Yes, there are software packages out there that will let you do your own updating, but they're pretty complex and require a level of expertise no one in your small company has.
On Friday, a small Missoula company launched a product that just might solve your problems.
“The Web has really become the focus of so many companies' business, but maintaining their Web sites has remained expensive and problematic,” said Dave Pyron. “This really is a solution that will put a lot more power in the hands of companies so that they can control their Web sites better.”
One thing that Pyron does is build Web sites for clients. That's fine, of course, but what Pyron has found over the years is that it spends a lot of time updating clients' sites to keep them up-to-date with the most current information.
Obviously, Pyron charges for its time, so that's been a source of revenue. But Pyron eventually came to realize that both the company and its clients could benefit from a product that would let clients handle their own Web site updates.
“We work hard to serve clients, but there are times when it takes us days to get Web updates done,” Pyron said. “That's not good for clients and that's not good for us. What SiteFin does is take away the delay, and it allows nearly anyone with minimal computer skills to do the work.”
Take Pyron programmer John Brownell's 6-year-old son, Quinn. Recently, Brownell was trying to watch a Detroit Lions football game, but his son kept him busy with endless interruptions. To keep the boy busy, Brownell spent about 15 minutes showing him how to use SiteFin to make a Web page.
“By the time the game was over, he had a pretty good page,” Brownell said.
Quinn's page was Halloween-oriented, and had all sorts of spooky graphics, some scary stories he'd written and a video downloaded from YouTube.
All of which was very cool, but not nearly as cool as his dad getting to watch the Lions.
The interface will look familiar to anyone who's spent any time around computers. It allows you to control graphics, images, video and text easily and the results are instantaneous and easy to change if you don't like what you've done.
Making the changes requires no knowledge of programming or HTML code, meaning that Web sites can be updated by ordinary mortals.
“It really offers a robust performance without a lot expertise,” said Pyron's Kevin Leavell.
Companies can also run Intranets - sites visible only within a company - with SiteFin, and it allows them to be updated by anyone the company deems appropriate.
SiteFin is what's called a content management system, and it's hardly the only one. Dave Pyron said many CMS programs are on the market; he just thinks his company's is the easiest, most intuitive to use.
“Most of those require some significant programming capability,” Pyron said. “With SiteFin, it's pretty easy to train anyone.”
Not surprisingly, the ubiquitous Microsoft has a Web site product - SharePoint - that enables Web site updates, but Pyron said it's significantly more difficult to learn and use.
There are also open-source - meaning free - products around, but Pyron believes the ease of Sitefin will win over clients.
“For a small or medium-sized company, this is an efficient solution that doesn't require you to do extraordinary training to use it,” he said.
Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or by e-mail at mmoore@missoulian.com
On the Web
To find out more about Pyron Technologies and its new SiteFin program, go to http://www.sitefin.com
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