I’ve been experimenting with Surreal and PageLime CMS. Most of these ‘little’ CMS don’t use databases. They ‘inject’ the content straight into the pages HTML.
Problem is, when I edit my FW file (change the layout) and re-upload to the server all the content added by the CMS is over written and lost.
Is there a FW work around, that enables me to continue to use FW to make layout changes while keeping the content? Otherwise I’m getting into the real of hand coding.
(This doesn’t happen with WebYep because the content is stored in a database which FW doesn’t over-write.)
I haven’t used Surreal or PageLime but I know that using Pulse this does not happen. The include code (an example:<?php include("cmsfolder/data/blocks/Contact-and-Links.html"); ?>) once added via the crowbar action will remain even if you change the FW page layout and uploaded from FW. I suspect your cms examples are similar.
If however you have added separately from FW in a text editor (taco, textwrangler, etc…) then yes it will get over written if uploaded from FW or another ftp. Though a way around is to publish the FW page and cut n paste back into the newly generated FW page.
Pulse and WebYep use a database keeping the content separate from the layout. FW doesn’t over write the database only the html file. So there isn’t this problem with Pulse and WebYep.
But, my client wants to be able to create new pages themselves using a CMS. I’ve looked at the Pulse website and it appears that it can’t create new pages?
I am assuming you mean clean url’s then no webyep creates instances of pages. I haven’t ever tied to use the htaccess file on a server to rewrite the urls, in fact I am not sure if its possible on a flat file database system (I am not sure if that evenif that has a bearing) but maybe some one else with more knowledge on servers could chip in.
my client wants to be able to create new pages themselves using a CMS
There is always a fine line that you dont want your client to cross and unless you are very sure that he isn’t going to turn your hard work into mince I would discourage this.
Personally I would offer my services at a reduced rate - purely for the page creation (how long is that going to take you) rather than watch him make a hash of it and cause you lots of extra work to put it right.
Besides, if he can do it all himself he doesn’t need you any more!
ps I haven’t actually uploaded an htaccess file to the above address so the rewrites wont work but if I get a chance I will try it out
kind regards max
So WebYep Menu Action creates “real” html pages, from which it might be possible to change their URLs?
I thought the WY Menu Action created “virtual” pages?
I’m afraid this is getting well out of my comfort zone. I think I’ll stick with WebYep and tell the client they have to come back to me to create new pages.
Thanks for your help, please don’t spend any more time on it for me!
Most CMS’s create as you put it virtual pages, piecing together database content and a template or bits of templates combined. They are addressed in the URL bar as what looks like “real pages”. CMS’s like Wordpress and say Perch use a .htaccess file to tidy the URL’s to make them more SEO friendly. But in their plain (un mod-rewrite) state would look not too dissimilar to WebYep URL’s.
I think WebYep is going to struggle giving you a fuller SEO URL especially on the WebYep Menu (the function that creates extra pages) having only “index.php?DOC_INST=2” to work with short of you manually creating re-writes for each page instance each time the client creates a page.
Having said that, Search engines still easily find your content with WebYep URL’s The page “content” is the most important factor. Try this search for WebYep Content
David Owen { Freeway Friendly Web hosting and Domains }
On 10 Jul 2013, at 10:27, “Mark” email@hidden wrote:
Hi Max
So WebYep Menu Action creates “real” html pages, from which it might be possible to change their URLs?
I thought the WY Menu Action created “virtual” pages?
I’m afraid this is getting well out of my comfort zone. I think I’ll stick with WebYep and tell the client they have to come back to me to create new pages.
Thanks for your help, please don’t spend any more time on it for me!
Hi david
You are quite correct in that you would need to manually create the rewrites and thats were something like Htaccess Rewrite Generator - Rewriterule .htaccess Redirect tool may be handy because you could just make the ideal url up. It’s not automatic but it could be done. I cant think of any other way of doing it.
As for search engines not liking unclean url then it isn’t as big a problem as its made out to be when compared to sites with poor construction or website content that never changes etc.
As for search engines not liking unclean url then it isn’t as big a problem as its made out to be when compared to sites with poor construction or website content that never changes etc.
This is where a simple CMS that doesn’t have pretty URLs baked in will fall straight over. mod_rewrite can’t alter the links in the HTML as the page is served, it can only respond to links that are synthetic and redirect to the actual URL without cluing the user in to the translation.
The key here is to have the CMS actually assign the human-friendly “slug” name in the first place. This would be a huge upgrade for WebYep, at the expense of added complexity and the requirement that there be a “slug” form field somewhere in the new page form. There would also need to be a way to deal with conflicts, either by doing the “Freeway thing” of adding letters and numbers to the end, or by throwing an error and forcing the user to rename it.
As for search engines not liking unclean url then it isn’t as big a problem as its made out to be when compared to sites with poor construction or website content that never changes etc.
Hi David… of course I forgot about the internal links and yes Walter I wouldn’t have thought this is really feasible for OBDev to implement.
all the best max