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Site Mettle makes editing and maintaining your site easy for you entire department: developers, designers, and content owners. Changes to a website can be made in minutes by non-technical staff and Site Mettle will even enforce the sites style and technical guidelines. Discover how Site Mettle can save time and money in the effort to maintain a website.
You can be more effective.
You can be happier.
www.digitalmettle.com
This animation uses Macromedia Flash to demonstrate in detail the features and benefits of Site Mettle. You will see the multiple common situations where real life problems with web publications can be eliminated by implementing Site Mettle technology.
The animation makes extensive use of a voice over. Please view this tour on a computer with headphones or speakers in a location where you can turn up the volume to an audible level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did you create this offering to begin with?
Digital Mettle, like other professional website design firms, is in the business of designing websites, not maintaining them after their "launch". Often, Digital Mettle has found that, given the option, our clients would rather maintain their websites themselves than pay high "design" fees for what amounts to basic text editing. The unfortunate truth is, however, that when someone who is not a professional website designer is left to do direct HTML editing, they will eventually damage the visual design of a website. This degradation occurs gradually; an oversized image placed here, an incorrect "TABLE" tag inserted there. Site Mettle is specifically designed to combat this problem.
Why do you think this product is something that companies will want?
Digital Mettle has had repeated requests from our website design project clients for a "content update tool". In the past, each of these "tools" has been custom-designed specifically to the client's website. In every case, the basic customer requirements have been functionally similar to what are now Site Mettle features. This tool, engineered independently of any one website, will fill the need for many future custom "content update tools".
Who do you see as users of your product?
Companies with small to medium-sized websites that have been professionally designed, have a professional webmaster, and have part-time content providers in various departments throughout the company.
What do you see as the savings this will bring the customers?
Site Mettle protects the company's investment in a professionally designed website by preserving the integrity of that design from accidental corruption by non-technical content providers.
Site Mettle also saves Information Technology resources by freeing the webmaster from the task of converting content into website-specific HTML by pushing that task out to the more appropriate resources - the originators of the information.
What benefits does your product give that other products do not give to current customers?
The ideal of most HTML editors and website management tools is to allow their users to realize anything they can imagine. Site Mettle's focus is on maintaining an existing style even if its users may not understand that style. Site Mettle's benefit is that it takes "creative control" out of the hands of people who don't necessarily need it.
Can this offering be shipped and installed without any effort on the part of Digital Mettle?
To realize its full value, Site Mettle must be customized to "understand" the design of the websites on which it is installed. This process can be documented and performed by other professional website design firms, but not necessarily by non-designer webmasters or other customers.
Will there be ongoing enhancements to this product?
Yes. The original version of Site Mettle was only compatible with HTML-based websites and utilized only NT-based file security. The current version of Site Mettle has been enhanced with databases capabilities and several options of securing including an internal or database user list.
Other recent updates include support for structured data content (numeric only, text only , specific formatting, etc.). Upcoming enhancements include additional workflow options, a fully-featured administration tool and greater server compatibility.
How do you see this product fitting into the computer capabilities network that exists today?
Because Site Mettle edits normal HTML files, it can interact and co-exist with any other HTML editor or website administration program.
How technically savvy will the end user need to be?
The end users will need no technical skills whatsoever. The initial setup of Site Mettle on a website is a fairly technically intensive process, mostly to customize Site Mettle to "understand" the design constraints of the website. After Site Mettle is installed on the website, no ongoing maintenance is required until the website undergoes a redesign.
What are client requirements for your product?
Users of Site Mettle will need to use Internet Explorer 5.5 (or above) to edit their website.
What are server requirements for your product?
The current version of Site Mettle runs on a Windows 2000 web server with MSXML 4.0 installed.
Site Mettle is an enterprise website framework that makes content editing and maintenance simple for everyone. On Site Mettle enabled websites maintainance is effortless for content owners that don't have time to become HTML experts. Freed from the constant distractions of minor updates, webmasters are able to focus on critical issues of managing a website. Site designers are able to preserve their design as Site Mettle enforces guidelines for style and content.
