Php Website is a stupid name.

محروم.كوم · #1 09-20-2009, 09:20 AM

I've said it. This product's name is KILLING it. I would like to help build this system up and think it could really compete with more popular CMS solutions out there* but I don't think it will and I don't know if my time would be well spent. You see* this CMS* despite its strengths* is neglected and largely outdated. It's still spitting out tables* I have no idea who is working on the source* but I don't think it's being updated often* and most sites that use it look very 1995. I have shown in the application I'm working on that this doesn't need to be the case - however I don't think there's a future in the system and I think it's because of the name.

It confuses clients and new users. My customers with sites and apps powered by phpws keep confusing PHP Websites with Php Website. I continually hear:

"My cousin has a php website and it isn't bound by any of these modules you keep talking about..."

"I don't know what's the learning curve...you said you know php* and this is a php website."

"I read that a php website doesn't require much configuration at all"

The fact is that the generic nature of the brand label for this CMS is probably the driving reason behind its stagnation and the reason it's left in the dust compared to snazzier better branded systems like Joomla and Drupal.

I should know* I am an expert in marketing and branding and only learned systems like Joomla and PHPws to help my clients with their online marketing goals. Like web programming which has wise conventions like MVC* DRY* Accessibility* and Convention over Configuration* Branding also offers an array of conventional principles which should be followed. PHPWS as a label violates every rule of an accessible brand.

Just because this isn't a commercial project* doesn't mean that the rules of marketing don't apply. Government projects* charities* and even open source projects know this. Firefox* Joomla* Drupal* Linux* Ubuntu* Open Office* all know this and have used it to great success. If success and accessibility to the product are desired* then an accessible name for your project is critical.

1. Your label is an appeal to the people you are offering your product to that they should learn a word or phrase and think of your product when they hear it. Making this a reality is tough and in a world where people know countless brand-names* technical terms* and languages* you are asking for entry into a crowded space. As such* your name must be associated with your product for the people you are trying to reach* and they have to be willing to accept it.

When I mention PHP Website to a customer or another developer who hasn't heard of it* I can't proceed without having to stop and define the term: Not PHP* and not a website driven by php* but a specific Open Source CMS like Joomla or Drupal called "PHP Website". This makes them tune out* think I'm bullshitting* or they later get confused about exactly what I'm referring to. It's a confusing name that tries to compete with a larger term* PHP and Website* and fails to distinguish itself.

I'll elaborate on why in the following points:

2. Generic Labels

Amazon.com and Bookstore.com launched at nearly the same time. The domain Bookstore.com was purchased for nearly half a million dollars* amazon.com at a fraction of that price. Amazon knew what the buyers of bookstore.com did not - that a generic label doesn't appeal* is not remembered* is NEVER trusted. It is better to find a distinct name that is not already in play in your market space and that you can define with the attributes of your own offering.

It's like having a fried chicken chain named "Fried Chicken". KFC uses the three letters now to avoid just that problem.

3. Conflation with Previously Defined Entities.

Is it a PHP Website or is it PHP Website? Trying to define this product with such a label ambitiously presupposes that this CMS will define all php website development. Failing that* then it falls by default to an ambiguity that results in confusion and shrugs as it fails to define itself* and runs up against other terms people have already heard.

PHP is allready a brand. It is defined and has meaning* as does the term a "php website". Using this as a label for a product is the same as if Open Office had called their product "Microsoft Office Application". By invoking the other brand they would fail to distinguish themselves.

If PHP Website were called* "PHP CMS"* or "PHP Easy"* or even "Open Website"* then it is clearly something new and distinct from php and a php driven website. But using two common words that often appear together in regular use without anything to distinguish them causes confusion.

5. Attempts description but fails to describe. A least bookstore.com* despite its generic nature* communicates what it is. PHP Website does not communicate what this product is. It uses two descriptive words while failing to describe the product by it's essential features: an open source cms.

In conclusion* I strongly suggest that if anyone is interested in seeing this system succeed* the name be changed in the next version to avoid the chronic brand failure that has plagued it to date.

I have used better known open source CMS products and found them wanting. Their cores were based on silly assumption that PHPWS got right. PHPWS has an elegant way to handle MVC* it is easy to set up-ish* and despite its age* there's really a lot it can do as my recent application attests. However due to a lack of general interest and awareness* this project is starving for updates and love from a community of devoted developers who can bring this 20th century cms into the 21st.

I will gladly provide my services to the community in helping to find a clear and distinct title for this project* and suggest it be applied for the next rollout of a major release or it will be left in the dust by more known systems like Joomla and Drupal.

Hope this finds the right people*
-Joe Melberg
Techism llc. __DEFINE_LIKE_SHARE__

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