Use a Free CMS to Make Your Site Fresh and Dynamic the Post Nuke WayOct 12 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line This article outlines the basics of using the CMS Post Nuke to maintain a dynamic website.
About 18 months ago, I started a web site devoted to freebies, coupons, and shopping online. Every day, I patiently scouted out new coupons and deals, and faithfully updated my HTML code with the new information. I linked the site to Epinions, and any time a review was available for a site or product on my site, I included a link to the review. At the time, I was convinced that I could put together the best freebies site on the web. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about Content Management Systems (CMS), and the novelty of updating my HTML every day wore off rather quickly. Without current updates, the site was useless; therefore, I let it die. Today, I run a site devoted to Epinions. The site features news, tips, and an active member forum. In addition, I run an eclectic ezine called EasilyAddictive.com, and a site full of XML information for my coworkers. With the help of a free CMS called Post Nuke, I am able to maintain all of my sites in less time than I used to spend working on my freebie site. Introduction to Post Nuke Post Nuke is free, open source software that uses PHP and MySQL. It is based on PHP Nuke, written by Francisco Burzi. However, in my opinion, Post Nuke is a more solid and reliable product. Post Nuke is developed by a group of programmers who contribute their time and knowledge to the project for free. Some might argue that because the software is developed by hobbyists, it is bound to be buggy. I have found the opposite to be true. Because the developers run the code on their own sites, they have a vested interest in fixing any known problems. Thus, glitches are generally fixed as soon as humanly possible. Features The primary purpose of Post Nuke is to allow a group of people to contribute dynamic content to a web site. If I had run my coupon and freebie site using Post Nuke, I could have allowed readers to register on my site, and contribute coupons and deals that they found on the site. Retailers could have also registered and contributed directly to my database. In addition, any deals that I found myself could be easily included on the site without requiring me to edit the HTML code. Some of the features that make that possible are the user system, blocks, themes, web links, downloads, reviews, and modules. The user system of Post Nuke is in the process of being overhauled. Currently, users are in two distinct groups – users and authors. Users are allowed to submit content to a Post Nuke site in the form of news stories, comments on news stories, web links, and links to downloads. Typically, an author/administrator approves user submissions to the site before they are published. Authors, under the current system, are administrators. They can submit content directly to the site, and can approve user-submitted content. Blocks are small code sections that can be customized to give a Post Nuke site a unique look and feel. Some blocks come built into the system, and can be activated or deactivated at will. For example, Post Nuke comes with blocks that show how many users are online, allow users to log in, and show the most popular article on the site on any given day. The default blocks are nice, but the beauty of the block system is that the webmaster can create custom blocks to suit the needs of the site. For example, on my own Epinions-related site, I have a block that shows popular forum posts, a block that allows members to contribute financially to the site, and a block that encourages members to join our Genome@Home team. Blocks are one of the major features that give webmasters control over their site’s content. Blocks help give control over the content of the site. Themes control the look and feel of the site. With the Post Nuke theme system, webmasters can define the colors, fonts, and graphics for their site. Themes also give some control over the site’s layout. Post Nuke comes with a portal-like system of web links. Users can submit related links, which admins can organize into categories for display on their site. In addition, a downloads system is provided so that a site can manage links to software downloads. Both the link and download modules can be turned off if they are not needed. Currently, Post Nuke ships with a review submission system. This system allows product rating, and the alphabetical sorting of product reviews. It is not a very sophisticated system, and has many flaws. However, it does allow a site to easily sort and display a large number of reviews. Finally, Post Nuke has a simple, elegant module system that allows web developers to integrate new functionality into a Nuke site. Modules can be turned on or off with the click of a mouse. Consequently, a Nuke site is incredibly easy to customize and maintain. Customization Because Post Nuke is written in PHP, end users have the ability to modify the code to their liking. However, unless you plan on doing something radical like integrating Nuke with an existing site database, you will probably not have to modify the PHP. Customization is as simple as creating a new theme or modifying an existing one and selecting the blocks and modules that are appropriate for your site. One of the truly wonderful aspects of this CMS is that you can change the look and feel of the entire site with a single click of your mouse. (OK. Two clicks if you count the submit button.) Themes have already been created by talented designers, and are freely available for your use. Changing the theme of a site changes the colors, graphics, fonts, and layout of the site without changing the content. Adding blocks and modules has the opposite effect. It allows you to quickly integrate new content into an existing site and maintain the look and feel. Customizing Post Nuke is extremely easy. It is an ideal solution for users who are not well versed in HTML, but need to maintain a site. In fact, some web hosts will install Post Nuke on your server for you, and running a site then becomes as simple as submitting an Epinion. Conclusions Post Nuke is an ideal Content Management System for hobbyists. It is free; it is easy to install, customize and maintain; and it works quite well. The code and documentation necessary to use Post Nuke can be downloaded at http://www.postnuke.com. In addition, there are support forums, real time support via Internet Relay Chat, and many tutorials on the web. It is still in development, and is only getting better with time.  |
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