How create a Website with the WCM from alfresco??

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sirclueless

Hi. I have a problem. I don`t know how I can create a website with alfresco. I mean I wanna built our company homepage with the alfresco WCM. But I haven`t no idea how !! The goal is that everybody should edit ,insert ,… content in an easy way without programming knowledge. But the first step is to create a home site with menu and links to content. Are there templates which I can use ?? What is the right way to start for a web presentation??
I hope somebody can help me.

brentkastner

Hi Sirclueless,

Creating a website within Alfresco that is content managed can be a difficult task IF you are unsure how to approach it.  I'll walk through some of the methods that I use and have used with this tool and other CMS's.

1.) Try to gather as many examples of HTML that will make up the final content managed site.  Some examples are, news items, press releases, home page, product page, careers, etc.

2.) Analyze each page type to determine if it is a fit for templating.  For me, the litmus is how often the content on the page changes.  Does this page read from a database, or is it largely static content.

3.) Now you should have a list of all the pages that are to be forms based.  Begin breaking down each form into it's list of fields.

4.) Note, we have not yet even begun working with Alfresco.

You now should have your basic CMS design (html's, and form definitions)

5.) Determine the site architecture (HTML, JSP, ASP, database driven, etc)

6.) Build the forms

7.) Integrate each form field with the html template you are to use for that  page.

8.) Install the form and begin using it to create content.

Keep in mind that many sites are not 100% templated.  Some pages, such as dynamically generated lists, do not lend themselves well to content management.  Feel free to vet your CMS designs here if you feel like you want someone to poke holes in your design.

9.) You can always take a training class.  I am currently delivering the Alfresco WCM course through Eye Street Software.  Here is a link: http://www.alfresco.com/services/training/courses/wcmfea/ We are offering some European courses in the very near future.

I hope this helps!

Brent Kastner
Eye Street Software