Re: CMS Site Structures

Julian Voelcker wrote:
> I am currently re-developing my home grown ASP.Net based CMS 
> application and am debating changing the way that I structure the admin 
> system.
> 
> In the past I have used two sites, one for displaying the content and 
> then another using a different URL for the content administration, 
> however there are some drawback relating the file uploading/handling.
> 
> I am now considering moving the administration site into a sub 
> directory of the main site, which will get over some of the drawbacks, 
> but could present other issues.
> 
> How do most other CMS applications structure their sites.

In terms of actual content, we keep the CMS content strictly seperate 
from the application/management code.

However, we use a URL layout like:

The live site:
   http://mainsite.com/
Redirects to https://dev.mainsite.com/admin :
   http://mainsite.com/admin

The development version of the site:
   http://dev.mainsite.com/
The development/preview version of the site:
   https://dev.mainsite.com
The administration application, including filesystem browsing:
   https://dev.mainsite.com/admin


In our CMS we publish to static files, which are rendered in Apache 
using server side includes.  We also have in-place editing on the 
https://dev.mainsite.com site -- everytime you access a page through 
that URL, it actually makes a request back to apache, using http, and 
then adds a header to the page that tells you the state of the page, 
gives you buttons to edit or approve, etc.

If you go to /admin with any protocol or domain, you always get 
redirected to the main site administration portal.  There's no directory 
relationship between this application and the public site, it's just a 
rewrite rule that renders those URLs through an application server.  I 
think it's important to keep a clear boundary between the CMS, and the 
site the CMS manages.

I'm not sure exactly what your goals or concerns are, but at least this 
is how we do it.

--
Ian Bicking  /  Senior Developer  /  [email protected]
Imaginary Landscape LLC  /  773-275-9144  /  5121 N. Ravenswood Ave.