How to let clients edit their website without a CMS

Give your client a visual editor that lets them click the text or photo they want to change, while the layout and code stay out of reach. For a static HTML site you can do that without installing a CMS, from a free editor and an email round trip to a locked-down edit link that only unlocks the parts you choose.

Why not just install a CMS?

A content management system such as WordPress is the right tool when a client publishes often or needs to add pages. For a five-page site where the client changes the opening hours twice a year, it brings a lot along: database hosting, updates, plugins, logins, and an admin area where the client can change far more than you’d like. If the site is plain HTML, there are lighter ways to hand over the editing.

Option 1: the free route (client edits, you publish)

This costs nothing and works with any HTML page. The client edits a copy in the free editor and sends it back; you decide what goes live.

1. 1

   Send the client the page

   Email them the HTML file of the page they want to change, for example index.html.

2. 2

   They open it in the free editor

   They go to the free editor, click Choose HTML file and click whatever they want to change: text becomes editable in place, and photos get a Replace photo… button.

3. 3

   They export and send it back

   Export HTML downloads an edited copy (named like index-edited.html), which they email back to you.

4. 4

   You check it and upload it

   Open the file in your browser, check the changes, rename it to the original name and upload it to the client’s hosting.

Option 2: a locked-down edit link

This is what we built ProofCloud for developers to do, so read this section with that in mind. The client edits the same click-on-the-page way, but only the parts you unlocked respond.

1. 1

   Upload the page and mark what’s editable

   Add the client’s HTML page to your dashboard and click the texts, photos and links they may change. For each one you can set limits, such as a maximum number of characters or whether formatting and line breaks are allowed. Everything else stays locked.

2. 2

   Send the edit link

   The client gets a link that shows your studio’s name and color, not ours. They confirm their email address with a code, so there’s no password to set up or forget.

3. 3

   They edit and publish

   They click what they want to change and hit Publish changes. The edits are checked against your limits again on the server, so nothing outside them gets through.

4. 4

   You put it live

   Your dashboard flags every site with new edits and shows what changed. Download the updated HTML and upload it to the client’s hosting. The site itself stays on their hosting as plain HTML, so it keeps working whatever happens to ProofCloud.

It’s a paid monthly subscription; the pricing page has the current plans. Many designers fold the cost into their monthly maintenance fee. The downsides: it’s an ongoing cost, each site is a single HTML page, and you still do the final upload.

Option 3: a git-based or headless CMS

Tools such as Decap CMS connect to the site’s code repository and give the client a form-based editor; saving a change rebuilds and publishes the site automatically. That’s powerful for sites with many pages or content that changes weekly. The catch is setup: the site usually has to be turned into templates with a build step, which is a project in itself for a small brochure site.

Which one fits?

• The client edits a few times a year and you don’t mind publishing: option 1.
• You look after several client sites and want clients unable to break the design: option 2.
• Many pages, frequent updates or a blog: option 3, or a full CMS like WordPress.

Tips, whichever you choose

• Agree upfront, in writing, what the client may change and what still goes through you.
• Keep a copy of every version you put live, so you can roll back.
• Give headlines a sensible length limit. A sentence-long headline is the most common way a tidy layout falls apart.