Idea's for WB3

[Ryan]

Hi guys,

Ok, here it is - the place where you should post your idea's/feature requests for WB3.
Remember, no discussing, just your idea's. Keep it short and sharp, and any extra info you want put in an external link.
Go nuts, if you want. I might read it, but not right away, so don't expect a response of any kind.
Any content I find unnecessary may be removed without notice (especially if the feature is already implemented in a 2.x release!).
Oh, and the only other rule - one post per person (modify your post if you want to add extra stuff).
Have fun being creative

[kibmcz]

Updated December 24 2005
* Use FCKeditor or Xinha by default
 ----------> Include both
* An more advanced changelog tracker.
 ----------> So it would make a better collaborative environment

Added December 4 2005
* Zip upload = the ability to upload a zip file and have it extract it to the folder user selectable folder
 ----------> Default to Media folder but allow user to set custom folder path in settings page

Added December 24 2005
* Gallery module included with default install
 ----------> I noticed that a lot of the other major CMS systems are now including a Gallery function by default.

Added December 28 2005
* Stop using absolute public address
 ----------> For sites using direct ip access on dynamic ip

Added Febuary 10 2006
* Option to use classic non sql database media storage
 ----------> Not everyone will want to use the database for file storage.
* Optional modules on WB install
 ----------> eg. editors,gallery etc

Added April 13 2006
* A admin widget on front-end when logged into admin (admin or editor user class only)
 ----------> Quickly edit, delete, modify page settings from front end

Added April 14 2006
* An admin option to set the height of the Editor space in the News & WYSIWYG modules.
 ----------> Possibly a Advanced option
* Have different packages available for download.
 ----------> eg. Core, Basic, and Full

Added April 15 2006
* Template Edit module functionality built in
 ----------> Make template creation easier for new users by building in the tools

[samsara]

• remember open submenues on the admin -> pages interface
• option to have main menu horizontal, submenues vertical in standard templates
• main templates w3c validator conformant for people who edit and need to debug the raw html
• more detailed quality assessment of the wysiwyg interface, esp. w.r.t. html code generation, reducing bloat and correct operation of wysiwyg toolbar buttons
• display other admins that are logged in (can help avoid revision conflicts)
• allow moving posts between different News module pages (e.g. for archiving old announcements etc.)
• Change date stamping would be a good one - just an optional little note at the foot of a page saying, "Last changed 23 July 2005"
  There could be a tickbox on the editor ui to disable this for small changes like typo corrections.

I've made similar comments in my blog, http://braintickle.blogspot.com/2005/10/ideas-for-website-baker.html

Samsara

[Woudloper]

Nice to see we can make suggestions for WB3, although I think you have most of the feature already in your head. Maybe I also mention stuff you already done and we already discussed here over at the forum, but this is just a list...

• Make the admin console skinable, so that we can create are own admin templates;
• Make it possible to set custom general settings for wysiwyg modules;
  (something like: addons --> modules --> modify settings)
• Change the display of the template/module/language selection.
  (Now it is working with a SELECT list, but wouldn't it be nicer if you just list the templates/etc. and make a 'per row' option to change settings, uninstall or view the details))
• Improve the file manager (or make an image manager) so people can resize images, rotate, etc.
• Implement delegation for users. E.g. when we have a chief-editor and he is away for the weekend he can delegate his role for that period to another user
• Maintain an admin log of the actions that have been performed in the admin section
• Implement caching for the website (maybe in combination with smarty)
• Improve the module installation (with e.g. post module message, settings that can be set, etc.)
• Maintain statistics on how much a page is visit on the frontend
• Create a possibility to show message to people who login to the admin section. E.g. to felow page editors
• Make modules/code snippets/templates/languages easier to find and install. E.g. (in the way you described) by downloading the list from a server and install it from there (maybe even do this with AJAX)
• Add possibilty to make pages available from a certain date till a certain date. This can e.g. be done for pages that have an embargo on it
• Create enhanched demo site (or default website) so that people will notice all the possibilities after installing websitebaker.
• Possibility to update modules. So when installing an module you check if it is an older version and then call the update script for this module
• Possibility to store code snippets (Just as modules, templates) and give the opportunity to call the snippets from anywhere in the code with a special tag, e.g. [SNIPPET=LASTMODIFIED] (based upon this thread question). When calling this snippet it outputs e.g. the lastmodification date. Maybe you can even make it possible to set addtional parameters, like: [SNIPPET=LASTMODIFIED WHERE=ALLPAGES, etc.]

