The new website is now up and running. Local businesses have collaborated with the Urunga Mylestom Chamber of Commerce (UMCC) to bring the website into the 21st century with a sophisticated CMS (Content Management System) solution. CMS means that there is a 'front end' to the website the user sees, and a 'back end' accessed via the administration login where administrators can change the content on the site via their browser.
Totally Configurable!:The beauty of the system lies around the ease with which content on the system can be updated and managed. Administrators can log ino the back end and change details on any page, add new pages (articles), sections, catagories, components, modules or plugins.
- Articles - these are simply new pages that are created with a wysiwyg editor (what you see is what you get). It's like a box with buttons like MSWord that you can use to change font, color, background, create tables, insert text, images (jpg, png, gif, flash, video, sound), draw lines, boxes, shapes etc.
- Sections & Catagories - a section might be NEWS - categories are like LOCAL, LATEST, etc that relate to the section and can be set with dozens of 'permissions' ie LATEST might show only if they are written within the last two weeks, or they may be set to be visible to a particular user group, or the may be linked to a banner that flashes on the screen periodically.
- Components - Components are major additions to the generic install that add major functionality, such as a Business Directory, or a Gallery. There are nearly 4000 modules available for this software. Components come wth their own inbuilt editing windows, so that for instance the Gallery can be set up to use any directory you tell it to pick up images from, all you have to do is copy mages to that directory and they will appear in the Gallery at whatever size that's set. The gallery has many different ways it can display images (templates) that enable it to appear as a slide show, a carousel, rollover etc. The Business Directory module can be set to allow users to enter their own listings, with the user being charged for the listing (automatic invoicing and renewal reminder notices) or set to be free to list, or free for a short listing and a fee for a major page, or even charges for certain fields such as pay to show your external website and extended details. With all modules the look, color, and theme of the module can be changed at will.
- Modules - Parts of the software that handle editing and structuring for the look of the entire presentation (themes templates), or the install / uninstall module for adding and removing functionality - modules are also the boxes you see to the left of the screen that contain the menu's. Menu items can be created and removed at will in the Menu Module, and can be placed anywhere on the screen you wish.
- Plugins - Plugins are after market addons to the components, for example the Eventlist component has an addon that allows users to enter their own events, manage them, or charge a fee for sale of tickets etc.
