CODEWITHSUNDEEP
phpwordpresscontent-management-system
Kamal
Kamal

Reputation: 5522

Modifying wordpress to create a customized CMS

I am working on moving a normal HTML website to Wordpress for a client. It's a simple website with a lots of images and HTML text. The idea is that client should be able to modify contents of website through the simple CMS without actually looking into code.

While doing analysis I came across some roadblocks like

Problem: If I want to modify text/ image for Header or footer in wordpress, I will need to do it in PHP code. Solution: Create a customized header/ footer update tab. Modify database to store these contents and modify PHP code to directly read the data from database.

Problem: Wordpress provides a set of widgets (blogrolls catergories etc.), I need more like Latest News. Solution: Modify PHP code and datbase, basically create your own widget.

Problem: There are a lot of static HTML pages which are linked from one page to another. Solution: I don't see any way in wordpress to create static HTML pages which among which we can create links from one to another. Solution: Create a new interface where user can create HTML pages/ plain text content. This will return a link which can be used to provide hyperlinks in another page.

My query is: Are the solutions mentioned above correct? The problems mentioned look very common, so is there a tried and tested way to solve?

Edit: User (Client) want to use wordpress. Just wanted to make sure here that Solutions I am thinking about are correct. So would like to have suggestion from someone who has already worked on Wordpress and solved the problems like I have mentioned. Do not want to reinvent the wheel.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2321

Answers (3)

Thomas Guillory
Thomas Guillory

Reputation: 5729

I've worked a lot on a Wordpress-base white-label CMS, so I think I can help you in some ways.

First of all : always remember the real power of Wordpress is its community and its plugins base (that you can access directly from wordpress admin)

Problem: If I want to modify text/ image for Header or footer in wordpress, I will need to do it in PHP code. Solution: Create a customized header/ footer update tab. Modify database to store these contents and modify PHP code to directly read the data from database.

If you want to have a fully customisable appearance, I suggest you to start from a theme like Consctructor. This is a theme with a whole admin panel for simple appearance editing. The code is far from perfect but this is a good start.

If you just want to manage the content of header / footer, you can do it via Menus / Widgets / Links, but only if your theme is designed for that. For example, a lot of good theme allow you to add widgets in footer, then you can construct your footer with only a few drag-n-drop in the Appearance/Widget menu. For header image, the default theme (Twenty-Twelve) provide an header panel where you can upload a new image.

Problem: Wordpress provides a set of widgets (blogrolls catergories etc.), I need more like Latest News. Solution: Modify PHP code and datbase, basically create your own widget.

Yes you can create your own widgets for specific needs, but I suggest you always start from an existing one. There is a lot of plugins providing you dozens of widgets. Explore that before reinventing the wheel.

For your specific case, a 1s google-search returns me this plugin.

Problem: There are a lot of static HTML pages which are linked from one page to another. Solution: I don't see any way in wordpress to create static HTML pages which among which we can create links from one to another. Solution: Create a new interface where user can create HTML pages/ plain text content. This will return a link which can be used to provide hyperlinks in another page.

No, use the pages. Wordpress Pages are static content and this is editable, and for each page ou have a permalink. If Pages aren't good for your job, you can consider creating a custom type (or install a plugin that create a custom type).

Upvotes: 3

Joseph
Joseph

Reputation: 119827

Reinventing the wheel sometimes is good, possibly even good for you (Given patience and time). Nothing is prepackaged to do everything for you, hence these are times when you need a custom build.

Anyways, CMSes don't come as a multipurpose, all-in-one package that solves your programming woes and turns everything into a point-and-click solution. Every CMS is unique, designed to serve a specific purpose. Others general purpose, others for blogs, others for very simple sites.

If you don't find anything native that fits your needs, find the right plugin for the job. If you cannot find anything at all, then might as well build a custom solution, or build on top of an existing resource. Innovate

Upvotes: 1

Christian
Christian

Reputation: 28125

  1. Wordpress themes can be made to accept images and stuff like that.
  2. The are ample wordpress widgets to do just that. Just be sure to find the right one.
  3. I don't understand this one. You can create any amount of wordpress pages, and to link between them is easy. If you want your files to end in .html, simply enable permalinks and specify that option. It's very easy.

Upvotes: 2

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