These where just some thoughts. If I find more thoughts I will mention them here.

[scottfreeman]

Better blogging, a-la Typepad, MT, etc.

[survivor]

keep it simple... Too much possibilities will make it a worse CMS, I choose WB for it's simplicity (hey, my clients have to work with it, and I don't want to explain them everything)
So if you want more functionality, use modules!

- add an image processor (rotate, make thumbnail, add watermark) to the media section...
- possibilities to make a template section that is the same on the whole site (now I use includes, which is more complicated)
- use FCKeditor by default (firefox compatible)
- more modules!

[pcwacht]

What I miss in WB and think WB coul dreally beneft from it:
- the possibility to edit the templates
- to insert reusable php codesnippets in wysiyg (sure there is a section, but I mean really in the wysiwyg)
- caching
- multipage blocks
- easier acl


Much other stuff can be arranged with modules

[ioda006]

most important things to me:

- keep things as simple as possible.  that's what everyone loves about this software.. i don't want to see it turn into anything close to the stupidity of most CMSes out there.

- image processing:  resizing, cropping, rotating.  most important is resizing though.

- horizontal menu options

- keeping the search-engine-friendly urls..  i've worried about this feature disappearing the most whenever i hear "full rewrite of the software".  whatever way you do it.. mod_rewrite or the current method or something new that's just as easy.

- keeping everything you possibly can in modules and out of the core.. blogging

other good ideas:

- admin section templating

- caching

- mass user->group permission assignments.  hate to bring up cmsmadesimple again, but they have a neat little interface for mass management of user/group permissions so you don't have to do each one one at a time.  i'd probably never use this for most of my stuff, but if i ever end up with a client that has a bunch of people working on their site it might be useful.

- i've been hearing things about keeping a lot of the files centralized so that it's easier to update multiple sites.. i really like this idea and i would like to see that used

- don't change the gui too much!  i love the big icons for each section.

[Olli]

hello,

in my opinion caching is definately a good idea to reduce server-load on bigger pages.
every cms i tried for caching was a mess in my eyes...

i would love to be able to set a lifetife of a page too (page expiary (turning invisible) at a certain day).

the simplicity of WebsiteBaker with expansions on module basis makes it so strong. please keep it that way

i'm really looking forward to WB3

[bhhenry]

My request would be to have management buttons appear dynamically on pages for users who have permission to edit. This way users can edit or update a page where they find it without having to first go to the admin interface, manage pages, then find the epage, edit, etc.

Also, my favorite feature from wikki-land is to be able to create a new content page on the site by inserting a tag for a link to that page. That is, if you put a link which refrences a page on the same site which does not exist, the page is dynamically created and opened for editing when clicked on.

[banned]

Hi,
I'm really impressed about the flexibility and the versatility od websitebaker, the page/section system in the database backend is a great idea!

- There is a way to debug database queries and page generation time? I've looked a bit in the source but I've not find nothing.. as I've not find nothing searching in this forum
- this is a suggestion, I like very much the way you can use custom php code in your pages - using the code module.
Have you ever think about a similar way to insert reusable php/html/whatever code in your pages and your templates? (I'm working to a module/little hack of 1-2 files.. maybe later you can find it usefull)

banned

[coffee_bean]

It would be useful if the wysiwyg editor worked in Safari.
I too chose WebsiteBaker for its simplicity, easy to get going and use. However, the option to turn on advanced features is also useful.
Perhaps the ability to adjust the way the menu works too...

