Session 6.7 – Content Management Systems

Introduction to CMS

A Content Management System (CMS) is software that helps users create, manage, and modify content on a website without requiring specialized technical knowledge.

What is a CMS?

A CMS provides a user-friendly interface that allows content creators, editors, and administrators to manage website content without writing code. It separates content from design and provides tools for collaboration and workflow management.

Content Creation: WYSIWYG editors, media management
Organization: Categories, tags, taxonomies
Publishing: Scheduling, versioning, workflow
User Management: Roles, permissions, authentication
Extensibility: Plugins, themes, modules

CMS Architecture

Presentation Layer
Themes, Templates, Frontend

Application Layer
Business Logic, APIs, Plugins

Content Repository
Database, File Storage, Media

Types of CMS

Traditional/Coupled CMS

Examples: WordPress, Drupal, Joomla

Characteristics:

Backend and frontend tightly coupled
Content and presentation together
Full-stack solution
Template-based rendering

Best for: Traditional websites, blogs, small to medium sites

Headless CMS

Examples: Contentful, Strapi, Sanity

Characteristics:

Backend-only, no presentation layer
Content delivered via API
Frontend framework agnostic
Multi-channel content delivery

Best for: Mobile apps, SPAs, multiple frontends

Decoupled CMS

Characteristics:

Hybrid approach
Backend and frontend separated
Can use either coupled or headless
More flexible architecture

Best for: Complex enterprise applications

Static Site Generators

Examples: Jekyll, Hugo, Gatsby

Characteristics:

Generates static HTML files
No database at runtime
Extremely fast performance
Version control friendly

Best for: Documentation, blogs, marketing sites

Popular CMS Platforms

WordPress

Market Share: ~43% of all websites

Strengths:

Easy to use
Massive plugin ecosystem
Great for blogs and small sites
Large community

Use Cases: Blogs, small business sites, portfolios

Drupal

Market Share: ~2% of all websites

Strengths:

Highly flexible
Enterprise-grade security
Scalable architecture
Advanced content modeling

Use Cases: Government, enterprise, complex sites

Joomla

Market Share: ~2% of all websites

Strengths:

Balance of ease and power
Built-in multilingual support
Flexible user management
Good for social networks

Use Cases: Corporate sites, community portals

Other Notable CMS Platforms

Shopify: E-commerce focused CMS
Wix: Website builder with CMS features
Squarespace: Design-focused website builder
Ghost: Modern publishing platform for blogs
Contentful: Headless CMS for developers
Strapi: Open-source headless CMS

Building a Simple CMS

Database Schema

-- Users table
CREATE TABLE users (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    username VARCHAR(50) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    password VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    role ENUM('admin', 'editor', 'author') DEFAULT 'author',
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

-- Posts table
CREATE TABLE posts (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    title VARCHAR(200) NOT NULL,
    slug VARCHAR(200) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    content TEXT,
    excerpt TEXT,
    author_id INT NOT NULL,
    status ENUM('draft', 'published', 'archived') DEFAULT 'draft',
    published_at TIMESTAMP NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    FOREIGN KEY (author_id) REFERENCES users(id)
);

-- Categories table
CREATE TABLE categories (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    slug VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    description TEXT
);

-- Post-Category relationship
CREATE TABLE post_categories (
    post_id INT NOT NULL,
    category_id INT NOT NULL,
    PRIMARY KEY (post_id, category_id),
    FOREIGN KEY (post_id) REFERENCES posts(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
    FOREIGN KEY (category_id) REFERENCES categories(id) ON DELETE CASCADE
);

-- Media table
CREATE TABLE media (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    filename VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    filepath VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    mime_type VARCHAR(100),
    filesize INT,
    uploaded_by INT NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    FOREIGN KEY (uploaded_by) REFERENCES users(id)
);

Post Management

<?php
// Post.php
class Post {
    private $pdo;

    public function __construct($pdo) {
        $this->pdo = $pdo;
    }

    // Create new post
    public function create($data) {
        $sql = "INSERT INTO posts (title, slug, content, excerpt, author_id, status)
                VALUES (:title, :slug, :content, :excerpt, :author_id, :status)";

        $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        return $stmt->execute([
            ':title' => $data['title'],
            ':slug' => $this->createSlug($data['title']),
            ':content' => $data['content'],
            ':excerpt' => $data['excerpt'] ?? '',
            ':author_id' => $data['author_id'],
            ':status' => $data['status'] ?? 'draft'
        ]);
    }

    // Get all posts with pagination
    public function getAll($page = 1, $perPage = 10, $status = 'published') {
        $offset = ($page - 1) * $perPage;

        $sql = "SELECT p.*, u.username as author_name
                FROM posts p
                JOIN users u ON p.author_id = u.id
                WHERE p.status = :status
                ORDER BY p.created_at DESC
                LIMIT :offset, :perPage";

