Dead Simple CMS

What is it?

This is about as simple as a CMS can get. It only has one feature, and that is to edit the page you are currently viewing. This is ideal for simple websites that only require a handful of static pages. Once set up, the client can edit each page's content with an easy to use rich text editor. It doesn't have complex features or settings to bombard your client with, and you could teach your client to use it in a minute.

I created this for use on a local political candidate's website. He often wanted to change content on pages, add a paragraph, and so on. This enabled him to do it himself and not have to worry about HTML code. This CMS would be perfect for any website with just a few informational pages. Get up in running quickly!

How does it work?

• It uses .htaccess to rewrite the URL. This means that each page will look like a folder. You won't see index.php in the URL. This makes links to a particular page shorter and prettier too.
• It uses PHP, so your server must allow that.
• It stores the content of each page in a simple .txt file. No need for a database to set up.
• To enter edit mode, just tack an ampersand & and the secret key onto the the end of the URL. If your secret key is asdf123, and you want to edit a page named about, then go to your address bar, make it look like example.com/about&asdf123, then press enter.
• When in edit mode, the content area will have a red box around it. Click it and you will then be able to edit the page's content right in the browser with a rich text editor that appears. Be sure to click save to record changes.
• To exit edit mode, just click a different link in the menu.
• Be sure to tell your client to never link to a page with the secret key in the URL. This is just like giving away the password.

How do I set it up?

Go into header.php, and change the secret key. There are further directions inside that file, but essentially, what you're going to do is look for $_REQUEST['edit_mode'] and change it to $_REQUEST['asdfjkl123'], or whatever.

Also in header.php is where the menu is in this example. Note how no slashes are used in the link href. While you're in there, change the <title>...</title> too.

Make sure that when you create a page, you also create a .txt for that page inside the txt folder. If you create a page named products, and you will need to create a products.txt file and add a link to that page in the menu in header.php.

I kept this website very simple. It should be very easy to update to your own theme, as I didn't flood the screen.css with custom stuff.

Troubleshooting

A likely issue is problem with the .htaccess file. Try uncommenting the RewriteBase line by removing the # sign. You may need to add a folder after the / as well depending on how your server is set up.

RewriteBase /mysite

If there are still issues, you could delete the file. But if you do this, the URLs will not work the same way. You will have example.com/index.php?id=pagename in the URL, instead of just example.com/pagename. Also, to enter edit mode, it would be like example.com/index.php?id=pagename&edit_mode. This means you will have to go into header.php and change the menu links as well.

If you cannot even see the .htaccess file, try changing your folder options, as in Windows Explorer, to view Hidden Files.

Copy of .htaccess file

If you deleted or lost the .htaccess file, fear not, because here is a copy:

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine On

#RewriteBase /

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?id=$1 [L]

Open Source

This project makes use of other open source projects. No specefic terms are attached to this software, only that it is open source, however the included projects may have more specific terms in how they may be used. This is free software, and there are no guarantees or warranties.

• jQuery
• jeditable
• jwysiwyg