Los Gatos, CA based Typeroom is developing a web based content management system that enables on the fly editing of existing sites.
The idea is simple. Typeroom users specify the URL of the page they wish to edit. Typeroom then creates a copy of that page on their servers for editing. The editing itself is WYSIWIG based and covers areas such a text editing and image placement. Once a user is finished making their edits they can download the edited page directly to their computer, or (presuming its their site) update it via ftp directly from Typeroom itself.
There are a number of companies operating in this space, but most are focused on creating websites from scratch, and sometimes don’t support existing websites, at least not from typing in the URL of the page and allow users to edit the page then and there.
Typeroom went into closed beta testing this week and is aiming for a full launch later in the year. It’s a good idea that in use works well (I tested it), and may find a willing audience when it eventually launches. Sure, many reading this might prefer to install their own CMS or edit pages via html, but for those not wanting that level of interactivity, Typeroom provides a web based alternative to desktop design packages that even those not design literate could use.
Demo video as follows: