CMS for an existing site?

[Guest]

Hi:

I need to implement a CMS for an already existing site. So, I'm looking for a CMS tool that allows me to do the task and, in the future, use it for developing new sites from scratch

• Linux, PHP, MySQL
• All info is in a DB, about 35 tables

Thanks in advance

[jon8]

with all the pages setup to display information from the database, then to manage that content, just create a session controlled admin area with update server behaviors / forms for the content.  really, you're already half way home if the pages are already dynamic and the database is already built.

[Guest]

Sure, you're right. But as I'm thinking about learning a CMS tool to

improve productivity, may be this is a good opportunity to start

[jon8]

you have to remember that all of the content management systems, even the big names, you see out there have one fatal flaw... they are reverse engineered.  as you're seeing, you can't built a website to spec and add custom content management functionality.  you have to build your website AROUND them, and they will be the heart of the website until the entire project is redone.  So what seems like an out of the box easy solution, is really a pair of handcuffs.

If you have a front end only design, then you could look toward adding things like incontext editing, cushycms, or similar.  In your case, you have a database driven website.  You will need to build your own solution.  I see no way around that as long as you want to maintain your current structure.  It's not hard to do, and you can reuse what you build as a framework for future builds.  You understand databases, and it sounds like you understand CRUD / the adobe server behaviors.  If you want to add WYSIWYG type interface, use tinymce on your textareas.  Build a basic login and maintain privacy using sessions. 

[Guest]

There are a lot of great CMS tools availabe, often for free. However, integrating them into an existing site is likely not going to happen.

With a CMS, you generally enter the data into the CMS, and provide a design template. I don't know of a single CMS that will simply integrate into an existing site. This is for good reason - CMS needs structure, and there are 1000 different ways to build a site. The CMS doesn't possibly know how yours is built.

If you are looking at the world of CMS, here is what I recommend.

1: Search and find a CMS that interests you. Mambo, Joomla, SilverStripe, etc... These are all quite large - but smaller ones are available if you look around.

2: Install the CMS, and dig in! There is no better way to learn how one works.

3: When you find one you like - transfer the existing site content into the new CMS, TEST, and LAUNCH! (if the content is already in a Database, you can likely do an export/import)

Although step three might sound like a lot of work - it is far easier than trying to make a CMS work with your existing site - which will likely never happen.

Good luck on your quest!

[eCommDesign]

Try the Avactis ecommerce CMS (http://www.avactis.com).

It could be customized using Dreamweaver rather easy.