|
This CMS is proprietary and original, unlike dozens of popular Open Source applications which are often hacked en masse. This CMS has a modular design, from the standpoint that PHP programming "include files" are easily plugged in to any page. This database driven CMS is capable of handling a nearly unlimited number of pages of content, organized by Section. No eCommerce functionality is available, other than basic PayPal buttons and user registration.
This CMS comes with a built-in user registration and log-in process which makes use of variable user levels (0-9). Automated password reset is built in. Automated recovery of user name is built in. At the time of user registration, entry of a pre-determined registration code can be used to apply a User Level greater than zero. Users can be banned by the administrator by changing a user's Status to Inactive. Registrants must create a User Name (reliance on widely known email addresses as half the log-in requirement is far less secure than forcing the creation of a distinct User Name). Copies of new user registrations are immediately emailed to the website administrator. Whenever users change their personal profile or password, a confirmation email is sent to them.
Page properties include "public" versus "must log in" which prevents search engine robots from accessing content intended only for registered users.
Unlimited photo gallery pages are possible, using FancyBox. Uploaded images are re-sampled and compressed during their individual upload. Thumbnails are automatically created. Images are generally re-sized downward to about 1000 pixels in width at the time of upload (width configurable). For flawless operation, this requires all images have the same 4:3 aspect ratio (e.g. 800x600, 1200x900, 3200x2400, etc.). Uploaded images are associated with page id number and user id number at time of upload.
Site owners can use FCK (a WYSIWYG editor) to change page content. A second interface exists for use by those who are HTML literate. Changes made to website content will instantly apply to the selected page (re-load the page in your browser to see the changes).
Content for this page was entered as plain text (no HTML markup was used). When page content is displayed, if no HTML markup is found, the natural linefeed / carriage return found in the plain text is automatically converted to HTML break tags.
Each page can potentially have different graphic headers, or other attributes.
The "Contact Us" page has anti-spam properties which catch and discard most spam (without the need to use obtuse Captcha images). Validation of user input is critical for web based data entry forms.
A Cron Job is employed to automatically back up the database each night AND create a fresh copy of the Google Site Map. Each page of content can be easily adjusted in terms of Google Site Map Priority and Change Frequency.
Individual pages can be flagged as Hidden/Inactive in order to suppress their public display. Pages can also be flagged for SSL certificates (https:// instead of http:// connections). Related flags which can be set include User Level (disclose certain links only to logged-in users possessing a User Level of 3 or higher).
Up to three columns of content can be configured on a per page basis. The left column is often used for Section navigation, the center column for the main page content, and occasionally a third column is used to deliver links to related information.
Additional database fields exist for META tags (keywords, description, and title), special style sheets or header scripts required by only one page, alternate header graphics, etc.
This CMS is highly configurable and written almost entirely using procedural PHP code (as opposed to the more difficult and time consuming Object Oriented methods). While parts of this CMS are quite intense in programming terms, anyone with a reasonable amount of experience with PHP programming could determine where and how to make alterations to this content management system.
Each change made to every database record is recorded. If content is inadvertently mangled or deleted, prior entries can usually be manually retrieved from the "change log" table.
In addition to daily, automated creation of a Google Site Map, a manual interface also exists to create the site map and to view related HTML code used for SEO purposes.
Site navigation is dynamically created when a page is requested, thus new pages are automatically added to Section navigation links appearing beside the content. Header navigation can optionally be done using less SEO friendly Javascript drop down navigation (which robots can't process).
By default, when viewing one page in a specific website section, links to other pages within that section are displayed in the page footer. This is done primarily for the benefit of search engine robots, however many users find this to be a convenient way to navigate to related pages. These links are also dynamic (created based on current database contents) and automatically reflect new pages which may have been added to that section.
Usage of left navigation links within various sections of the website is highly useful in terms of SEO value. This ensures relevant key words appear repeatedly in page content.
A basic News or Press Release database is built into this CMS, affording site owners the opportunity to quickly post brief, relevant News flashes for their customers. The most recently entered article will automatically display atop the list of news headlines. News article display will paginate, usually after 10 headlines, with links to Next / Previous pages automatically generated when needed. News articles can be entered using either plain text, or using the FCK Editor.
Awstats, a website control panel utility, provides site owners with detailed statistics. Optionally, individual page ID numbers can be logged for the purpose of determining the relative popularity of individual pages. Page requests made by logged-in users can be logged, if necessary.
Two error logging mechanisms exist, which the webmaster might review occasionally to ensure that everything is working as planned. PHP programming errors are logged instead of being publicly displayed on the website.
Error 404 pages will be configured after the website is up and running. The Error 404 page will use an included .SHTML file which was created last night, reflecting the current Site Map, plus a Google search box.
In the event the MySQL database is down (which is rare, but does occur from time to time) the user will be redirected to an error page instructing them to try again after a few minutes.
Linux cPanel hosting is required:
http://secure.hostgator.com/~affiliat/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=denver27
|
