From Contribute to a Custom CMS

I relaunched my parish’s web site 3 years ago using ColdFusion 6 and let staff maintain the site using Contribute.  This was no problem at the time as the site was small and had a fairly small audience.  Contribute was a quick and easy solution for the 2 parish staff to make updates to the site and it has worked well these 3 years.  I was still a novice programmer and had not come to realize the power of CFCs or even any of the many CF frameworks out there.

Current site

The time has come, however, for a serious site overhaul for a few reasons.

1. The staff has grown tired of Contribute because it ties them to a single machine for updating the site.
2. Site usage has increased tremendously
3. The site has become cluttered with old, outdated content that in most cases is no longer needed
4. Our host was not very reliable.

I first focused on open source blog and CMS software for our solution.  The CMS packages generally fit into two categories:

1. Far too complicated
2. Small feature set even for our fairly basic needs

After lots of trial and error, I decided to build my own custom CMS.  I use Fusebox 4 in my daily work, so this was a logical choice.  The front-end code can be organized and easily maintainable.  Content will be stored in a database, likely MySQL or SQL Server, and an administrative module will be used for content maintenance.  I’m going to use Flex 3 to build the admin module, which will allow staff to add, edit, and delete content from any machine with Internet access.

I’ll periodically update with my progress.

Tapping into the power of Facebook

My colleagues and I have been discussing ways of using Facebook for the organization. Specifically, what kinds of Facebook applications could/would be build with ColdFusion/Flex that would be worth projects paying us for. I think Ray Camden’s blog post about building Facebook apps with Coldfusion got started. Adobe is also putting resources into Facebook application development. The Washington Post has run a few articles about Facebook applications, the people that build them, results, and lessons learned from the experiences. Today’s article by Kim Hart and Megan Greenwell point specifically to non-profits, which pertains directly to us.

Progress in Customizing BlogCFC

In my last post I wrote about applying a new style to my installation of BlogCFC which will power my church’s web site.  I have managed to come up with 3 or 4 different layouts which are currently under consideration.  Below is one of my comps.

In the process of trying out different styles, I had an idea to stick with Ray’s original look and feel, but change the site colors according to the liturgical season.  It is currently Lent, which means the color is purple.  The change is fairly simple requiring only changes to the stylesheet.

People I have talked to so far really like the idea of the colors changing with the Liturgical season.  We should have a winner soon.  I’ll let you know which style we have chosen.

Aside from the layout, I have been both looking for pods and trying my hand at creating my own pods for custom content.  So far I have come up with a Links pod, courtesy of Nick Tong.  Additionally, I have been able to insert my own feed in the Feed  pod.

Things are coming along nicely.  Next, I’m going to try to get FCKEditor implemented in the Admin module to make posting blog entries a bit easier.

Using BlogCFC to Power Church Web Site

I’ve recently selected Ray Camden’s BlogCFC to power my parish’s web site.  The reasons for doing so are various.  We needed a site that could easily communicate current news and events around the parish while being simple to navigate for users and simple to maintain for parish staff.  A blog style site works for us because the most popular content is parish news.  The remainder of the site is mostly static content containing Mass schedules, parish contact information, etc.

The task at hand now is selecting a layout.  We need something bold, but not overwhelming.  I’ve been checking out Open Source Web Design and Styleshout for templates and have come to like a few.  I’ll add a couple of screenshots of layouts I’ve applied for consideration.

After we get the new layout, I’m hoping to rollout the new site in time for Easter.

My first few days on AIR

So far I like the built in support from Aptana studio for several Ajax frameworks including Spry, Ext, jQuery, etc.  I’ve worked my way through the first 5 chapters.  I think it’s pretty cool how I can take simple HTML/JavaScript applications built for the web and turn them into desktop applications.  I’m trying not to get impatient though.  I want to get to some really cool stuff.  But for now I’m learning about creating and accessing native windows.  I’m sure this is important since a window on the web behaves just a bit differently  than one on the desktop.  I’ll be patient and work my way through it.  Next up is creating menus.  Sounds like really cool stuff.

What I’d like to do is find some application that might work as a desktop application in my office.  An employee directory, time and expense database, or simple notes manager might be good starting points on which to learn to build more complex applications.  I’ll try to update this blog as I learn more and more.