Reduce the time it takes to keep your site fresh, with Site Mettle.
Site Mettle makes life better for...Content Owners
Content owners are typically non-technical professionals who function in a marketing capacity. Owners need to get the content of a page updated in the fastest and easiest way possible. They have to understand the customer not the computer.
If this describes you, then you are a Content Owner.
Site Mettle is the End of Your Frustration
After you implement Site Mettle on your website, everyday headaches become distant memories. No more focusing on computer manuals when you need to be focusing on the customer. No need to chase down the IT staff to help you make changes.
Let Site Mettle Pamper You
Web editing training? Not with Site Mettle. If you can use a web browser you can use Site Mettle. Navigate your website to the page you want to edit. You edit the page right in the browser as if it was a word processor. All of the text and content styles of you website are one click easy to apply. All the various types of content elements within your page design can be added with one click of a button.
Site Mettle makes it easy for you to save pages to the website. No more calling an overworked IT staff to help, Site Mettle is your own IT staff. Always available, always friendly.
Site Mettle makes life better for...Webmasters
Technical professionals whose duties include programming, technical design, systems administration, and database administration. But what is not on the job description is making lots of minor updates to the website.
If this describes you, then you are a Webmaster. Site Mettle knows you don’t have time for everything asked of you.
Can you put Content tasks in hands of Content Owners?
You have had to spend hours training Content Owners and still had to fix the visual design of your site. You've setup FTP and written documentation detailing the file structure of your web root, and still had files emailed to you. What does your experience tell you? Bottom line: its just simpler for you to do the work rather than constantly help the Content Owners deal with technical details. Hope you enjoy late nights.
Site Mettle is The Solution
In-browser editing has non technical staff updating at full speed in minutes. You determine which areas of your site are available for editing and which are “off-limits”. For each area, you determine what content is valid: image sizes, character limits, styles, even checking for valid dates.
Other software implmentations been a headache? Not Site Mettle. No software to install on Content Owner workstations. If they have a browser, they are Site Mettle ready.
File management is handled by Site Mettle, so no lost data, no FTP blunders. Simple workflow allows file download, checkout, editing, upload, and approval..all one click easy.
Site Mettle makes life better for...Site Designers
Making it look good on the glass is your job. You are an alchemist part programmer part artist. You establish the design guidelines with care and make sure your clients guidelines are upheld. You layout tables with perfection and comb content for site wide consistency.
You deliver the perfect website. What is it like in a week or a month or a year?
Do you maintain sites for your clients. Do they pay the same for updates as they do for design. Did they get you to lower cost for maintenance
Did they cut maintenance due to cost of paying you.
Though html is easy, maintaining consistency artistry like a professional web design is not
Pour heart into work only to have one CE set loose on your site in a WYSIWYG editor only destroy the design artistry you worked so hard to create. Easier said than done to train them in your site design, but then you have to train them in all the subtle nuances of site design. If you do that, they would not have needed to hire you in the first place. Easy to say you should lock down templates, but they are diff for every html applications
Site Mettle’s editing capability is integrated seamlessly into the web site itself.
SM becomes and extra feature of your web design deliver. You teach SM about your design as you create it. Not another ever but the kitchen sink editor. Engineered to maintain the content of a professionally designed site. Web editing in a box and you define the box. Consistent formatting, style and website. Does not prohibit the use of any other editor, It is so easy you clients will not want to use anything else.
The following is an outline of the workflow process of a website using Site Mettle technology. These diagrams demonstrate how content is published using traditional web technologies and independently updated by means of Site Mettle.
Typical Website Configuration
Websites are designed and built using whatever technology is appropriate. Site Mettle does not alter the method of content generation or publication.
Website Implementing Site Mettle
Site Mettle is added to the website in parallel to the content, so it does not interfere with existing website programming. Only a small amount of additional HTML is added to the content to tell Site Mettle what page areas are editable and how.
Content Editing
When content is displayed for editing in the Site Mettle client, it is generated using the same HTML and scripting that is used when normal visitors view the site. (Click thumbnail to the right for more detail.)
