Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

dimfish · 2006-06-01 13:36:58

Hi there.

Just a general question this. Just want to figure out if TP will be a good choice as a CMS for the site I want to build.

I am good with html/css and have a bit of PHP understanding and want to build a page based (rather than post-based) site that will have 3 levels of navigation (ie Home > Level 1 > Level 2). So a definite hierachy. And I’d like for the owner of the site to be able to login as a content administrator and be able to make text changes to pages on the site. They’ll be no need for any browsers of the site to login or post comments (initially).

I want to be able to control all positioning of the site’s layout and styling using one css file.

I want to do stuff like have a cronological news section with say the lastest 5 headlines fed to the homepage.

Does all this sound like something I can acheive with TP?

If so, can anyone point me in the direction of a plain speaking set of general instructions for setting up a page based site using TP ie First do this, then define these, then decide on this….etc?

Thanks for any guidance you can give me!

Cheers.

mrdale · 2006-06-01 15:06:13

Yep, TXP can do this.

If it were me I’d set the structure up like this Section > Catergory > Subcategory (No sub-sections at present). Anywhere you want content to be fixed, but editable, either sort it by the article ID and build an article list or refer to the article individually and explicitly.

Play around with TXP for a while, you’ll like it. There are extensive FAQs, resources(check the top of the page) and the forum is great too.

dimfish · 2006-06-01 15:21:27

Thanks for that mrdale. Good to know you think TXP will meet my req’s.
I’ll have a play with it and look at doing it as you suggest.

Imagine I’ll be back in the forums pretty soon…

Cheers.

dimfish · 2006-06-08 15:20:05

Hi again Mrdale.

I have finally thrown myself into TXP and am slightly confused. Can you elaborate slightly on your suggested method for my static page based site?

I would like to have this structure…
Home > About > Opportunities (UK or overseas)

So should I set it up as:
About (Section)
Opportunities (category)
UK (sub-cat)
Overseas (sub-cat)
?

If so, how do I create sub categories, and navigation lists built from categories (specific to a section) and sub categories (specific to a category)?

Is this a better way than doing it as described at: http://forum.textpattern.com/viewtopic.php?id=12675
?

Any guidance of starting out with the best practice for site structure very appreciated…thanks.

Sencer · 2006-06-08 15:35:34

Look at nardo’s explanation here:
http://forum.textpattern.com/viewtopic.php?id=11952

Since you are not going to feed new articles into about all the time, you can make “Opportunities” as an article. The same with all other “subpages” of about. The only thing left is how to do the main about-page, that can be achieved with a simple conditional (if_individual_article/else).

Last edited by Sencer (2006-06-08 15:35:51)

dimfish · 2006-06-08 20:05:32

Thanks Sencer. I tried to use Nando’s method…and got me a nav list appearing, but I can’t seem to:
a) get my one sticky article to appear under the section it is in (or anywhere)
b) get a subnav list to appear…I don’t get how I define what will appear in that subnav list….?

Hmmm. Not getting TXP fullstop. Brain hurting.

Will try again…..

dimfish · 2006-06-09 11:02:38

Hi again,

I am trying to get Nardo’s solution to work for me and cannot get it running. I have ako_nav installed and the other two plugins installed and a misc form set as:
<code>
<txp:ako_nav name=“Home,About,Madagascar,Joining up,Science,Resources,News,Photos,Trust” url=”/,/About,/Madagascar,/Joining up,/Science,/Resources,/News,/Photos,/Trust” headon=“0” />
<txp:if_section name=”“>
<txp:else />
<ul id=“sub-nav”>
<txp:chh_article_custom listform=“nav-level-2” />
</ul>
</txp:if_section>
</code>
and an article form nav-level-2 as:
<code>
<li class=”<txp:article_id />”><txp:permlink><txp:title /></txp:permlink></li>
</code>
In my About section I have posted 8 sticky articles, and want the titles of these to populate the nav-level-2 menu…. is that how this is supposed to work?

This is how the relevant bit of the page used by my sections looks:
<code>
<div id=“head”>
<txp:output_form form=“nav-bar” />
</div>

<!— center —>
<div id=“content”>
<txp:article limit=1 form=“static_article” status=“sticky” />
</code>
Can anyone help me out here? Mucho thanks.

All I want is a main permenant navigation (doesn’t need to be served dynamically) and a section-sensitive sub navigation menu that is unique for each section chosen….I’d like to have one sticky article for each main section page with several other sticky articles as the sub-nav pages…..would it be easier for me to do this more using categories?

Still confused….

A.

Last edited by dimfish (2006-06-09 11:05:01)

Sencer · 2006-06-09 13:15:57

Only make one article sticky, the one which you want to have displayed on every page in the section (see textbook, for how to display the sticky article).

Leave the other ones to be regular articles, then they will be picked up and shown by chh_article_custom. They are probably not displayed, because you made them sticky.

dimfish · 2006-06-09 16:08:51

Hi Sencer,

Here’s what I’d like:
A top menu made from Section titles (I have that through ako_nav)
A submenu that is unique to a particular section and appears when you choose a section from the main menu. I’d like at submenu to appear at this point (unique to the section we’re in, showing only article titles for that section, including the first sticky one) and to be able to choose another article from this submenu and then that article would appear. If you choose another section from the top menu I’d like another sticky article to appear and a different submenu.

At the moment….
I have set only one article to sticky for the About section, as you suggest (appearing fine), but now all the other live articles (from any section are appearing in the submenu, whereas I’d like this to show just article titles from the section we’re currently in…. clear as mud I’m sure….but any help?

Thanks indeed.

A.

maniqui · 2006-06-09 16:40:28

Hi Dimfish.

You have also this approach: static/dynamic site with dynamic two/three level nav that I wrote based on Nardo’s tutorial.

dimfish · 2006-06-09 16:45:58

Hi Maniqui. Yes, thanks, I actually tried that method first and couldn’t seem to get it working, tho I should give it a go again since I’ve been immersed in TXP for last day or so (it’s becoming a little clearer).

With that method, can order the top level section menu how I’d like? (can I just hard code that and use the plugin to do the subnav?)

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Textpattern CMS support forum

#1 2006-06-01 13:36:58

Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#2 2006-06-01 15:06:13

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#3 2006-06-01 15:21:27

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#4 2006-06-08 15:20:05

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#5 2006-06-08 15:35:34

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#6 2006-06-08 20:05:32

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#7 2006-06-09 11:02:38

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#8 2006-06-09 13:15:57

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#9 2006-06-09 16:08:51

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#10 2006-06-09 16:40:28

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

#11 2006-06-09 16:45:58

Re: Text pattern a good choice for page-based site?

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