economic dynamic solution for businesses looking to maintain an active online web presence. Certainly look for more TXP-based websites from lbdesign.

So far I have managed to get the software installed (which was pretty similar to installing WordPress) and a basic website up and running. This draft site is nothing I would wish to highlight here, but even after only a few hours’ time spent clicking here and there, and editing code in bits and pieces, I can see that Textpattern definitely could be of value. Too early to say how it might all work out for me, but my initial feeling about Textpattern is a good one.

As you can see in the photo in this post, I have picked up a how-to book on implementing and using Textpattern. The book is called Textpattern Solutions. I chose this particular book, mostly because the forward was written by Jon Hicks, another Oxfordshire graphic designer – albeit one of greater acclaim and accomplishment than yours truly. I wonder what advice or suggestions Jon might offer me to speed up the learning process? (Do you think there is any chance that Jon Hicks might visit my blog?)

UPDATE: 29 March 2009
Be sure to read the related post, entitled Texpattern Investigated.