[KenZo]

I'm thinking and I have to say that you (Ryan) shall keep the simplicity of the previous versions and only make specialized modules. So you only have to update the internal coding and layout and backside module support for all the new versions.

[Pixelchaos]

I've got some ideas for WB3, but I don't know how easy it is to do.

• The main thing I found when using wb was that the basic modules have design and language hardcoded in the file. I had to translate the news-module by hand in the php-file. Is it possible that there is a language sexction in each module file or even a separate file? And maybe the styling (html) can go too, since we have stylesheets to do that for us.
• Members who have nothing to do with the backend still have access to it, although they can't change anything except their profile. Even this isn't necessary beacause they can change their profile from the front-page.
• It would be nice if sections had a separate field for a header (outside of html-area). That way you could standardise the look of you sub-headers on a page with stylesheets. It would also simplify section-editing for less-experienced users. The field shouldn't be obligatory, as some people don't use sections.
• The ability to use a piece of content in more than one page. Maybe you can use a field where you can point to the ID of a section. THis function is often called "content anywhere".
• The ability to resize images in the "media" menu using Imagemagick/GDlib. Also, it would be nice if you could have previews of the images in the media section. A good implementation is used in phpwcms (except for the temp files).
• The ability to add custom fields to the profile. Also, a memberlist and individual public members pages.

Also I agree with PCwacht, editing the templates from within the system is greatly appreciated. Is that still possible when using Smarty? Maybe it is also possible to edit language files from within the backend?

Finally I would like to say I am really curious how WB3 turns out. I think WB2 is a great CMS and I can't wait to test WB3.

[TheEdge]

• Better concurrent multi-user support
• Ability to rollback changes

[Christian]

• more user infos for functions in admin panel,
• language File with Sections

Code:

// Frontend $xxx=
// Admin Panel §xxx= etc.

[/li]
[li]complete header informations configurable by admin panel - i think about:[/li]

Code:

<META HTTP-EQUIV="Cache-Control" CONTENT="...">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Pragma" CONTENT="...">
<meta name="robots" content="...">
<meta name="revisit-after" content="xxx days">
<meta name="content-language" content="xx,xx,xx,">
<meta http-equiv="Expires" content="...">
<META NAME="page-topic" CONTENT="....">
<META NAME="audience" CONTENT=" ...  ">

[/list]

integrate a guestbook modul with following features:

• Send E-Mail to admin when new entry has been added
• flood lock/protection
• badword filter
• entries have to be unlocked by the admin

• integrate an admin / user  log file to log admin works

[mysticcowboy]

I love the current simplicity.

Would love built in RSS including podcasting tags for the news module.

I'm hoping that your use of Smarty will incorporate content blocks that allow for PHP snippets.

[Hans]

When editing a page with blocks, it would be nice if there was a statement above each block stating which block it is. When using more blocks it could be helpful to determine what you are working on.
Hans

[NEX2NUN]

I stumbled onto WB by chance and love it beyond words, plus end-users with no knowledge of the web absolutely love the gui interface on the admin side.. great work and I know it only gets better from here!

Some ideas I thought of for WB3, I'm sure a lot of them have been mentioned, so I'll add my vote to the list.

• RSS functions
• horizontal menus
• internal messaging/mail system
• blog
• easy integration with forum (or a built-in forum)
• [ADD] additional options for sign-up feature (rather than just getting password via e-mail get account info on the fly)

Well, that's about it for now, all I can really add to that is please don't "change" too much, what you have going right now is perfect, I would simply look to "add" and make it that much better.

Thanks,
Derek 

[DGEC]

The thing I liked and my users liked is... its so easy and fast to use!  Just - module development flexible and user inteface simple.  I consider designers as users for a CMS   And fast is very good. The editing seems a bit slow on 2.5.2, at least on my host, but I consider the easy of use making up for it.   

