Webmaster Client Management Tool

Posted on May 15, 2007
Filed Under Portfolio |

Web Designers, Hosting, and Webmaster Client Tool

Man I despise losing things or forgetting what DVD I do an archive to when I backup my system. I’ve always wanted to have the resources at my finger tips to manage projects, clients and modified code elements all wrapped up into one convenient application. The problem has been that no such application worked exactly as I want it to. So I created a fast and dirty one using MS Access which is going to get some professional treatment and you are more than welcome to a copy of it.

It solves problems for WordPress, Joomla, vBulletin and other application administrators woes.

Before you say, big stinking deal how stupid is that, learn what it was created to solve.

Now there are cool tools available for storing code inventory as I recently spent $50 to buy a product called CodeWarehouse2007 which is well worth it. I purchased it based on the simple feature fact that I can save code snippets along with files to either a remote MySQL database on one of my servers or a local MS Access database is as convenient as a program can be. Other CodeWarehouse2007 owners I work with can use their application to share in my online code snippet database and most important for me, accept code contributions from the php and coding experts I work with. This is great to store files and snippets specific to projects but does very little of keeping track and printing lists I so often need.

So I decided to create a way to manage client details, server admin details, passwords, url’s, email accounts I setup, standard checklist verification I do on all projects, and ways to keep it all together. I can’t count how many times I’ve gotten a “Security Notice” from WordPress or Joomla for instance suggesting immediate updates, only to have to go through volumes of hand written logs to find out which clients I installed WordPress for and then figure out what version I installed and then further figure out what plugins I installed. Mother! Its a task! Well I’m no glutton for punishment. I sort of solved it and if I get an answer to my post in the UtterAccess forums any time soon I’ll wrap it up for a freebie give away.

Let me give you a summary of this MS Access 2000 DB. It stores client details, server details, all server related admin details, emails I’ve setup, my routine checklist and steps I follow on most projects and….;

  • I can track versions of plugins, modules, addons and components with links to developers sites and I save any particular forum posts in text format for configuration, trouble shooting and outright administration so I don’t have to go a lookin
  • I can quickly print a report of all clients I’ve installed a particular version of say Joomla for instance and also print a list of the third party and CUSTOM components I’ve installed.
  • I will have the ability to save config and proprietary modified files on a per client bases. Read WHY below.
  • I can keep track of what core files and or custom application files are edited, by whom and for what purpose. A life saver, read below.
  • Keeping track of project notes. Now normally I Just put a text file in every client folder on my system that I keep track of emails, quick notes, requests from clients and so on. This sucks when the project is archived and zipped up for storage.
  • Keep track of FILE AND ARCHIVE LOCATIONS. Do I ever get annoyed when I do archives to DVD forgetting which DVD number has which clients files. Well I added a field so I can go in and add the DVD ID number to for the storage and archiving and the date of the archive.

Now as mentioned in the above list, saving modified files and configuration files can be important. It happens all to often that I’ll alter or modify the code in an application for someone only to get a panic filled email that after they updated their software the site is broke. Why? they over wrote all of my edits. So I’ve started saving all modified files in a special folder in each client directory but NOW I will be able to add those files to a ZIP and save them in this Database once I figure out how. UtterAccess to the rescue again.

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