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I'm going to install a basic static HTML & CSS website for my client. What software can I use to make it editable for my client?

They only need to be able to edit the content from the frontend, they don't need to add pages. My client isn't savvy in HTML.

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  • Can you give your client ftp access to the site? What languages does your server support?
    – Tom
    Commented Jan 3, 2016 at 23:54
  • @Tom Yes I do have client ftp information. 1and1 is the server, I don' know what languages it supports. I think php, javascript, mysql, ect (all the common ones)
    – Martez McKinzie
    Commented Jan 4, 2016 at 0:25
  • Do they need to be able to edit the CSS, too? Do you need a WYSIWYG editor for the content, or is using something like Markdown okay?
    – unor
    Commented Jan 4, 2016 at 1:03
  • @unor he wouldn't know anything about css, so no - just being able to edit the text would do fine
    – Martez McKinzie
    Commented Jan 4, 2016 at 1:29
  • I have edited your question to make it more on-topic (how-to questions are off-topic here, this is a software recommendation site). However, there's one thing you still need to make clear: does it really have to be a web app or can something be installed on their machines? I'm asking because asking for web services is also off-topic here.
    – user416
    Commented Jan 4, 2016 at 18:54

3 Answers 3

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If your client has FTP support, I would recommend Pinegrow Web Editor. It has an easy to use drag and drop editor for HTML pages. Your client should be able to download the HTML webpage(s) and edit them with this editor.

Pinegrow

Pinegrow Web Designer is a standalone desktop app for Mac, Windows & Linux that lets you mockup & design webpages faster with multi-page editing, Css & Less styling and smart components for Bootstrap, Foundation and other frameworks.

Pinegrow UI

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There are a number of possibilities to provide this type of functionality - each with their own pros/cons.

  1. Adobe Dreamweaver + Adobe Contribute. This is a software-reliant solution but allows you to create the website with template files in Dreamweaver, with content areas marked as editable, that users can then interact with using the Contribute software. Con - This requires pricey software that must be installed on all users machines. Can not make changes remotely.
  2. FTP - as you mentioned you do have FTP access available with 1and1, but this opens up the possibility that the users will accidentally delete important files, code, etc. and you mentioned that they are not savvy in HTML.
  3. CushyCMS - https://www.cushycms.com/en - is a great free (with a paid upgrade) online Content Management system that is extremely light-weight and requires you to only add a simple line of code to your site and a couple classes to the divs that you want to be editable. This is what I would recommend in your case.
  4. Don't make a static site. If the goal is to have the client be able to make changes, you can utilize common, and secure, tools that are made for this, like Wordpress and Drupal. Yes, they are heavier, require a little more backend knowledge, but they offer content editing natively which is good in case your client wishes to do more with their site in the future.
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    I'm going to disagree with you on the 'secure' in Wordpress and Drupal - I see new vulnerabilities in those tools every couple of weeks. Every piece of software has issues, and those two are high profile, and thus quickly exploited when something turns up. Static sites have their problems (and bugs in the web server are far from unknown), but a static site is far less likely to be a problem than a Wordpress or Drupal install.
    – Michael Kohne
    Commented Jan 5, 2016 at 15:14
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I would also like to add Pingendo. It's very simple and easy to use, but its also free and works with Bootstrap. It's available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Pingendo

Pingendo helps you authoring HTML5 and CSS3 web pages. Bootstrap editor.

Pingendo UI

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