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CMS Made Simple is a complete content management system that provides new and unique features and are widely available on other systems. In this occasion I will give a brief introduction of CMS Made Simple that includes installation instructions, overview of features of CMS Made Simple interest, as well as tutorials on how to create custom templates in CMS Made Simple and to create a page from the template.
CMS Made Simple has some interesting features which include:
* Creation of user accounts that can perform the selected task based on the license.
* Simple integration into existing website design / template, with the ability to set the template of each page will be used.
* A modular structure along with a growing community that offers an additional module.
* Actual Coding done at the server end, for example, to add content, you'll put the tag '{content}' and the creation of content that is written on the page automatically put there.
This may seem like a lot, but it only tips the ice burg. There are many reasons to make CMS Made Simple to be one of the best choices when it comes to content management systems.
We must first install CMS Made Simple, you may need to download the latest version which can be found on the download page. For security reasons it is recommended that you download the latest stable release.
To install and manage CMS Made Simple you will need to have the following:
* Basic HTML and CSS knowledge.
* A server with MySQL and PHP.
* Knowing the basics of the MySQL database management (creation, backup, etc.).
Below is a basic guide to installing my CMS Made Simple, CMS Made Simple to install your web server will need PHP and MySQL that have been activated. Sendmail, although this is optional functionality is not needed (if you use a free hosting solution) Step One: Using an online file manager, CMS Made Simple upload folder to the root of your website (unless you want to create a sub-site, then use the folder ('blog' for example) Unzip the contents and make sure your file inside the installation folder ( not 'yoursite.com / install / cms /'). If you upload using FTP, you will need to unzip the folder on your computer and upload files to each individual.
Step Two: Point your web browser where your files are on your site (ie. yoursite.com / blog / or just yoursite.com /). You will see the install page asking you to select a language. Select the appropriate language you wish to use for the installation package (language sites are setup later).
Step Three: CMS Made Simple can now check the server and file for the appropriate permissions. Most likely all will be accepted unless the file 'config.php'. Using a file manager or FTP, create a file and name it config.php (leave blank). Hit Retry and you should be able to continue (if not the settings on the server can stop you, if you're not sure how to fix at the end you decide to contact your administrator).
Step Four: A screen will appear that checks for correct file access rights, again, all should go well so just click continue. Now you will need to enter details for the admin account. Fill out and move on. Depending on if your server allows sending email (PHP function that can send e-mail), you can be emailed your account details, via email that you entered.
Step Five: You will now need to create a database table and a user with permissions. You can use the 'phpmyadmin' or (if available) tool on your web hosting control panel. Now enter the details into the box and continue. This all must be installed correctly and print what it is (blah, blah), press and hold.
Installation is now complete you can visit your new CMS Made Simple site or installing additional add ons.
We will now go to the important administrative features. Log in your admin account on the 'admin / login.php'. You should now see the error tells you the installation directory is still there, for security reasons we have to remove it. Using a file manager or FTP, navigate to the root directory of your CMS Made Simple and clear the 'install' folder and fill it.
You also may get an error to do with sendmail enabled, because it is not really necessary we will not go beyond that at this point. Below is a screenshot of the menu you should look at the main administration page of CMS Made Simple. I'll explain each category and sub category briefly and then will give examples of the more important features.
Content
Page: This is where you manage the different pages. You choose a template and enter information into the required fields. Default only requires you to insert some content (which goes where specified by the template) along with the title page. You can also make other required fields and set up where they are displayed.
Image Manager: This just shows the default pictures folder in which you can adjust the picture (including the upload when creating a news post).
Global Content Block: Similar to user-defined tag even though there is more flexibility here because you can combine the function returns and tags the user defined here.
File Manager: You can use this to upload files, along with changing the name and change their access rights.
News: This is where you add and edit news for display on the front page of your website. This module is highly customizable and allows you to edit how and what you look like a news posting. You can also use the module to the news article based system as a page can be set to display only certain categories.
Printer Friendly page: the default setting / style to the page when the user clicks to print them. Basically this will remove all style and just give plain text printing.
Arrangement
Template: This is where you put your actual page code. Remember to take all the values and insert the necessary code, eg '{sitename}' will insert the name of your site when the page generated. You will also need to specify stylesheets to each template.
Stylesheet: Here you can generate a different stylesheet, they are actually stored in one file and when the page is loaded, the server will automatically insert the code assigned to the stylesheet page.
Menu Manager: Basically you can use this to setup menus that are automatically inserted into a page on the server end.
