I’m working on rebuilding our department’s website at the university and running into major roadblocks. The IT team that manages our hosting won’t give me access to modify the existing CMS templates or let me install server-side technologies like PHP and MySQL for WordPress.
Right now I only have access to upload static files to a public directory. I’m thinking about building a JavaScript application using a framework like Angular, but my supervisor needs department managers to be able to update content easily.
I really don’t want to build a custom content management system from scratch. Does anyone know of any browser-based CMS solutions that work entirely on the client side without needing server-side scripting or databases? Something that could let non-technical users edit content would be perfect.
GitHub Pages with Jekyll could be perfect for this. Your managers can edit markdown files right through GitHub’s web interface - it’s pretty intuitive once they get the hang of it. Everything’s static so no server headaches, and most IT teams don’t have issues with GitHub.
have you looked into Forestry.io or Netlify CMS? they’re both great since they work with git and generate static files. quick q tho - will your IT team allow external services? also, what’s your budget looking like for this?
I encountered a similar situation while managing a project that had strict server access limitations. A viable option you might consider is utilizing a static site generator in combination with a headless CMS. Options like Contentful or Sanity provide great editing interfaces for non-technical users, allowing them to update content easily. You can build your site with frameworks such as React or Vue, and then deploy the static files. This approach allows for easy content management while respecting server constraints, ensuring your site remains dynamic without requiring server-side technologies.