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[wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
In all your time using Txp, what development do you consider to be the most important/essential to achieve a given functional end in a Txp website?
I’m looking for the top 10 things people need to do most (not exactly the most popular), either for their own site or for clients. You don’t have to give 10 things if you can’t think of them, even one will do. I’m collecting from a variety of sources.
Here’s a clue to what the aim is here.
This will work best if the veterans speak up from experience, not newbies making tutorial requests.
Clarification: I’m looking for what is currently achievable (with or without plugins; without being ideal), not what you think Txp should be able to do in the future. If what you think is important involves a plugin, indicate which one(s).
Clarification 2: When/if indicating a plugin for your suggested objective, make sure you also indicate why you add those plugins. What is it your trying to achieve in a site and why is it important? (Don’t assume I can undertand from the plugin itself.)
Last edited by Destry (2011-07-23 13:38:41)
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
Here are 3 ideas… I hope they make sense!
1. Workflow
I tend to hand over sites to people who aren’t particularly web savvy and therefore need to write up step-by-step guides for specific tasks, including screenshots indicating where the various fields and options are.
I’d like to be able to create workflows that pretty much server the same purpose – to take the user through the process step-by-step. For example, if setting up a photo gallery involves uploading 10 images, creating a new articles and populating a custom field with 10 image IDs… it would be great if the workflow started off with a page where the 10 images are uploaded leading to article page (with the custom field populated with the 10 IDs) and followed by a preview screen before the user pushes the publish button.
2. Article / image / link / file selection function
At the moment I associate articles by creating custom fields and saving article IDs in them. It would be great if I could click a button and get a searchable list of articles / images / links / files that can also be narrowed down by category or other criteria.
There is a plugin for article images that works like that.
3. Adding multiple rows of information
This would be a custom field (or more than one) where I can enter any number of rows of information. Starting from one and then clicking a ‘add row’ button for the next one.
This one would be useful for tables of information.
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
These are things I found myself doing again and again when developing a client’s site. I manage to do that (exept for the 11th) in txp via plugins, but if would speed-up development a lot if some of them would be included in core.
In no particular order:
1. Contact form
2. Newsletter
3. Monthly archive
4. tags and/or unlimited cats
5. File download management (association with articles or in their own section)
6. Content for registered/restricted users
7. Easily adding videos and images to articles, both in custom fields or in text (rich editor-like)
8. Theming, both admin and front
9. Built-in image editor (crop, resize, multiple sizes, backup, etc.)
10. Customization of backend, especially write screen but not only.
(11. Better search: advanced, full text, and/or, restricted)
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
@lozmatic: Those are very interesting ideas. But are those things you wish you could do, or that you can do now? I’m look for ideas about what is commonly needed and achievable with current Txp (with or without plugins).
@Zanza: Excellent feedback, thank you.
Keep the ideas coming, everyone.
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
From Martin Walker via my G+ Textpattern circle…
1. Templates as files for faster, um, templating
2. Image management – specifically custom coordinate cropping
3. Custom article ordering outside of the standard sorts
.
All of which I current achieve with plugins. The end result always has a cobbled-together feel to it though.
From John Foley via the same circle…
In no particular order, here are some of the things I do with a new txp install as a matter of routine:
.
- build/rebuild page templates from discrete form elements (header, sidebar, footer, widgets etc)
- incorporate dynamic image resizing/thumbnail generation – phpThumb() or similar
- incorporate edit links on frontend
- add and customise upm_quicktags
- add rss_admin_db_manager
- add smd_where_used
- add adi_variables
- add tru_tags or rss unlimited categories
- incorporate stats packages
- add a help/notes section to admin
Thanks, guys!
REMINDER:
While knowing what plugins are used frequently, that’s not the full picture I’m after. Why do you add those plugins? What is it your trying to achieve in a site and why is it important? (Don’t assume I can undertand from the plugin itself.) From everyone’s contributions, I’ll be making a list of the 10 most important functional things to build/create in a new site. (I might have to separate personal sites from client sites, but we’ll come to that bridge later if necessary.)
Keep it coming, all!
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
I’d really expect there to be more input on this from veterans, and you know who you are, so come on, people. Share your insights to help build better documentation.
What are the things you have to do most every time you build a website?
It can be something as minimal as a particular Tag structure you need for a publishing content output, or something bigger as needed with a plugin (seemingly the most popular responses right now).
Don’t worry about what others do. I’ll cross-reference all replies and create the list. Just focus on what you need/do according to what is needed in every site you build.
Bring it!
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
Destry wrote:
I’d really expect there to be more input on this from veterans, and you know who you are, so come on, people. Share your insights to help build better documentation.
Sorry Destry. Personally at least I don’t really have anything specific to input. Probably some others have neither.
One thing every installation does get is feature disabling and/or replacing, and optimization. But that probably goes to more to the fact that at least I, or we, don’t use Textpattern because of it’s core features and interface, but because it can act as an empty canvas which you can then use to build upon.
For example, I’ve never really used Images, Files, or Links interfaces, and if media is required by the site, none of those interfaces is used to handle it. And that’s the thing why I like TXP; it’s simple, it’s easy to extend with more code. It doesn’t have complex library, it doesn’t tell you what to do. It doesn’t just have 10 features that it does, it has none if you don’t want anything. But what it does have is solid library of small tiny useful functions.
Consider this as my input. It’s probably pretty bad, probably something that weren’t looking for.
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
Thanks, Gocom!
That’s more helpful than you probably realize (and maybe some veterans don’t do a lot of client sites, I don’t know). And it should be more helpful to Txp as a whole (not just me), because what you’re saying alludes to some of the “business messages” that should be used at a much higher level. That’s out of scope of what I’m after here (mainly targeting new user docs), but it’s going to become relevant later.
All feedback is good.
Keep it coming all! :)
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
OK, here goes – assuming I’m installing, designing and building:
i) install and activate rah_replace (for all-purpose hackery, optimising code, etc), rah_sitemap (for SEO and Google Webmaster Tools), rss_admin_db_manager (because PHPMyAdmin makes me cower in fear), rss_admin_show_adv_opts (because it’s essential), rvm_css (for ‘outboarding’ the CSS and taking a bit of load off Textpattern when it renders) for all sites and most likely zem_contact_* (but only if I want feedback or people to contact me), too.
ii) delete standard CSS, start over with modified CSS reset, originally from Eric Meyer
iii) delete default article comment, then default article, article section, article categories, default image, default image categories, default links, default link categories, all deletable forms and essentially strip it down to the framework
iv) wireframe in Keynote (fear my maaad skillz, Photoshop experts), get annoyed with myself when I remember I am completely awful at web design, export mockups and start to build. Get really mad when Internet Explorer doesn’t do things the way most other browsers do them.
v) write code from scratch in Coda, preview with Mac/Safari, use the DOM inspector in Xyle Scope, have a browser window open at the Tag Reference A to Z and chew away until it’s done.
I’m in the same position as Jukka as I never use Images and Files (to be frank, the whole idea of 777 a directory on a web server scares me somewhat)…rather, I have never been in a position where I have needed to use Images and Files – I am certain that I will learn to love those features when a client comes along that requires that functionality.
I will also +1 the comment about Textpattern being a blank canvas, easily extended, and add that I find it gloriously horsepoop free. I rip out the things mentioned above because they don’t do anything for me, and while I have a love-hate relationship with website design and consruction, I do enjoy wrangling Forms.
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
Cribbing from Zanza:
1.Contact form
2. tags and/or unlimited cats
3. Easily adding videos and images to articles, both in custom fields or in text (rich editor-like)
4. Theming, both admin and front
5. Built-in image editor (crop, resize, multiple sizes, backup, etc.)
6. Customization of backend, especially write screen but not only.
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
For those that are saying “contact form”, can you explain to me a particular use case? I’m wondering why that’s better than just a simple Enkoded email address that immediately opens an email client for the user, which is no doubt more convenient and usable for them.
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Re: [wiki] What are the 10 most frequently needed developments in a Txp site?
Destry wrote:
[…] opens an email client for the user, […]
This assumes the user has an email client available. Quite often managed networks (schools, internet cafés, etc) will restrict access to email clients. Also, from a UX point of view, staying in the browser (and not bouncing out to an email client and back to the browser) is less disruptive.
Last edited by gaekwad (2011-07-23 16:08:35)
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