Theme Manager: This is only a tool that allows you to export your page template (along with their assigned CSS) to the file, this is a good way to share themes and support them as well.
Users & Groups
Users: List of users currently setup to CMS Made Simple.
Group: Each group has different permissions so that it can perform different tasks. You may have an admin, designer or editor (which is the default group).
Task group: Set your permission for each specific group.
Licensing Group: Set permissions for each group. For instance, an admin has access to all items, the editor can create and edit news items (etc) and a designer is able to modify the templates and stylesheets.
Extensions
Module: This module is the core of CMS Made Simple and the coding for all things neat CMS Made Simple can do for you. You can download more or make your own.
Tags: this is a function that returns a result and can be incorporated into any page. One example of this is the function that returns the last user to modify the page, heading or item.
Event: The event can be better described as a set of functions that your CMS blurred.
User Defined tags: Used to enter text into a specific page. You setup the tag and give the code or text, and when called on the page that the code or text inserted server side.
CMSMailer: Used for sending mail management and setup, using the mail function to send.
Module Manager: Look for additional modules or add ons that can be added
Search: Options for CMS Made Simple built in search engines.
TinyMCE: Setting text editor built into the administration panel.
Site Admin
Global Settings: Global Settings for the CMS Made Simple site, you can specify the page name and things like global data Meta.
Default Page: The default for all pages in your website, which includes the Meta data.
System Information: Information about the system you operate on, includes information CMS and PHP / MySQL, and is useful for trouble shooting errors.
Verification System: Allows you to check the files that are recorded.
Admin Login: Log every action that administrators do.
My Preferences
My Account: Change your account information, such as password or email address.
User Preferences: Preferences to use administration control panel.
Manage Shortcuts: Allows you to set the shortcuts that appear on the widget to the right of your screen.
Now that you have installed CMS Made Simple and have a basic idea of the different features available time to get right into it and try some of these features. First we will setup a new page template for our web site along with the stylesheet itself. For this example I will draw a simple design of the Web Directory Open Source, I have chosen a template Five Zilla because it has no pictures and is a good example to implement.
OK go to Layout> Templates and then click on the Plus Sign to create a new template. You now need to remove the default text is inserted into it and enter a code from your html code on your own site. Now what you need to do is to remove all templates from the default value of text (eg text), references the stylesheet and the page title even etc.
Using the source code below and help page (top right corner just below the power button on logout), you would enter the basic tags that the CMS system will build a page with. I only use the basics and I left the default menu in there for now.
<strong> process_pagedata {} </ strong> <br> <DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "- / / W3C / / DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional / / EN"! "Http://www.w3.org/TR/ xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <br> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <br> <head> <br> {sitename} <strong> </ strong> - <strong> {title} </ strong> <strong> <br>} {metadata </ strong> <br> <strong> {stylesheet} < / strong> <br> </ head> <div id="container"> <br> <body> <br> <div id = "header"> <br> <h1> <strong> {sitename} </ strong > </ h1> <br> <h2> <strong> {title} </ strong> </ h2> <div id = <br> "horiznav"> <a href="#"> Home </ a> < a href ="#"> Another Page </ a> </ div> <br> </ div> <div id = <br> "vertinav"> <br> <span class="vertinavheader"> navigation </ span > <br> <ul> <a href="#"> Home </ a> </ li> <a href="#"> Partners </ a> </ li> <a href ="#"> Service </ a> </ li> <a href="#"> Location </ a> </ li> <li> <a href="#"> Contact </ a> </ li > </ ul> </ p> </ div> <div <br> id = "isi"> <br> <h3> <strong> {title} </ strong> </ h3> <br> <strong> {content} </ strong> <br> </ div> <br> </ div> <br> </ body> <br> </ html> <br> <li> <strong> process_pagedata {} </ strong > -. Just tag to tell the PHP server to 'compile' page when prompted </ li> <strong> {sitename} </ strong> - The name of the site as listed in the regulation of global sites </ li> <strong> {title} </ p> -. The title of a particular page included here (you enter when you create a page from this template). </ Li> {metadata} <strong> </ strong> Contains Data Meta-placed globally and on any given page </ li>. <li> <;. strong> {stylesheet} </ strong> - Insert a link to the stylesheet / s associated with the design (Our next setup stylesheet) </ li> <strong> {content} </ strong>; -. Actual content of the page specified when creating the page </ li> </ ul>
Now save the page with an appropriate name and you are ready to proceed. This article will cover the basics when it comes to completing tasks like this, if you need any further help manual that can be found under help.
