3. Content and settings stored in a
database
Web pages are generated by
scripts from information in the
database when requested by the
client; they’re not stored as
individual files
Edit content, menus, navigation,
etc. on the web
Content Management
System
4. Enter information once, but
display it in different ways on
different pages
Create an event
Have that event show up with other
events on different pages, in
different lists, grids, or calendars,
based on date, or category
What this means
5. What this means… cont.
Content is separate from
presentation
style is consistent across site and
can be changed
Permissions system
different users can have permission
to do different actions on the site
6. What are your options?
Many Content Management
Systems (CMS) are available:
Drupal
Joomla
WordPress
Expression Engine
WebGUI
Plone
7. Drupal Showcase
Examples:
http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com
○ Showcase: Company brochure, artist profiles.
Note innovative content reuse (see Artists page)
http://www.fastcompany.com/
○ Interaction and Community: Visitors can submit
stories, comment, rate stories.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
○ Theming and taxonomy-based browsing
http://materia.kerobia.com/en
○ Internationalization
http://drupal.org/cases
8. Advantages of Drupal
Free, open-source software
(FOSS)
Huge community of users &
developers
Flexible architecture
Based on standards & best
practices
11. Module
Add-on code that hooks into
Drupal to add functionality
Core: comes with Drupal
Contributed: download and install
separately
Custom: written specifically for your
site)
Examples: Forum, Blog, Web
Form
12. Themes
Set of PHP files, CSS files,
and images that defines the
layout and styles for your site
Like a “skin” for an application
Can be core, contributed, or
custom
13. User / Role
User: anyone who visits your
site
Non-logged-in users are called
“Anonymous” in Drupal
Users can have accounts
Can be assigned to roles that you can
define
Permissions to view or edit content are
generally assigned by role
14. Path
Part of the URL of your site that
follows the base URL for your
site.
http://example.com/node/add/page
PathBase URL
15. Node
A piece of content on your site
Nodes can be displayed on
their own page, as part of
another page - or both
but usually, 1 node = 1 post
16. Nodes cont…
A node has at a minimum:
Title
Body
A unique ID number
Some meta-data - creation time, last
updated, author, etc.
17. Content Types
Each node has a content type
Eg: “Page”, “Article”, “Press release”,
“Event”, “Member profile”
Content types can be given
additional custom fields besides
Title and Body
Eg: location, event date, banner
image, etc.
18. Block
Basically, boxes of stuff
Text, links, images, generated lists, or
even nodes.
Can be placed into pre-defined
regions of your site’s theme
(header, sidebar, footer, etc.)
Can be configured to display on
one or more pages, based on
path or role.
20. Menu
List of links to pages on your
site, generally used for
navigation in headers,
sidebars, footers
Drupal has several default
menus:
Primary, Secondary, Navigation
21. Taxonomy
Categories, tags, or other
classifications that can be
applied to nodes (content) on
your site
Tags like on flickr, in a
glossary/index, or a dewey
decimal system
22. Weight
Number that defines the order
of a list, such as of menu
items.
Larger numbers “sink” to the
bottom of the list.
Lighter, or negative numbers,
“rise” to the top.
Notas del editor
You don’t have to pay for a software license
You can modify the software
Many people testing it, finding security issues, etc.
Many modules freely available from developers
Many people donating their time to writing documentation, helping new users, etc.
You can create your own modules for custom features
You can create your own themes for custom design
Core software is PHP/MySQL, giving many hosting options
Output uses XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, so compatible with most browsers
May not be the best alternative for simple or single-functionality sites
Takes some time to learn
Takes some time to set up
Free support options may or may not be responsive (but you can pay for support)
Features you need may or may not be available
Your feature requests and bug reports may or may not be acted upon
Can be applied to an existing configuration, to change how it looks but not how it functions, or can be customized somewhat to change how and where things appear depending on the theme you use.
So, for example, users with accounts can view or post comments, but only users in the “manager” role can upload attachments.