I was after alternatives to twitter feeds to include on a website, where the client was able to update a few lines of text about current news and events, which they could do without direct access to the site code. It’s just a basic html site and did not want to have to change over the type of site so was after something that could just be dropped in. Ideally i would like css control over how the text looks, which again was great with twitter in the past. There does seem to be a few options about, but am a bit lost in terms of what is going to be easiest for the client and gives you a good level of styling code.
You need some kind of basic CMS—but one that can be tacked on to the existing site. A nice option for this is a CMS like Perch. (It can do a lot more than what you described, but still, is perfect for something like this.)
I often use the free version of CushyCMS (www.cushycms.com) to add small areas where the client can make updates themselves without wrecking the entire site. It can easily be added to existing sites, it’s not complicated and it doesn’t need a database…CushyCMS has been operating for years, so it is tried and tested.
There’s also a paid-for version with additional features, but the free version (no expiry date) is fine for most simple purposes.
There are many ‘simple’ CMSs like this - you just have to search through a bunch of them and find the one that best fits your needs.