OK now we'll go to the tab stylesheet to create a stylesheet for our new template. Click to add CSS style sheets and enter for the template you are using (if you follow me, CSS examples shown below).
body {background-color: # CCC; "value"> impact, sans-serif;} a {color: # 000; text-decoration: none;} # container {width: 800px; height: auot; margin: 0 auto; } # header {width: 100%; height: 150px; background-color: # 069;} h1 {font-size: 50px; color: # CCC; margin: 15px 0 0 20px;} h2 {font-size: 26px; color: # 999; margin: 0 0 0 60px;} h3 {font-size: 22px; color: # 069; margin: 5px 0 0 5px;} p {font-size: 12px; color: # 000; align text: justify; "value"> Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0 10px;} # horiznav {float: right; margin-right: 30px;} # {horiznav a "value" effect,> sans-serif; text- decoration: none; color: # CCC; margin: 0 5px;} # horiznav a: hover {border-bottom: 3px solid # 999;} # horiznav a: active {color: # 999; border-bottom: 3px solid # CCC ;} # vertinav {background-color: # D7D7D7; width: 200px; height: 100%; float: left;} # vertinav ul {list-style: none; display: inline;} # vertinav li a {color: # 666 ; text-decoration: none; margin: 0 0 0 5px;} # vertinav li a: hover {color: # 069;} vertinavheader {font-size:. 22px; color: # 000; margin-left: 5px;} # vertinavcontent {margin-left: 5px; color: # 666; "value"> Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} # content {background-color: # E4E4E4 ; float: right; width: 600px;}
Now press save and give the stylesheet a name you can remember. Return to the page template and click on the blue speech bubble that has 'CSS' on it. Select the relevant CSS file and click Add to associate with your new template.
Now we have a new custom template is created, we will set to work on a new page. You will need to go to the content and then the page, here you will see a list of your current page (default is most likely four). Click Add new content, where you will buy into the area to create a new page.
Leave the type of content as it is and select the page title such as 'testing'. In the drop down box templates select the template that you just setup, and then under that creates the text you want displayed on the page. As a template I use is very basic no styled text to use other templates though most will cover this.
Now click submit and your page will have been created. You are now taken back to list page and if you click on the magnifying glass next to the page you just created a preview that will open! So far you have setup your own custom templates with CSS and then create a new page that uses that template.
CMS Made Simple has some interesting features which include:
* Creation of user accounts that can perform the selected task based on the license.
* Simple integration into existing website design / template, with the ability to set the template of each page will be used.
* A modular structure along with a growing community that offers an additional module.
* Actual Coding done at the server end, for example, to add content, you'll put the tag '{content}' and the creation of content that is written on the page automatically put there.
This may seem like a lot, but it only tips the ice burg. There are many reasons to make CMS Made Simple to be one of the best choices when it comes to content management systems.
We must first install CMS Made Simple, you may need to download the latest version which can be found on the download page. For security reasons it is recommended that you download the latest stable release.
To install and manage CMS Made Simple you will need to have the following:
* Basic HTML and CSS knowledge.
* A server with MySQL and PHP.
* Knowing the basics of the MySQL database management (creation, backup, etc.).
Below is a basic guide to installing my CMS Made Simple, CMS Made Simple to install your web server will need PHP and MySQL that have been activated. Sendmail, although this is optional functionality is not needed (if you use a free hosting solution) Step One: Using an online file manager, CMS Made Simple upload folder to the root of your website (unless you want to create a sub-site, then use the folder ('blog' for example) Unzip the contents and make sure your file inside the installation folder ( not 'yoursite.com / install / cms /'). If you upload using FTP, you will need to unzip the folder on your computer and upload files to each individual.
Step Two: Point your web browser where your files are on your site (ie. yoursite.com / blog / or just yoursite.com /). You will see the install page asking you to select a language. Select the appropriate language you wish to use for the installation package (language sites are setup later).
Step Three: CMS Made Simple can now check the server and file for the appropriate permissions. Most likely all will be accepted unless the file 'config.php'. Using a file manager or FTP, create a file and name it config.php (leave blank). Hit Retry and you should be able to continue (if not the settings on the server can stop you, if you're not sure how to fix at the end you decide to contact your administrator).
Step Four: A screen will appear that checks for correct file access rights, again, all should go well so just click continue. Now you will need to enter details for the admin account. Fill out and move on. Depending on if your server allows sending email (PHP function that can send e-mail), you can be emailed your account details, via email that you entered.
