APCG DEV Page - For site Admins only
APCG Staff, Members & Associates - Web content creation notes
This page is provided for APCG admin use and is intended to help those at APCG who will be contributing to and editing this website.
This page is hidden from normal use and only available by typing the web address manually into a browser (abbeyphysic.org/apcgdev)
In this hidden section of the site you should find advice, tips and tools to help you use the site software to edit and build new pages, edit images and ensure the site runs well.
More information may be added as time goes by. For the moment here are links to the two other hidden pages that explain some of the site's layout and functions. Also some notes on using My Drive, the storage area of the site that hold the images and files for display and download.
DESIGN: "FOCUS" ELEMENTS (ROW TEMPLATES)
This page (linked below) will show you the default layouts (known as "Focus" elements) that can be added to any page at will and used as a basis on which to create or add to a page's design and layout.
To explain, each "Focus" element is a collection of "Modules" (things like text boxes, images boxes, buttons, spacers, etc., these Focus elements have been pre-arranged to give a starting point design layout - a bit like a template.
So, "Modules" are single building-block elements, such as a text box, an image box, a contact form, a video player, a map, a slideshow, etc., etc. and a collection of these is called a FOCUS.
To see all the Focus elements listed by their names and styles click here:
www.abbeyphysic.org/design-focuselements
On that page, you can get an idea of what a certain "Focus" template will look like. You can add as many Focus collections (or additional Modules as well) to any page and rearrange them as you wish by dragging and dropping, copying, resizing as needed, changing the sample photos, titling, styling, etc, etc.
RESIZING & PREPARING IMAGES & FILES, FOLDER STRUCTURES, ETC.
For any website, it is critical to prepare images correctly. This involves resizing and optimising them for web use. On this page you will find tools that will help ease or automate this process for you.
This process MUST be done - if images are uploaded direct from cameras, then the site will get bogged down and eventually grind to a halt trying to download huge images (in pixel and megabyte size)
It is also critical that all file and photo filenames are web-ready, named sensibly and eventually stored in folders on the site in a way that makes sense and doesn't become a complete mess later.
Once the images (or any other files such as downloadable PDFs) are sized and named properly and in a good folder structure within the site, they can then be used for adding to webpages. After they are added to a page, they cannot easily be moved, altered or changed without breaking the image/file links on the site, so it is extremely important to get this right and worked out before anything is uploaded - it's all a bit time consuming, but worth it once done.
Click below to go to the Resize Images info and tool page:
Using MODULES
One of the important tools available from the left area of the editing window is/are "MODULES". These are where one adds things like picture or text boxes and many other interesting features to a page. Just drag and drop them over a suitable area of a page to start using them. They can then be edited and moved around the page wherever you like. Just keep adding/copying modules as required all over if one needs.
Only use Modules shown in the top section of the modules section, they are more than enough and will do most things. The E-COMMERCE and POWr Add0ons modules are optional paid upgrades and absolutely not required, mostly suited to advanced sites and those selling goods.
A quick note about using "MY DRIVE"
My Drive (available from the left menu area in the site editor) is like the file manager of the website and it is like the storage area where one can see and use the files available for use in any web pages created. It is what one uses when uploading or placing images into web pages. Additionally it is also where one uploads and links files for download (e.g. the AGM report, Gift AId forms, etc.).
My Drive also has a section for selecting free images/videos from the internet for use on the site.
Usage
Once a file/image is uploaded to the server/site (just drag and drop from your computer's desktop or file manager to My Drive), it is best to never rename that file, most especially if that image might have already been used somewhere on the site (renaming will break the link and not show the image wherever it was used). Only rename (or delete) a file if you are sure it has not been used anywhere on the site and/or is definitely not needed.
When uploading new batches of photos/files, try and find or create a suitable folder and location for them, e.g. if it's for an event like SummerParty2019, then create a folder for that inside the existing "Events" folder, if it's a new third-party logo, there is already a sub-folder in the logos folder especially for them.
In the left hand list of My Drive (which sometimes takes a moment or two to populate), there are alredy many pre-created APCG folder categories within which one should be able to suitably file away sub-folders of new photos. For some of the predefined folder categories there are already folder and sub-folders containing things like Logos, Colleagues or Events. Just try and keep the list tidy and organised with sensible shortish folder names so that in the future it is easy to find particular images and files.
Over time, the number of files and images in a site can become vast, and without a sensible and suitable folder structure with subfolders and categorisation, everything can quickly become a complete mess and because one can't drag and drop folders and files around to different existing folders within My Drive, it becomes very difficult if one ever needs to correct or redo things later, find missing files or even just locate an image for re-use on a new page for example.
PAGES vs BLOGS (Articles)
Pages are standard type web pages with normal site explanations and content, the Blogs (individual Articles) are like individual feature stories or write-ups of events and happenings. These are treated within the site sightly differently to Pages and have their own specific way of displaying their content and a special Blog/Articles page from which one can see all other articles that can also be categorised/ordered. Strangley adding or editing a Blog entry (or Article as they are named for this APCG site) is only found by clicking "SETTINGS" in the main editor's left menu, then you will find BLOG.
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Good luck and best wishes in creating and maintaining the APCG website !
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