Ask HN: Building a website ok, but a connecting to a CMS?

#1

Post by Bilters » Wed, May 10, 2017, 7:28 AM UTC

Question; I know my way around HTML and CSS (or SASS) but how do I connect my site to a CMS? So people can update their site i build for them, I don't want to keep updating their site in the HTML code every time. I can't seem to find a good connection (tutorial) on how to make this happen.

Hopefully you have some examples of how to connect my HTML designs to a (free) CMS.

Much appreciated!

Re: Ask HN: Building a website ok, but a connecting to a CMS?

#2

Post by sdiq » Wed, May 10, 2017, 9:36 AM UTC

HTML and CSS alone would not be adequate for the kind of behaviour you are looking for - 'updating their site'. At the very least, you need to learn how to customise a CMS. A well known CMS that I would recommend is WordPress. However, there are others in other languages/platforms. But, since you are talking of a CMS, I thought I should point you towards the most widely used one. Thus, you need to invest your time in learning how that CMS works and what you need to do to customise it for your clients. You might also need to learn something about databases and MySQL would also be another good recommendation.

Re: Ask HN: Building a website ok, but a connecting to a CMS?

#3

Post by sirrele » Wed, May 10, 2017, 10:24 AM UTC

I would say that you need to start looking into frameworks if your goal is to build a custom CMS. I have done this on many production projects using the MEAN stack (MySQL, Loopback, Ng2, and Node). There is a lot to take on if you go this route if you are not familiar with any of these. I would suggest starting with Loopback + Node, and then move to Ng2. If this is to overwhelming, I would focus a lot on @sdiq points :)

Re: Ask HN: Building a website ok, but a connecting to a CMS?

#4

Post by Bilters » Wed, May 10, 2017, 12:16 PM UTC

sdiq wrote: post #2

HTML and CSS alone would not be adequate for the kind of behaviour you are looking for - 'updating their site'. At the very least, you need to learn how to customise a CMS. A well known CMS that I would recommend is WordPress. However, there are others in other languages/platforms. But, since you are talking of a CMS, I thought I should point you towards the most widely used one. Thus, you need to invest your time in…

I'm familiar with Wordpress. I did set it up a couple of times, but I used a theme were i could re-do some colouring, and fonts etc. Now i've got a website, and I would like to add a CMS behind it, It could be Wordpress or another one, but the connection I can't seem to make. Build a website, then connect the HTML / CSS to Wordpress. Do you have any resources where I can look into to start making this connection?

Thanks

Re: Ask HN: Building a website ok, but a connecting to a CMS?

#5

Post by brudgers » Wed, May 10, 2017, 2:32 PM UTC

Bilters wrote: post #4

sdiq wrote: post #2

HTML and CSS alone would not be adequate for the kind of behaviour you are looking for - 'updating their site'. At the very least, you need to learn how to customise a CMS. A well known CMS that I would recommend is WordPress. However, there are others in other languages/platforms. But, since you are talking of a CMS, I thought I should point you towards the most widely used one. Thus, you need to invest your time in…

I'm familiar with Wordpress. I did set it up a couple of times, but I used a theme were i could re-do some colouring, and fonts etc. Now i've got a website, and I would like to add a CMS behind it, It could be Wordpress or another one, but the connection I can't seem to make. Build a website, then connect the HTML / CSS to Wordpress. Do you have any resources where I can look into to start making this connection? Tha…

It's more typically the other way around: use Wordpress to build a website. That way all the plumbing is there. Another way of thinking about it is that a website is just one part of a CMS and it is an easier part much of which can be generated automatically. The harder parts are things like dashboards and security and asset management.

Re: Ask HN: Building a website ok, but a connecting to a CMS?

#6

Post by samuel88 » Fri, May 12, 2017, 5:27 PM UTC

I'm surfing the web in search of a suitable solution for my business website. Initially I was leaning towards using a premium WordPress theme ( https://www.templatemonster.com/category/cafe-and-restaurant... ). I found out that building a website with WordPress from the very scratch requires to be fairly technical. To cut long story short, WordPress requires time and energy to maintain all the technicalities of operating a website. Using a premium theme make the process much easier.

Re: Ask HN: Building a website ok, but a connecting to a CMS?

#7

Post by sammyttrr » Mon, May 15, 2017, 1:20 PM UTC

I am surfing the web in search of a suitable solution for my business website. Initially I was leaning towards using a premium WordPress theme ( https://www.templatemonster.com/category/cafe-and-restaurant... ). I found out that building a website with WordPress from the very scratch requires to be fairly technical. To cut long story short, WordPress requires time and energy to maintain all the technicalities of operating a website. Using a premium theme make the process much easier.

Re: Ask HN: Building a website ok, but a connecting to a CMS?

#8

Post by Oliver88 » Mon, May 15, 2017, 1:26 PM UTC

I've been currently surfing the web in search of a suitable solution for my business website. Initially I was leaning towards using a premium WordPress theme ( https://www.templatemonster.com/category/cafe-and-restaurant... ). I found out that building a website with WordPress from the very scratch requires to be fairly technical. To cut long story short, WordPress requires time and energy to maintain all the technicalities of operating a website. Using a premium theme make the process much easier.