Step Five: You will now need to create a database table and a user with permissions. You can use the 'phpmyadmin' or (if available) tool on your web hosting control panel. Now enter the details into the box and continue. This all must be installed correctly and print what it is (blah, blah), press and hold.
Installation is now complete you can visit your new CMS Made Simple site or installing additional add ons.
We will now go to the important administrative features. Log in your admin account on the 'admin / login.php'. You should now see the error tells you the installation directory is still there, for security reasons we have to remove it. Using a file manager or FTP, navigate to the root directory of your CMS Made Simple and clear the 'install' folder and fill it.
You also may get an error to do with sendmail enabled, because it is not really necessary we will not go beyond that at this point. Below is a screenshot of the menu you should look at the main administration page of CMS Made Simple. I'll explain each category and sub category briefly and then will give examples of the more important features.
Content
Page: This is where you manage the different pages. You choose a template and enter information into the required fields. Default only requires you to insert some content (which goes where specified by the template) along with the title page. You can also make other required fields and set up where they are displayed.
Image Manager: This just shows the default pictures folder in which you can adjust the picture (including the upload when creating a news post).
Global Content Block: Similar to user-defined tag even though there is more flexibility here because you can combine the function returns and tags the user defined here.
File Manager: You can use this to upload files, along with changing the name and change their access rights.
News: This is where you add and edit news for display on the front page of your website. This module is highly customizable and allows you to edit how and what you look like a news posting. You can also use the module to the news article based system as a page can be set to display only certain categories.
Printer Friendly page: the default setting / style to the page when the user clicks to print them. Basically this will remove all style and just give plain text printing.
Arrangement
Template: This is where you put your actual page code. Remember to take all the values and insert the necessary code, eg '{sitename}' will insert the name of your site when the page generated. You will also need to specify stylesheets to each template.
Stylesheet: Here you can generate a different stylesheet, they are actually stored in one file and when the page is loaded, the server will automatically insert the code assigned to the stylesheet page.
Menu Manager: Basically you can use this to setup menus that are automatically inserted into a page on the server end.
Theme Manager: This is only a tool that allows you to export your page template (along with their assigned CSS) to the file, this is a good way to share themes and support them as well.
Users & Groups
Users: List of users currently setup to CMS Made Simple.
Group: Each group has different permissions so that it can perform different tasks. You may have an admin, designer or editor (which is the default group).
Task group: Set your permission for each specific group.
Licensing Group: Set permissions for each group. For instance, an admin has access to all items, the editor can create and edit news items (etc) and a designer is able to modify the templates and stylesheets.
Extensions
Module: This module is the core of CMS Made Simple and the coding for all things neat CMS Made Simple can do for you. You can download more or make your own.
Tags: this is a function that returns a result and can be incorporated into any page. One example of this is the function that returns the last user to modify the page, heading or item.
Event: The event can be better described as a set of functions that your CMS blurred.
User Defined tags: Used to enter text into a specific page. You setup the tag and give the code or text, and when called on the page that the code or text inserted server side.
CMSMailer: Used for sending mail management and setup, using the mail function to send.
Module Manager: Look for additional modules or add ons that can be added
Search: Options for CMS Made Simple built in search engines.
TinyMCE: Setting text editor built into the administration panel.
Site Admin
Global Settings: Global Settings for the CMS Made Simple site, you can specify the page name and things like global data Meta.
Default Page: The default for all pages in your website, which includes the Meta data.
System Information: Information about the system you operate on, includes information CMS and PHP / MySQL, and is useful for trouble shooting errors.
Verification System: Allows you to check the files that are recorded.
Admin Login: Log every action that administrators do.
My Preferences
My Account: Change your account information, such as password or email address.
User Preferences: Preferences to use administration control panel.
Manage Shortcuts: Allows you to set the shortcuts that appear on the widget to the right of your screen.
Now that you have installed CMS Made Simple and have a basic idea of the different features available time to get right into it and try some of these features. First we will setup a new page template for our web site along with the stylesheet itself. For this example I will draw a simple design of the Web Directory Open Source, I have chosen a template Five Zilla because it has no pictures and is a good example to implement.
OK go to Layout> Templates and then click on the Plus Sign to create a new template. You now need to remove the default text is inserted into it and enter a code from your html code on your own site. Now what you need to do is to remove all templates from the default value of text (eg text), references the stylesheet and the page title even etc.
