I’ve been using Rapidweaver for a few years now for basic web pages for myself and clients. I’m working on setting up a recommendation blog for my clients who ask me what technology to buy. I’m a bit stuck though.
I’ve watched Rapidweaver videos and have a basic understanding but still feel like I’m flying by the seat of my pants so to speak. I’m looking for a way to create an easy to setup blog. I’m thinking main page (which contains the blog), about me page, links page, contact me page, and possibly a site map. I have a domain and hosting already. I also own Armadillo and have it linked to a database in my hosting package.
I went the CMS route initially because I like the idea of creating an interface, choosing a theme, and being done. Then all my content I add and apply via web interface. I don’t think I need a section for other people to comment on posts, at least not immediately. I need to make sure it’s secure and if I need to make major changes in the future, I don’t loose all my posts.
So saying that, I’m looking for any comments and suggestions for managing a blog. Easy to setup, easy to maintain. Do you prefer using a CMS like Armadillo and Total CMS? I need it to be viewable on desktops, tablets and phones. I think most of that is theme based though. I own a bunch of the Nimblehost themes but always looking for more.
On another note, I’d love to grab the PDF manuals for all these applications and have them printed/book bound. Has anyone else done that yet? Have any suggestions besides just sending it to a Kinkos? I’d much rather have a manual I can hold vs searching an electronic one.
While I always prefer to read printed manuals, I don’t think your idea is practical. Many of the addons change regularly and so the manuals need constant updating. Also, the cost would be quite high.
Personally, I love Armadillo. It is powerful, very slick and the support is fantastic. I’ve just used it with Foundation and, of course, it works perfectly on all devices. I’m not knocking any of the other solutions, though! A few years ago there were no such solutions for RW; now we’re spoiled for choice.
It may be my understanding of CMS that is limiting me. It almost feels like an inception moment. I’m used to building a site with Rapidweaver stacks. Maybe my approach should be creating the interface, installing the CMS stack, then building the whole site from within the CMS instead of within Rapidweaver. Then what confuses me is where do I place the CMS stack? I’m referring to the November Armadillo update email.
“Until v2.6 is released don’t add an Armadillo Blog stack to the same page as the main Armadillo stack - if you do, you’ll see duplicate entries when viewing an individual post.”
So I need to install it on a page and then hide it somehow? Place it on another page I don’t use? Maybe I’m over thinking this.
In the case of Armadillo I publish the stack on my home page and it immediately shows the blog on that page.
I can explain this because I made a mistake with a recent release of Armadillo myself. If you have only one blog (like most of us), you only need to place the main Armadillo stack on the page where you want it to appear. Armadillo now supports multiple blogs and that is where the Armadillo Blog stack comes in. There are several other stacks to create the login, blog navigation, etc.
Easiest way to setup a proper blog is Armadillo by a long way. When you log into Armadillo there is a link to all to the documentation so online help is always just a click away.
Armadillo has built in security where more than 1 designated user can log in with a username and password.
Armadillo is also very quick to get going but like all things complicated you need to read the support information. Once you prepare you will be creating your first blog after 5 minutes.
With Joe’s CyberMonday sale starting in less than 5 hours and with a Blog for Total CMS being developed and hopefully being released early next year, this might be another way to go, if you can wait until the blog is released!
So the special Blog Stack is more for multiple blogs? That makes things a bit easier.
Now I just need to see if I can finally settle on a theme. I’m trying to hit all major platforms: standard browsers, tablets, cellphones. I hide most image content on cellphones for quicker loading. I’m still undecided on going with variable width or setting an actual width. I’m trying my best to not fall in that Microsoft Frontpage sort of pitfall from the 90’s where web pages were too narrow and had too much solid color buffer margins.