        $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        $stmt->bindValue(':status', $status);
        $stmt->bindValue(':offset', $offset, PDO::PARAM_INT);
        $stmt->bindValue(':perPage', $perPage, PDO::PARAM_INT);
        $stmt->execute();

        return $stmt->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
    }

    // Get single post by slug
    public function getBySlug($slug) {
        $sql = "SELECT p.*, u.username as author_name
                FROM posts p
                JOIN users u ON p.author_id = u.id
                WHERE p.slug = :slug AND p.status = 'published'";

        $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        $stmt->execute([':slug' => $slug]);

        return $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
    }

    // Update post
    public function update($id, $data) {
        $sql = "UPDATE posts
                SET title = :title, slug = :slug, content = :content,
                    excerpt = :excerpt, status = :status, updated_at = NOW()
                WHERE id = :id";

        $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        return $stmt->execute([
            ':title' => $data['title'],
            ':slug' => $this->createSlug($data['title']),
            ':content' => $data['content'],
            ':excerpt' => $data['excerpt'] ?? '',
            ':status' => $data['status'],
            ':id' => $id
        ]);
    }

    // Delete post
    public function delete($id) {
        $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare("DELETE FROM posts WHERE id = ?");
        return $stmt->execute([$id]);
    }

    // Create URL-friendly slug
    private function createSlug($title) {
        $slug = strtolower(trim(preg_replace('/[^A-Za-z0-9-]+/', '-', $title)));
        return $slug;
    }

    // Search posts
    public function search($query) {
        $sql = "SELECT p.*, u.username as author_name
                FROM posts p
                JOIN users u ON p.author_id = u.id
                WHERE (p.title LIKE :query OR p.content LIKE :query)
                AND p.status = 'published'
                ORDER BY p.created_at DESC";

        $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        $stmt->execute([':query' => "%$query%"]);

        return $stmt->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
    }
}
?>

User Authentication

<?php
// Auth.php
class Auth {
    private $pdo;

    public function __construct($pdo) {
        $this->pdo = $pdo;
        session_start();
    }

    // Register new user
    public function register($username, $email, $password) {
        // Validate input
        if (empty($username) || empty($email) || empty($password)) {
            return ['success' => false, 'message' => 'All fields required'];
        }

        // Hash password
        $hashedPassword = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);

        try {
            $sql = "INSERT INTO users (username, email, password) VALUES (?, ?, ?)";
            $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
            $stmt->execute([$username, $email, $hashedPassword]);

            return ['success' => true, 'message' => 'Registration successful'];
        } catch (PDOException $e) {
            return ['success' => false, 'message' => 'Username or email already exists'];
        }
    }

    // Login user
    public function login($username, $password) {
        $sql = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ? OR email = ?";
        $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        $stmt->execute([$username, $username]);
        $user = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

        if ($user && password_verify($password, $user['password'])) {
            $_SESSION['user_id'] = $user['id'];
            $_SESSION['username'] = $user['username'];
            $_SESSION['role'] = $user['role'];

            return ['success' => true, 'message' => 'Login successful'];
        }

        return ['success' => false, 'message' => 'Invalid credentials'];
    }

    // Logout user
    public function logout() {
        session_destroy();
    }

    // Check if user is logged in
    public function isLoggedIn() {
        return isset($_SESSION['user_id']);
    }

    // Get current user
    public function getCurrentUser() {
        if (!$this->isLoggedIn()) {
            return null;
        }

        $sql = "SELECT id, username, email, role FROM users WHERE id = ?";
        $stmt = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        $stmt->execute([$_SESSION['user_id']]);

        return $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
    }

    // Check user permission
    public function hasPermission($requiredRole) {
        if (!$this->isLoggedIn()) {
            return false;
        }

        $userRole = $_SESSION['role'];
        $roleHierarchy = ['admin' => 3, 'editor' => 2, 'author' => 1];

        return $roleHierarchy[$userRole] >= $roleHierarchy[$requiredRole];
    }
}
?>

Admin Interface

<?php
// admin/posts.php
require_once '../config/database.php';
require_once '../classes/Auth.php';
require_once '../classes/Post.php';

$auth = new Auth($pdo);

// Check if user is logged in and has permission
if (!$auth->isLoggedIn() || !$auth->hasPermission('author')) {
    header('Location: login.php');
    exit;
}

$post = new Post($pdo);
$currentUser = $auth->getCurrentUser();
?>

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Manage Posts - CMS Admin</title>
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.2/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
</head>
<body>
    <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-dark bg-dark">
        <div class="container-fluid">
            <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">CMS Admin</a>
            <div class="navbar-nav ms-auto">
                <span class="navbar-text me-3">Welcome, <?php echo $currentUser['username']; ?></span>
                <a href="logout.php" class="btn btn-outline-light btn-sm">Logout</a>
            </div>
        </div>
    </nav>

