CMS and Shop Systems
Freetimers is primarily a Linux and Open Source focussed website developer, which is the operating system used currently by around 2/3rds of all web servers on the planet. We only rarely are involved with Microsoft ASP/.NET, but in the vast majority of these instances, we will be working in a Linux web server environment, programming in the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP).
There are a number of well-known Content Management Systems (CMS) which we can happily work with and support, as well as a number of Shop/Ecommerce systems. Because we have such a long history in web development (22 years), we have been operating longer than all of these systems, and, as a 1st generation web developer, we have also developed our own CMS, shop and business management system, which is called Entegra, the latest version of which is deployed in summer 2019.
Entegra CMS and Shop System
We developed our first CMS in 1999 (many years ahead of WordPress) and have been developing it ever since. Now in its 4th main deployment, we believe Entegra is amongst the very best available, and it is used only for our clients so only they can reap the benefits over their competitors. Entegra is next-generation technology and combines the best content and website management capabilities, with ecommerce and business management systems.
Because it is highly integrated it is also very efficient and can be readily expanded and customised to suit each business. It also can support the management of orders, products and inventories across multiple channels and websites from a single admin system which provides tremendous business process efficiencies as well as channel-specific product display and prices.
Its SEO capabilities are also the best of the breed. Because we really do believe Entegra is better than other systems our default preference is to use it over others. To find out more about our great Entegra CMS and ecommerce system, click here.
Other Supported CMS Systems
In addition to Entegra, we also very regularly work with a number of other CMS systems, so if you have a site using these, or would prefer to have a new site produced using one of them, know that we will be happy to oblige. The main CMS systems we regularly use are
WordPress
Silverstripe
Joomla
Drupal
ExpressionEngine
If your preference isn't mentioned, as long as it is PHP based we may still be able to work with it, so don't hesitate to contact us.
All of the above systems have their pros and cons but we will have no difficulty working with them.
Shop and Ecommerce Systems
As for the CMS systems mentioned above, for ecommerce our default preference is to use Entegra, because it combines ecommerce and CMS, business process management and SEO, better than any other system we know of, from the outset. That said, we also regularly (and happily) work with other shop systems. The main ones are:
Magento
Woo Commerce (WordPress)
PrestaShop
XCart
OsCommerce
For basic sites, we can also help businesses using hosted solutions such as Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy, 1and1 and others. All systems have pros and cons, and for important ecommerce sites generally, we recommend against using the hosted solutions which usually are very limited and don't allow code changes. The other systems such as Magento, Woo Commerce and PrestaShop do have amendable code and so these are generally preferred for substantial ecommerce businesses, although they can be much more costly to establish.
Talk to Us First
If you are considering a new website and particularly one which includes a shop, we would strongly recommend that you talk with us first before making a commitment. With our knowledge and experience, we can help you make the best decision for your business that considers the medium and longterm implications.
Bespoke Ecommerce or CMS Websites
If you have a website and bespoke admin system, as long as it is Linux and hopefully LAMP-based then we may be able to help. In many cases, we can take over the site, subject to a code and functionality review. For an initial discussion please contact us.