2. What is Open Source
Software
• “free” software
• source code is available for you to examine
• Source code can be modified
• Modifications can be redistributed
• Typically developed in a collaborative
fashion by many people
3. What is a CMS
• Content Management System
• System for creating, organizing and publishing
web content
• Create web content without knowing any code
• Content stored in database back-end and edited/
create with web-programming language
4. Why use a CMS
• Can focus on site organization not content
management
• Can give others ability to update their own
content
• One install can manage 10,000,000 html
pages
• Easy off-site access
5. What are some OSS
CMS?
• Wordpress
• Joomla
• Drupal
• ModX
• Concrete5
• Plone
6. What will we cover?
• Joomla
• Wordpress
• Drupal
7. Wordpress as CMS
• PHP and MySQL Backend
• Used by many libraries for blogging
• Some libraries are using it for some CMS
functions:
• Atchison Public Library, California State
University East Bay, Dartmouth Public
Libraries, Millsaps College Library, Park
County Library, Patagonia Public Library,
Stevens Memorial Library
8. Wordpress Pages
• Outside the normal “sequence” of blog
• Typically, content input via a WYSIWYG
editor
• Can be hierarchical
• Can use different templates
• Page order
9. Making a Page Your
Homepage
• Settings
• Reading
• Front page displays
• Choose the page you want to be your
homepage from the drop down
• Make another page your “news” page
10.
11. Themes
• In choosing a theme you should consider the
following:
• what kind of banner do you want?
• where do you want your site navigation to appear?
• what kinds of layouts do you want to use, one column, two column,
three column?
• do you want a fixed or scalable layout?
• Sources for Themes
• http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/
• http://www.templatesbrowser.com/wordpress-themes/
14. Widgets
• What is a widget?
• Default Widgets
• Archives, Calendar, Categories, Links, Meta,
Pages, Recent Comments, Recent Posts, RSS,
Search, Tag Cloud, and Text
15.
16.
17.
18. Widgets
• Where to get other widgets
• http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/tags/widget
• Other widgets to consider
• Flexi Pages Widget, Category Posts Widget
19.
20. Key Template Tags
• wp_list_pages()
• Post tags - need to sit in the Loop
• the_title()
• the_content()
• the_meta()
• the_category()
• the_tags()
• wp_list_bookmarks()
21. Helpful Conditional
Tags
• is_front_page()
• is_page()
• can include or exclude pages
• no conditional tag to test for subpages
• is_page_template()
• can check to see if a specific page template is
being used
• is_home() - posts page, which is typically the site
home
22. Custom Fields
• Allows you to add additional fields to pages
or posts
• Key - Value pairs
• Stored as text in database
• Can be displayed using
<?php the_meta(); ?>
• Better way is to code to display each field
<?php $key="mykey"; echo get_post_meta($post->ID, $key, true); ?>
23. Useful Plugins
• Blogroll Links
• Google Maps for Wordpress
• Inline Feed
• OpenBook Book Data
• Widget Logic
• Event Calendar 3
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36. Advanced Techniques
and Tricks
• MeeboMe in your sidebar
• Creating a Photo Gallery
• NexGen Gallery plugin
• Scriblio plugin
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43. Scriblio
• Plugin for Wordpress
• Import MARC records
• Use as NextGen Catalog
• Catalog digital library objects
44.
45.
46. Wordpress Strengths
• Easy to use
• Lots of plugins available
• Easy to create new themes of modify
existing themes
• Large user base
47. Wordpress Issues
• Can’t easily create custom content types
• Contact Info
• Lacks flexibility to deal with complex types
of objects with different types of fields out
of the box
• Customizing display of group of page/posts
requires knowledge of PHP
48. Drupal as CMS
• PHP and MySQL backend
• Strongly recommend using PHP5
• Used by a variety of libraries including
• Darien Public Library, Athens County
Public Library, McMasters University
Library, University of Prince Edward
Island
49. Making a Page Your
Homepage
• By default Drupal displays the most recent
“nodes” added as the homepage
• You can override this by going to
• Administer > Site configuration > Site
Information
• Change the “Default front page” field to
be the node you want to be your
homepage
60. Taxonomies
• Used to organize content on your site
• Categories
• Tags
• Can be hierarchical, or free-form
• Different taxonomies can be used for
different content types
61. Feed Aggregator
• Does more than aggregate feeds
• Creates a block for every feed
• Allows you to embed feed in a node
• Need to give Anonymous user permission
to access feeds
66. CCK
• Add new fields to any Content Type
• Control the type of field added
• Text, Number
• Date, Email, URL
• CCK fields can be used in views
• Remember to give Anonymous user
permission to access fields you create
67. Create Your Own
Content Type
• Links
• URL field
• Staff
• Email field
74. Drupal Strengths
• Exceptional Flexibility
• Easy to create new content types
• Substantial user base particularly in libraries
• Drupal4Lib
• SOPAC
• Drupal + Fedora
• Drupal for Digital Libraries - McMasters
75. Drupal Issues
• Some modules are buggy and problematic
• High learning curve
• Not as many modules and filters developed
as one would like
• library-related modules in particular
missing in some areas
76. Choices, choices
• Wordpress is best for small sites; has an
easy start up
• Joomla is best for medium sites, average
complexity, relatively easy UI
• Drupal can handle multiple, large, complex
sites
77. Lessons Learned
• Learning a CMS takes time
• Important to map out your site’s content
to know what modules, widgets need to be
installed
• Need to decide how you want your site to
look in order to choose an appropriate
theme
• Understand each CMS’s strengths and
limitations
