NDPA Website Content Management System |
Basic Concepts
In a Content Management System, page content can be added, modified or deleted very easily. This content is merged into a template to create the webpages. No knowledge of web design is needed to add or edit the content. A number of users can be set up on the system, each with different levels of access.
Logging in
Click on the 'Admin' link in the menu on each page. Then enter your username and password. You will then be taken to the main menu of the site admin area. The options available will depend on your access level. For most tasks you will then click on the 'Content' link.
If you wish to add or edit news or an event click on the menu in the Admin area Content > News or Content > Calendar. Please note that there is no undo on this system once published. Although all items can be edited again later.
Adding Content
Click on Content > Pages > Add Content.
New pages automatically appear on the menu to the left of each page on the site.
You must enter a title, and text for the menu (usually the same as the title). You can then choose a template (usually NDPA Main CSS Menu Horiz 1 Col) and a parent page if this is a sub page.
In the large text box you can enter the content. A formatting toolbar is provided but other than moderate use of bold and italic the formatting should be left to the template. The title will appear automatically when the page is generated so you don't need to enter it again.
To create a link type in the text for the link, select it, then click on the toolbar-button with a globe and chainlink; enter the web address in the popup window.
To add an image, you need to have it ready on your computer, or already uploaded on the server. Click on the toolbar-button with a mountain landscape on a yellow background. If you haven't yet uploaded the image click on the 'upload' tab. Click on 'Browse' to find the file on your computer and click 'open', then click 'Send it to the server'. You can only send .gif or .jpg files. The image info will then be displayed. If it is already on the server, click on browse server and select the file. You should enter a brief description in the 'alternative text' box, then click 'Ok' to insert the picture.
If you want to save the page but postpone publication, click on the 'Options' tab near the top of the screen, then uncheck the 'Active' check box.
When ready, click on 'Submit'. The list of pages will then be displayed. You may want to change the order - click on the blue up/down arrowhead to do this.
Editing Content
Click on Content > Pages
The list of pages will be displayed. Click on the title of a page to edit it, and click on 'Submit' when done. See above section on Adding Content for information on adding links and images. You can right click on images and links to edit them.
On the page list, you can change the order in which the pages will appear in the menu, deactivate pages temporarily or reactiviate them by clicking on the green tick or red cross under 'Active', and delete them by clicking on the rubbish bin icon (use caution! - better to deactivate and leave to an administrator to delete)
Adding News
Click on Content > News
A list of existing articles is displayed. Click on 'Add Article' to add a new article, or click on the title of an existing article to edit it.
When adding an article you must supply a title, choose a category from the drop-down list, and add content. You are recomended to add a summary, which may be the first sentance or two of the content. This summary is shown on the home page and the news listing page. You should not have the same text repeated in the content box as it the summary appears first when the full article is displayed. You can use images, links, formatting etc. in your article - see instructions above in the Adding Content section.
When ready click on 'Submit'
Adding Events (Not Live)
Click on Content > Calendar
This works in a similar way to News, but you must also specify a date (and you may specify a time as well, but leave it as midnight for a special day rather than a specific event)
Further Guidance
You may wish to read the documentation for the CMS Made Simple system, though it is quite technical and is a 'work in progress'. It can be found at http://wiki.cmsmadesimple.org