Developer will develop and maintainClient’s site via a dedicated Content Management System (CMS) known asDrupal. Drupal is open-source software governed by free licensingagreement. Web development work done by Developer on Client’s behalfwill mostly consist of customizing elements of the Drupal system to fitClient’s needs. Sundays Energy Green Energy Web Hosting is REQUIRED forall Drupal-based packaged services.

“Open source software is computer software whose source code is available under a license (or arrangement such as the public domain) that permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form. It is often developed in a public, collaborative manner.” - Wikipedia, 2007

Content Management System (CMS)
The Drupal software system, which Sundays Energy uses for all websites,is the most powerful open-source CMS available today, capable ofdriving complex as well as simple websites. Whereas a proprietary(privately developed) CMS comes “ready out of the box”, the Drupalsystem must be configured to meet the needs of the client, a relativelysimple operation that usually does not even approach the purchase costof a private CMS (Proprietary CMS also require configurationpost-purchase).

Access to Wide Range of Functionality:
Another important benefit of working with open-source tools is thatparticipants may access thousands of programs and sub-programs. Aclient organization, which invests in an open-source solution isessentially working to facilitate the development of these publiclyavailable tools. This access to thousands of professional programmerswho create the tools affords unparalleled flexibility.

What this means for an organization with a Drupal website is that asthe needs associated with the online presence grow and change, they areequipped with astounding flexibility. The Drupal platform is the mostversatile of the open-source CMS options available, with thousands of“modules” available to do just about anything.

Service-based Approach:
Another implication of the Drupal system is that a client pays for aservice, rather than a product. Instead of spending $2000 (or even$10,000 or more) on a license for a CMS software package, the clientelects to pay an expert developer to facilitate the use of the system,to work out the kinks of configuration of the technology, to do thetweaking and modification necessary to meet the exact demands of theorganization, and to provide a beautiful, original and functionaldesign which allows users to reap maximum value from their experience.

Configuration and Community of Developers
Both open-source and proprietary software require support andconfiguration, but the lessons learned in the configuration of theopen-source system become public knowledge, immediately integrated intothe software development process. For example, Sundays Energy, whiledeveloping a Drupal e-commerce site for a client, assists in developingthe free Ubercart software “module” for e-commerce: giving feedback tothe project developers, testing versions, and generally improvingfunctionality. Sundays Energy is able to leverage the power of acommunity of developers to meet the clients’ current needs in anextremely affordable manner. Likewise, the software itself improvesthough Sundays Energy’s efforts.

An 8% surcharge will be applied to any package price when we work on a client server.