Adding my desire to see as little change in user complexity as possible.  Users don't know how to do anything besides type in a word processor and maybe add pictures.  The new Xirha editor looks just TOOOOO complex and slow!  If anything, I'd like to figure out how to simplify the wysiwyg toolbar.  I just want to give the users a picture insert tool, alignment, so they have to create proper XHTML style output.  No fonts, sizes, etc unless they're defined in the CSS!

The idea of the core program being as small as possible is the best thing in my opinion. Then modules and blocks can be added if desired.  Template editing is nice, but preferrably it should be done in a module too.

The thing I liked about the current template is that it really is pretty simple. If someone could just pull together a document with all the template related information it would be great. I'm not sure if could be more concentrated, ie all template information in one file, that would be nice, although I think its close to that already.

One screen CSS, one print CSS and one PHP file is about as complex as it should be.

[gazoo]

The great thing about WebsiteBaker is its ease of use. By far, this CMS has the best usability especially for end-users who are not particularly computer-savvy.

That being said, I would tend to agree with a previous post that the core of WebsiteBaker should remain relatively small and tight and any enhancements or features should be added as optional modules or extensions. That way, the "bloating" effect is removed and CMS customizations can be made relatively easily to suit almost any need.

Therefore, those who need alot of special features and add-ons can install them, and  those who require only a minimal set of functionality do not have to install mandatory components. For example, in the Typo3 CMS, the phpAdmin utility comes with every install regardless of whether you want it or not. In my opinion, this is an unnecessary mandatory component and only contributes to the overall "bloating" factor of the Typo3 core. phpAdmin is useful, but I use it as a separate utility to manage multiple databases and would prefer Typo3 not to bundle it with its core offering.

One key feature that I feel would be beneficial to a WebsiteBaker 3 core would be the option and ability to have multiple WebsiteBaker sites running off of a single code base and possibly a single database. For those who have multiple clients and are providing end users with the functionality of websitebaker, upgrading and patching each and every implementation becomes nightmarish.

Some CMS's that offer this feature make use of database table prefix-ing and config files where you can create "multiple virtual hosts" (i.e. pointers to different file folders where the non-core files and folders, like media, are located).

Looking forward to the evolution of this great product!

Cheers!
Gazoo 

[DGEC]

One key feature that I feel would be beneficial to a WebsiteBaker 3 core would be the option and ability to have multiple WebsiteBaker sites running off of a single code base and possibly a single database. For those who have multiple clients and are providing end users with the functionality of websitebaker, upgrading and patching each and every implementation becomes nightmarish.

Yes! Amen!

[teressa]

I might be missing something, but I would like to request a way to preview a page, without it going live for everyone else. I realize there is a way to do this if you use the front-end login, but as I don't use WB as a portal, but as portfolio-type sites, I think this would be a useful addition to the admin.

The idea might be that if I were logged in to the admin in the same browser I could view the production page in another window.

[Fratm]

I would like it if that, when in the pages menu, you only see the pages you have permission to edit., same with the parent drop down menu (Instead of grayed out, which only now works in some browsers).

-Steve

[andy]

Two ideas.

-Separate page sections in edit view by <hr> and by alternating light and dark backgrounds.

-Allow for the option to arrange all pages into arbitrary "buckets" in the backend.  This way, larger sites can organize pages in an intuitive manner without having to deal with one large list of displayed and not-displayed content.
--There would no longer be parents or children.  Each menu item would have its own bucket attached to it.  Any content that went in there would be like making it a child, and they could be set to display or not display as normal.
--There would be a "root bucket" for the root menu.
--Buckets could be created to hold many pages of one sort (i.e. reviews, for instance).
--You could create a bucket display module that would display all pages in a specific bucket in a certain order (by date, by title, by author, etc).  This would NOT override individual page display properties, though.

UPD: Alternative names: Cups, Batches, Bins