Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have been using CMSmadesimple (CMSMS) for 5 years or so. It's a very robust CMS (content management system) that is quite easy to learn in a basic way. To get more out of CMSMS though you need to know a bit more than you can easily pick up from just using the application, visiting the WIKI and user forums.
This book is exactly what a user new to CMSmadesimple would need to jump-start the learning experience. A web developer with more experience but no experience specifically with CMSmadesimple or the Smarty templating engine would also benefit from this book. To be sure, the measured pace of the book is perfect for a neophyte to CMSmadesimple.
The approach taken by the book is to teach you how to install CMSmadesimple and then how to build an example website from scratch using the book as your tutor. It walks you through each and every step, carefully assessing your progress along the way with end-of-chapter quizzes and a great method of delivering the content.
The book follows the procedure of telling you what you are about to do, telling you how to do it then explaining to you what you just did. For block-heads like me, it is the only way I learn well... by reading, doing and recapping.
All the major areas are covered including how to Install CMSMS, how to use the core modules, an understanding of how to use Smarty to build your templates, how to convert other website templates to work with CMSMS, a brief discussion of SEO and how to add e-commerce functionality and a discussion of Users and Permissions. There is a lot of information packed into this slender book. All of the information is presented in a no-nonsense, straightforward manner.
If you prefer reference types of books, this probably won't meet your needs as it does take a tutorial approach and is best consumed in a linear fashion. You -could- use it by jumping around from here to there if you just wanted to discover how to do some specific things such as adding a protected page to your site, easily implementing YouTube videos onto your pages or perhaps how to create a form with various types of input fields. But this book is not a reference book for CMSmadesimple. Rather it is a guided approach to learning the basics, and then some, of CMSmadesimple.
The author makes ample use of screenshots along the way. The code snippets are available from the publishers website, which is fortunate since no CD accompanies the book.
There are not many books dealing with CMSmadesimple and I was thrilled to find one that covered all the essentials in an easy to digest way. I'd highly recommend this to anyone contemplating the building of a website with CMSmadesimple. It will greatly enhance your early experiences with the application and explain some of the concepts that even I didn't have a firm grasp on until reading the book. In particular, the brief but helpful discussion of how the Smarty templating engine works is indispensable information.
I can't think of a better introduction to CMSmadesimple. I wish I'd had this book 5 years ago. It would have accelerated my learning greatly. And as an aside, if you are using WordPress to build websites but blogging is not your primary focus for the website, give CMSmadesimple a good look. It is really slick, has an active user forum and is continually undergoing development.
Click Here to see more reviews about: CMS Made Simple 1.6: Beginner's Guide
This is a practical, hands-on book based around a case study website, which you will set up in this easy-to-understand introduction to using CMS Made Simple. The chapters provide clear instructions and detailed screenshots, so you can see exactly what to do at each step of the build. This book is perfect for newcomers as well as webmasters who are looking for an introduction to building powerful and professional websites with a content management system. The workshop covers all aspects of web publishing and is aimed for web designers, web developers, editors, and web managers.
Click here for more information about CMS Made Simple 1.6: Beginner's Guide
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