Using the source code below and help page (top right corner just below the power button on logout), you would enter the basic tags that the CMS system will build a page with. I only use the basics and I left the default menu in there for now.
<strong> process_pagedata {} </ strong> <br> <DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "- / / W3C / / DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional / / EN"! "Http://www.w3.org/TR/ xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <br> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <br> <head> <br> {sitename} <strong> </ strong> - <strong> {title} </ strong> <strong> <br>} {metadata </ strong> <br> <strong> {stylesheet} < / strong> <br> </ head> <div id="container"> <br> <body> <br> <div id = "header"> <br> <h1> <strong> {sitename} </ strong > </ h1> <br> <h2> <strong> {title} </ strong> </ h2> <div id = <br> "horiznav"> <a href="#"> Home </ a> < a href ="#"> Another Page </ a> </ div> <br> </ div> <div id = <br> "vertinav"> <br> <span class="vertinavheader"> navigation </ span > <br> <ul> <a href="#"> Home </ a> </ li> <a href="#"> Partners </ a> </ li> <a href ="#"> Service </ a> </ li> <a href="#"> Location </ a> </ li> <li> <a href="#"> Contact </ a> </ li > </ ul> </ p> </ div> <div <br> id = "isi"> <br> <h3> <strong> {title} </ strong> </ h3> <br> <strong> {content} </ strong> <br> </ div> <br> </ div> <br> </ body> <br> </ html> <br> <li> <strong> process_pagedata {} </ strong > -. Just tag to tell the PHP server to 'compile' page when prompted </ li> <strong> {sitename} </ strong> - The name of the site as listed in the regulation of global sites </ li> <strong> {title} </ p> -. The title of a particular page included here (you enter when you create a page from this template). </ Li> {metadata} <strong> </ strong> Contains Data Meta-placed globally and on any given page </ li>. <li> <;. strong> {stylesheet} </ strong> - Insert a link to the stylesheet / s associated with the design (Our next setup stylesheet) </ li> <strong> {content} </ strong>; -. Actual content of the page specified when creating the page </ li> </ ul>
Now save the page with an appropriate name and you are ready to proceed. This article will cover the basics when it comes to completing tasks like this, if you need any further help manual that can be found under help.
OK now we'll go to the tab stylesheet to create a stylesheet for our new template. Click to add CSS style sheets and enter for the template you are using (if you follow me, CSS examples shown below).
body {background-color: # CCC; "value"> impact, sans-serif;} a {color: # 000; text-decoration: none;} # container {width: 800px; height: auot; margin: 0 auto; } # header {width: 100%; height: 150px; background-color: # 069;} h1 {font-size: 50px; color: # CCC; margin: 15px 0 0 20px;} h2 {font-size: 26px; color: # 999; margin: 0 0 0 60px;} h3 {font-size: 22px; color: # 069; margin: 5px 0 0 5px;} p {font-size: 12px; color: # 000; align text: justify; "value"> Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0 10px;} # horiznav {float: right; margin-right: 30px;} # {horiznav a "value" effect,> sans-serif; text- decoration: none; color: # CCC; margin: 0 5px;} # horiznav a: hover {border-bottom: 3px solid # 999;} # horiznav a: active {color: # 999; border-bottom: 3px solid # CCC ;} # vertinav {background-color: # D7D7D7; width: 200px; height: 100%; float: left;} # vertinav ul {list-style: none; display: inline;} # vertinav li a {color: # 666 ; text-decoration: none; margin: 0 0 0 5px;} # vertinav li a: hover {color: # 069;} vertinavheader {font-size:. 22px; color: # 000; margin-left: 5px;} # vertinavcontent {margin-left: 5px; color: # 666; "value"> Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} # content {background-color: # E4E4E4 ; float: right; width: 600px;}
Now press save and give the stylesheet a name you can remember. Return to the page template and click on the blue speech bubble that has 'CSS' on it. Select the relevant CSS file and click Add to associate with your new template.
Now we have a new custom template is created, we will set to work on a new page. You will need to go to the content and then the page, here you will see a list of your current page (default is most likely four). Click Add new content, where you will buy into the area to create a new page.
Leave the type of content as it is and select the page title such as 'testing'. In the drop down box templates select the template that you just setup, and then under that creates the text you want displayed on the page. As a template I use is very basic no styled text to use other templates though most will cover this.
Now click submit and your page will have been created. You are now taken back to list page and if you click on the magnifying glass next to the page you just created a preview that will open! So far you have setup your own custom templates with CSS and then create a new page that uses that template.
