Hi there, I have spent all afternoon looking at CMS systems. Unfortunately I'm in bit of a quandry. A client has a server running Windows 2003 (ugh) and due to other services running from their site they don't want any more databases running from it (don't get me started).

 

I have used CMS from Scratch before and can recommend it if you're running Unix / Apache - but it calls Unix-specific functions and so won't work on my clients Windows Server.

 

All I want is the ability to build and change a few text includes and a rich text editor so my client can do the same. If I was able to build the site using includes for headers etc. as well that'd be great. Can anyone suggest anything? I've tried using 6 different ones this afternoon with little success.

 

Thanks for reading! (Imagine how greatful I'd be if you replied!!! )

How big is the client's website going to be in terms of pages served, concurrent users, etc?

 

Years ago I was developing content managed solutions using MS Access which is fine for small-medium sites (well medium traffic sites are pushing it...) and the database is stored as a single file, so no services running in the background.

 

You could use include files as you've suggested if it's just a handful of areas - or have a single "cms_includes.asp" file that has functions within to supply content on request. Without a data store it's going to be a crude solution, but something like:

 

cms_includes.asp

<%
Function getIncludeText(sSection)
 Dim sTemp

 Select Case sSection
Case "page1title"
  sTemp = "This is the page title"

Case "page1header"
  sTemp = "The page for all your page needs"

Case "page1intro"
  sTemp = "Welcome to the page, enjoy your stay"

 End Select

 getIncludeText = sTemp

End Function
%>

 

index.asp

<!--#include file="cms_includes.asp" -->

<html>
 <head>
<title><%=getIncludeText("page1title")%></title>
 </head>

 <body>
<h1><%=getIncludeText("page1header")%></h1>
<p><%=getIncludeText("page1intro")%></p>

 </body>
</html>

 

 

Now that's pretty much as quick and dirty as I can think of and will get into an unmanageable mess within just a couple of pages worth of includes, but hopefully it gives you another idea of how to get the site together.

Hmm, maybe that's a bit too simple. Ideally I'd like something comparable to CMS from Scratch (database-free) that will work on IIS. Is there such a thing? Or am I crazy?

 

Right, I'm off to build up some good karma by helping people in the design section, where I actually know a little bit about what I'm talking about !!!

Well expanding on that, you could use an XML source file to act as a data store, with pages stored as nodes. An interface could be written to allow you to edit the contents of each node.

 

Are you after a solution where you can insert a snippet of code into existing flat pages or do you want a dynamic page solution where the creation of pages is determined by the data source? (just shout if you're not sure what I'm on about - sometimes I lose track of myself...!)

 

Out of interest, what are the arguments for not having a database?

Well, fear mainly! But also the client doesn't want a database running or editing his site (go figure, he's an idiot) I really liked the flat style of CMS from Scratch (only works on Unix servers) and I'm no great shakes at server-side stuff. Scripting is not my strong point, I was just wondering if there was a pre-made open-source solution for CMS on Microsoft severs, as a lot of Open Source system are Unix only.

 

It just seemed strange that there's no solutions for anyone wanting a flat CMS on a Microsoft server.

 

All I can find is blogging stuff and strange systems with fish icons made by French people which don't work anyway....

 

Thanks for answering again!