    <div class="container-fluid">
        <div class="row">
            <!-- Sidebar -->
            <nav class="col-md-2 d-md-block bg-light sidebar">
                <div class="position-sticky pt-3">
                    <ul class="nav flex-column">
                        <li class="nav-item">
                            <a class="nav-link" href="dashboard.php">Dashboard</a>
                        </li>
                        <li class="nav-item">
                            <a class="nav-link active" href="posts.php">Posts</a>
                        </li>
                        <li class="nav-item">
                            <a class="nav-link" href="categories.php">Categories</a>
                        </li>
                        <li class="nav-item">
                            <a class="nav-link" href="media.php">Media</a>
                        </li>
                        <?php if ($auth->hasPermission('admin')): ?>
                        <li class="nav-item">
                            <a class="nav-link" href="users.php">Users</a>
                        </li>
                        <?php endif; ?>
                    </ul>
                </div>
            </nav>

            <!-- Main content -->
            <main class="col-md-10 ms-sm-auto px-md-4">
                <div class="d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center pt-3 pb-2 mb-3 border-bottom">
                    <h1 class="h2">Posts</h1>
                    <a href="post-create.php" class="btn btn-primary">New Post</a>
                </div>

                <div class="table-responsive">
                    <table class="table table-striped">
                        <thead>
                            <tr>
                                <th>Title</th>
                                <th>Author</th>
                                <th>Status</th>
                                <th>Date</th>
                                <th>Actions</th>
                            </tr>
                        </thead>
                        <tbody>
                            <?php
                            $posts = $post->getAll(1, 20, 'all');
                            foreach ($posts as $p):
                            ?>
                            <tr>
                                <td><?php echo htmlspecialchars($p['title']); ?></td>
                                <td><?php echo htmlspecialchars($p['author_name']); ?></td>
                                <td>
                                    <span class="badge bg-<?php echo $p['status'] === 'published' ? 'success' : 'warning'; ?>">
                                        <?php echo $p['status']; ?>
                                    </span>
                                </td>
                                <td><?php echo date('Y-m-d', strtotime($p['created_at'])); ?></td>
                                <td>
                                    <a href="post-edit.php?id=<?php echo $p['id']; ?>" class="btn btn-sm btn-warning">Edit</a>
                                    <a href="post-delete.php?id=<?php echo $p['id']; ?>" class="btn btn-sm btn-danger" onclick="return confirm('Delete this post?')">Delete</a>
                                </td>
                            </tr>
                            <?php endforeach; ?>
                        </tbody>
                    </table>
                </div>
            </main>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Essential CMS Features

Content Editor

WYSIWYG editor (TinyMCE, CKEditor)
Markdown support
Media insertion
HTML source editing

Media Management

File upload and organization
Image resizing and cropping
Media library
Multiple file formats

User Management

Role-based access control
User registration and profiles
Permission management
Activity logging

SEO Tools

Meta tags management
URL customization
Sitemap generation
Analytics integration

Choosing the Right CMS

Key Considerations

Ease of Use: User skill level
Flexibility: Customization needs
Scalability: Growth potential
Security: Built-in security features
Cost: Licensing, hosting, maintenance

Community: Support and resources
Extensions: Plugin availability
Performance: Speed and optimization
Integration: Third-party services
Multi-language: Internationalization

Small Projects

Best Choice: WordPress, Ghost

Why: Easy setup, low cost, good for blogs and small business sites

Enterprise Projects

Best Choice: Drupal, custom solution

Why: Advanced features, security, scalability, complex requirements

Modern Apps

Best Choice: Headless CMS (Contentful, Strapi)

Why: API-first, multi-platform, modern development workflow

Session Summary

Key Points

CMS separates content management from presentation
Different types: Traditional, Headless, Decoupled, Static
WordPress dominates with 43% market share
Essential features: content editor, media management, user roles, SEO
Building custom CMS requires database design and CRUD operations
Role-based access control is crucial for security
Choose CMS based on project size, requirements, and team skills
Consider scalability, security, and extensibility
Modern projects often benefit from headless CMS architecture

Next Session Preview

In the next session, we will dive deep into WordPress Development, learning how to create themes, plugins, and customize WordPress for various use cases.

Session 6.7 – Content Management Systems

Learning Objectives

Introduction to CMS

What is a CMS?

CMS Architecture

Types of CMS

Traditional/Coupled CMS

Headless CMS

Decoupled CMS

Static Site Generators

Popular CMS Platforms

WordPress

Drupal

Joomla

Other Notable CMS Platforms

Building a Simple CMS

Database Schema

Post Management

User Authentication

Admin Interface

Essential CMS Features

Content Editor

Media Management

User Management

SEO Tools

Choosing the Right CMS

Key Considerations

Small Projects

Enterprise Projects

Modern Apps

Session Summary

Key Points

Next Session Preview