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Firefox Add-Ons | Web Content Management Systems | Parasites: AlphaOne-Tech

After you have registered your domain name, choosen a Web hosting provider, and have your Web site visible on the Web, what do you do next? The next thing is Web site maintenance. But how?

One way I like to maintain my Web site or others I work with is by using a Web content management system (CMS). First, let’s take a look at what a CMS is, the benefits of using one, and some CMSs that can be used for personal or business purposes.

What is a Content Management System?

A CMS is a way to create, manage, distribute, publish, and update your Web site information.

Benefits To a Content Management System

Even though there are other ways of updating your Web site, you might decide to choose and use a CMS. The benefits of using a CMS include the following:

• Updates can be made any time when needed (day or night).
• If you choose to do so and have staff, members of your Web team can update the section(s) they are responsible for.
• Design and content are separate. This means that you can update or make changes to the design without affecting the content.
• You can use cascading style sheets (CSS) to maintain the appearance of the site. I really like CSS as it allows you to easily change the design and color of the CMS site.
• Every time you create a post or make a comment, the CMS creates an RSS feed for it.
• Your content updates can be scheduled.

Content Management Systems To Use

Where can you find a CMS to use? For starters, most Web hosting providers will have a CMS for you to use. For example, my Web hosting provider offers Drupal, Mambo, and Joomla! These are popular for making updates. I find any one of these to be a great tool.

If you want to use a hosted CMS mostly to update content, CushyCMS, which can be found at http://www.cushycms.com, allows Web designers or content editors to edit content without installing software on their machines. (You can watch a demo on the CushyCMS site and sign up for free.) With CushyCMS, there is a free version, which I have used, and one that provides more services, for a fee.

Conclusion

A CMS can be a great tool for either personal or business use. A CMS allows multiple authors to update your site, as it grows, taking responsibility for different sections.

For more from Tammy Barbee, visit—

http://www.webmastertoolcenter.com
http://www.twitter.com/thewlady

I had the opportunity to attend a presentation given by CPCUG member Stephen Auerbach in October 2009 to the CPCUG Entrepreneurs and Consultants SIG on "Firefox and Firefox Extensions." I just wanted to follow up a little on his presentation.

Mozilla Firefox provides flexibility and extensibility, allowing nondevelopers and developers to add applications. An example is FireFTP, used to upload updated Web pages to a webserver/Web hosting site.

In this article, the following topics will be discussed:

• Benefits
• Types
• Installing and uninstalling

Internet Explorer, Safari, and Opera provide users the opportunity to communicate, to make purchases, to save bookmarks for favorite pages, and to surf the Web. Firefox provides pretty much the same benefits as the other Web browsers, with the added benefit of compatibility with Firefox add-ons. Some benefits of Firefox add-ons:

• They are easy to install and uninstall.
• They enable users to view related news, weather, and other information.
• They are checked for compatibility before installation.

Types

Firefox offers thousands of add-ons for nondevelopers and developers for day-to-day business and general use. Categories include Web development, bookmarks, photos, music, blogging, and much more. When you start browsing the available categories, you'll notice information about the number of times a specific add-on has been downloaded and about the add-ons that are most downloaded, top rated, and recently added. These statistics help inform the Firefox add-on selection process.

Installing and Uninstalling

After examining the various categories of add-ons to use with Firefox, it is time to install some add-ons, or even uninstall some you no longer want.

Installing Firefox add-ons is easy:

1. Using the Firefox browser, select a Firefox add-on category.
2. A list of Firefox add-ons will appear. Select the green button to the right that says "Add to Firefox."
3. Before installing, a dialog box will appear with a warning to "Install add-ons from authors whom you trust." If you feel comfortable with the safety of this add-on, select the Install Now button. The add-on will be installed for use with Firefox.
4. Select the Restart Firefox button so the add-on can be included
   on the standard toolbar at Tools | Add-ons.
5. Go to the Tools menu after Mozilla Firefox has reopened and
   check the add-ons you have installed.

If you see the add-on you installed listed, you have successfully installed an add-on to use with Firefox.

What if you have installed several add-ons for which you no longer have a need? How do you uninstall them? Here are the instructions:

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Add-ons.
2. Select the Extensions button at the top. It will list all of the extensions that have been installed.
3. Select the extension in the list area that you do not want and select
   the Uninstall button. An alert box will appear and ask, "Do you want to
   uninstall . . . ?" Select the Uninstall button.
4. Select the Restart Firefox button to allow the uninstall changes to take effect.
5. If a new dialog box appears, select Restart.
6. Go to the Tools menu.
7. Select Add-ons to see whether the extension has been uninstalled.

There you have it! The extension that was once installed is uninstalled.

In conclusion, using Mozilla Firefox as an alternative to Internet Explorer, Safari, and Opera provides an opportunity to add functionality and features to Firefox. It is a good idea to spend time looking at the various categories of extensions you might be able to use on a day-to-day basis for business or general use.

If you use Firefox add-ons, which ones do you use and why?

For more from Tammy Barbee, visit—

http://www.webmastertoolcenter.com
http://www.twitter.com/thewlady

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September 28, 2009