Good on you Sean! May your tribe increase and more power to you and your J! business.

Thanks, Freedom OSS, it's time for Open Source to prove it's worth.

Good read. Very relatable and in line with my own experiences.

First Q: I tend to cover my security measures up front, because using a homogeneous CMS can be potentially risky. But because I use multiple security extensions and follow the Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos 'to kill a ninja' philosophy I feel most issues are dealt with.

Second Q: I actually avoid that word all together because I can't change peoples' minds. I say, "we're going to choose a site structure that works for you, then make CSS and graphical alterations, and if necessary reorganize modules".

Every site I build is different from one another, and hardly recognizable after I alter the templates.

There's a place for everything. If you know how to use it properly it can really work for you.

I agree with the article and comments ... I've been working in Joomla! since the Mambo days as well and I haven't had too many clients be bothered by the Open Source-ness or the templating factor.

I too will modify a template to make each site unique. And, like Gino, I sell my exclusive-Joomla! services as "we're going to choose a site structure that works for you, then make CSS and graphical alterations, and if necessary reorganize modules". AND I sell the concept of Open Source and it's unlimited possibilities.

In the 6 years I've been doing Joomla! sites, I haven't one time run across a customer's request that I can not find a solution to on a Joomla! site.

And, I was hand-coding sites and Dreamweaving 6 years before I moved into Joomla! CMS. So to hear someone think/say that using a CMS is a 'poor man's way out' or that you don't need neccessary skills, that's ludicrous and uneducated. Any CMS developer will tell you that you still have to hand-code...

-lisa girard
www.yourdigitaldestiny.com

At eesense we concentrate on selling a good user interface, a clear approach to presenting the site and a clear taxonomy.

We do not emphasise the technology, any more than a person selling a magazine should go on about printing presses to customers.

Open source is simply the way to go from a total cost of ownership from a given functionality perspective, and it is fairly easy now to talk to clients about not re-inventing the wheel.

The trick is to focus on what really matters to the client, and that is the various interfaces and functions that site will provide. Ask not what you can do with a website, but what your website can do for you...

"Have you convinced the sceptics that the word, 'TEMPLATE', does not mean that their site will look like every other website on the internet?" ...try to guess if this website of mine is joomla based? 8-)

http://www.cristallohotelresidence.it/

I think the key thing to remember with Joomla, or any other CMS, when talking to potential clients is stressing the benefits to them. I tell prospects that their website, if done by me will be based on either Joomla or WordPress.

I explain to them about the ease of use, flexibility and power they will have, and stress heavily they won't need to buy software, can make updates on any computer or mobile platform, and can have several or all the people in their company act as authors.

It also usually helps to tell them their custom template is like a custom skin you can lay over their data. Many of my clients then respond with something like "so it is basically like a skin you can customize over an mp3 player..."

I do on occasion get somebody that thinks Open Source means hacked, or something less than, but those are becoming less and less. I think it is all in how you present it to most people. Or as my old sales trainer told me once, "people buy the sizzle, not the steak".

I think those types of objections/hesitations/questions are what you'll always hear from corporate clients. Smaller businesses, not so much. They may realize that an open source CMS means they aren't being locked into a platform that can only be serviced by one company, or a small sector. On the other hand, a large company will often prefer to work with another large company and be "locked in." They may balk at or simply not be able to see some open source services markets, in their current state of development. Acquia fills that gap for Drupal in terms of the professionalized service market it creates, and in terms of providing an enterprise distribution that will at least allay concerns about security and upgrades.

Its funny when people don't want to use open source. Its like saying 'I don't want my browser to read html unless I'm being charged', or 'I wish browsing the internet was not free'.
Why would you want to use anything else.These sceptics should demand their sites be built with nothing but flash, no html, no php, or javascript because they are all open source.

To answer the question, Thankfully most people I help get online don't need convincing cause they understand open source is the only way. Having a website whose code is encrypted even against yourself (the website owner) editing it to your liking is simply ridiculous.

Open source online is the only way, everything else is a temporary annoyance. just because Open source is free, doesn't mean it is cheaper. Just means its better.