CMS websites are now the norm as the preferred content management and delivery solution. Nevertheless, many CMS web applications face scalability issues. However, when a CMS is put in the cloud, it theoretically resolves the scalability issue to obtain a complete benefit.

But, if a cloud platform is not configured to match the particular needs of the CMS, it will need to work harder. This will result in higher loads than what is actually needed to serve the incoming traffic. Therefore, in most cases, it is sensible to cache the static content. The issue that one faces here is whether the cloud is able to tell the difference between a user who has signed into an application and is therefore being served with dynamic content and the one who has not yet signed into the application.

At the same time, a CMS presents many other challenges other than scalability due to the paradigm shift from the traditional model of sharing files from a central repository.  The reason behind this is that websites no longer operate isolated or in standalone mode. They must be able to interact with a range of other business applications that range from ecommerce business solutions to CRM databases to a range of reporting as well as analytics tools. To cut a long story short, websites have become increasingly data and content hungry because of their complex nature and the requirements of their users.

Managing such websites is now a full-time job.  Earlier in the traditional hosting scenario, the site owner had to figure out how to look after the application, but also the servers, backups, databases, and others.  Now, the platforms are specialized, so handling a web application which was a full time job can now be addressed by a person who can pay full-time attention.

"Nesta, Wordpess and Drupal produce great blogs. However, we are making new-media newspapers, next-gen magazines, and hyperlocal, pulse-finding micro streams. We can’t save journalism without demanding more from our CMS."

-Erik Hinton, The Twilight of the CMS, TPM, July 11, 2011.

Any developer who has worked on building a CMS driven web site has experienced the complexities involved in a website deployment.

On the Ektron Blog Hub, Bill Cava makes the case that the ultimate success of a website isn't something that can be verified by a developer during development by asking, "how many developers are even aware of what the desired business outcomes for a website are -- let alone measure, verify, and optimize them during development, quality assurance, and usability testing?"

He makes the point that success largely depends on the quality of the developers working on the project and goes on to explain his "7 Tips to Being a Highly Successful Cms Developer"

Read the complete story, 7 Tips to Being a Highly Successful CMS Developer on the Ektron Blog Hub.

The Packt Publishing contacted me and asked if I am interested in writing a review about this book. I said yes and got a e-book straight away. I have read 50% of this book and checked codes. Today I’d like to write some reviews about what I read so far.

This is not a paid work and I will be honest.

The book starts from the most important part of CMS about user management.

Then it goes to core of CMS, pages and templates. Using jQuery and plug-ins for this CMS.

I think the appropriate audience of this book should have some experiences with PHP and jQuery. If you have your own CMS, then the book will give you different approaches and skills. If you don’t know php or jQuery, then you should read those books first.

Chapter 1

In chapter one, the book explains about the cms directory structure and how to name the directory and why, explaining about config file etc.

The author creates a simple database and add a httpd.conf file. He explains well and step by step. It is easy to read. However as I stated it before if you just started writing php or jquery, then I think you may need to google or study further things you don’t know. But if you have some expereince with web development or know a bit about Zend or Linux, then it shouldn’t be a problem. I learnt a couple of things already in this chapter.

He explains well about .htaccess and took some mysteries off about this file for me.

What surprised me first was that the book takes you straight to the core of coding without gibberish.

Typos which I found in code are followings.

Page 18 ‘password ‘=>’cmspass’,

should be ‘password’=>’cmspass’, without space after password. If you take out this space it works. And the supplied code for chapter one does not have this error.

Page.php methods are missing “public static function” and its constructor has unnecessary codes such as return false which constructor will never return.

And public $vars; (or var $var;) is missing at the top.

Drupal 7 Module Development is a new book from Packt that teaches developers to write their own Drupal modules, themes, and libraries. Written by six experienced Drupal developers, this book, specifically written for Drupal 7 development, focuses on the programming secrets, as well as helps developers discover powerful new tools in Drupal 7.

Drupal is an Open Source Content Management System used for knowledge management and business collaboration. The advanced URL control in Drupal allows users to structure and/or edit their site’s content. Having thousands of add-on modules and designs, Drupal helps build everything from personal blogs to enterprise applications.

Drupal 7 Module Development walks users through the development of complete Drupal modules and shows how to add various features. It introduces PHP developers to the powerful new Drupal 7 tools and strategies for writing custom Drupal code, using which, readers can explore the major APIs to build successful Drupal websites.

With the help of this book, users will be able to test their code programmatically, and apply the principles of Test Drive Development (TDD) to it. They will also learn to create custom content types and entities, and build modules, thereby extending Drupal's core functionality.

PHP developers and Drupal users interested in Drupal development will find this book to be an interesting and beneficial read. This book is out now and is available from Packt. For more information, please visit www.packtpub.com/drupal-7-module-development/book

Why Web Content Management Systems are the way of the future, making traditional web development a thing of the past

The Web is an exciting place. With excitement come innate complexity and an overwhelming abundance of choices when defining how to take your website into the future.  Ask web evangelists of today versus evangelists of say 5 years ago, and they will highlight the importance of device support, marketing tools, analytics and focusing on creating great content that will stand the test of time.

Recently, companies like Google and Apple have prompted questions to the public, such as, “Why are we still building things like we did 30 years ago?” These types of provocative questions are spawning answers in the form of new tools, such as the iPhone 4 and the upcoming wave of Google WebOS notebooks. Ask yourself these questions:

• Would you still create artwork using MS Paint?
• Would you still write articles using Notepad?
• Would you still use Netscape as an Internet Browser?

Then why are you still developing websites in the traditional approach?

Let me start by defining what I mean by “traditional”. Traditional Web Development refers to the act of taking a Web Framework such as HTML, ASP.net, PHP and building a website from the ground, up. This includes everything from setting up Database connections, setting up Database Tables, creating separate files for your Contact Us and Products page, the list goes on. Most web agencies that I consult with have control libraries that make this process less tedious and time consuming but this is not addressing the fundamental issue, being, this is a traditional methodology for building web sites. Weddings should be traditional; your grandmother’s brownie recipe should be traditional. Your web presence should be innovative.