When the user chooses to edit some content, Site Mettle transparently notes all of the information necessary to uniquely identify that content and then lock it so that other users don't edit it at the same time. (Click thumbnail to the right for more detail.)
When the user is finished editing the document, the new content is saved to a holding area on the server and an email is sent to the webmaster requesting approval of their changes. (Click thumbnail to the right for more detail.)
Content Approval
The webmaster accesses, reviews, and edits the content in progress the same way that the editor did.
When the webmaster approves the content, Site Mettle places it in the correct location, be it database, include file, or directly into HTML.
Uninterrupted Normal Website Operation
The next visitor to the site sees it as the content editor and webmaster intended it.
This walkthrough will demonstrate how Site Mettle can be used to maintain the content of a website. In this example the content owner (the person who will be responsible for updating content on the website) will be updating two pages. The first case will be modifying text and styles on the Company information page. The second change will be the addition of a new product to the Products page.
Step 1
To begin the process, the content owner opens up a web browser and enters the required URL in the address area on the browser. In this case, http://www.website.com/~admin/.
Step 2
A Standard web authentication dialog box prompts the content owner to log in.
Step 3
After a successful log in, the content owner is presented with the tool palette, the main interface to Site Mettle. This palette will remain open as long as the content owner is actively logged in.
Step 4
The content owner navigates to the Company section by clicking on the Company link. Note that the content owner is browsing the actual website as a normal web visitor, thus simplifying the task of locating the content to be edited.
Step 5
The next step is activating the page for editing. The content owner selects the edit button on the tool palette. The areas on the current web page that are editable are highlighted with a red border. In this example, the only areas that can be edited are the two main copy blocks in the center of the page.
Regardless of how many people have been given editor-level access, only one content owner at a time can edit each specific area on the website. This feature ensures that any content being edited maintains its integrity until it is posted to the website.
Step 6
To make changes to a content block, the administrator directly edits on the web page. Since editing is performed on the real page in true in-context fashion, the interaction is much like a standard WYSIWYG text editor or word processor.
Step 7
In addition to being able to change or delete text, the content owner can also apply predetermined styles, or rules. These styles control the spacing of lines within a paragraph or the size and color of the text. To apply a style to an editable area, the content owner will highlight the text and then click style name in the style menu. Since Site Mettle styles are created by the site designer, the content owner can be assured that the changes he/she is making will follow a consistent look across the entire site.
Other Site Mettle enforced rules include date formats, image sizes, pop-up window dimensions, text length, and many others.
Step 8
Once the content owner is satisfied with their edits, they select the save button on the tool palette. A dialog box presents the content owner with several save options. At this point, the changes do not publish immediately to the live site. In order to prevent unapproved, unauthorized or incorrect changes from being posted to the website, various workflow options can be implemented. These options can allow the document to be stored for further editing at a later time, as well as allowing the changes to be reviewed by other editors. In this case, the webmaster is alerted to pending changes via email. This allows the webmaster to review the changes, perform any additional modifications, then post these changes to the "live" website with a click of the approve button.
Step 9
Because Site Mettle is a customizable solution, specific areas can be tailored to meet the client's needs. In this case, the ability to keep the Products and Solutions area of the website up-to-date is crucial to company marketing efforts. By using Site Mettle, the content owner can easily update not only the body text, but images and titles as well. Clicking the new product button from the insert special menu creates a new product template on the selected page. This template controls not only the placement of the text, header and artwork, but also the amount of copy and the size of the image. Text is added as mentioned in previous steps.
Step 10
To complete the new update to the website, the content owner can replace the default image by simply right clicking on the default image, which opens a context-sensitive menu. By selecting change image, the image library opens and the content owner can select an image from the list provided. When the image is selected, it is automatically updated in the template on the open web page. Once the content owner is satisfied with the new image, header and copy, the save button can be clicked to submit the file for approval.
Conclusion
With Site Mettle, changing content, adding new pages to the site, and swapping out images can be done in a few simple steps.