This question comes back to me again and again, I've asked this myself and I am being asked today directly: can you create a website that "the client" can maintain and update (this client not using Wappler). Two examples:
My sister wants to update Blogs (past and future events) and add/remove pictures of her paintings to her site in an easy way
My chess club would like to update event blogs and chess diagrams and such stuff
These people don't have a clue about databases or NodeJS or Bootstrap. Can this be done? Are other Wapplers asked these questions and what was the result?
Yes, those are very doable. How complex it gets depends on your specific needs. The only issue I can see may be the ability for the client to add new pages and design them.
If all of the content is held in a database it is very easy to have a client Create, Edit and Delete Records.
There is a full tutorial on the Wappler YouTube page.
Actally my very first Wappler site back in Wappler pre-release days (7 years ago or so) was my personal blog and image galleries. All update-able through an admin dashboard.
I'm just starting out and I think there are no limits to your project. I'm coming from a WordPress background, and I'm going to abandon it and transfer all my projects to my own CMS, created through Wappler.
You can go from a simple website to a CMS, depending on the size of your ambition. Wappler will serve you very well.
I'm creating a template, and whenever I need a content manager I'll start from there.
Come up with the following idea.
1 - The frontend will consume the data from the DB.
2 - Create a dashboard to feed the database.
The challenge: in my case, the Wappler learning curve is taking up a bit of my time, but I've learned a lot here on the forum. And when you start from "0", it takes time to have everything the way you imagine (when compared to the Wordpress CMS).
The advantage: The freedom to develop is absurd, I'm free and I'm not tied to the old WordPress project. That's the part I like the most.
Watch the video to see how the dashboard is looking, I'm still working on it, but you can already see how it behaves.
It's very doable, I came from a hobby coding background and managed to have a large scale production ready marine dealership CMS in 6 months from knowing 0 CSS/HTML and zero database experience.
You can do almost anything you can dream of. Wappler is the only low code platform with almost 0 boundaries on what you can do, and this is why you need some knowledge on db design to be sure that you structure your databse the best possible way.
Hi @Nilton_Felicio This is very intresting. Why you want to change to Wappler from WP? I mean I understand why you would want to do that, but since many people still concider WP the best approach to build a website (bummer I really dont know why they believe that, WP needs so many resources on maintaining and updating it), it would be intresting if you describe some of the reasons that you decided to change your cms development approach.
Hi @t11 .
Sorry if this is too much text, I always want to go into details and end up going on and on.
I'm a simple person when it comes to talking about WP.
What can I say about something that is on almost 40% of websites in the world?
And there will always be those who defend it, like the war between Xbox versus PlayStation, React versus Angular...
I used it a lot, I made good money serving clients with WP.
I'm not going to be completely ungrateful either.
However, in my humble opinion, each person is free to choose which path to follow.
For anything different, you have to install a plugin.
If that plugin caused a deficiency, you fix it by installing a new plugin.
If I want performance, you install a plugin.
If I want image processing, you install another plugin.
The links to images, posts, pages, everything ends up in the Post table in the database. In reality, for each plugin you install, the database creates several tables, for me it ends up being a mess.
If you need to extend it, for example: in addition to the blog, I want to have a list of properties or cars for sale. Here's another plugin to install to generate the Custom post type. And there's a detail. It will throw the inputs of cars or properties into the database's post table. There would have to be a table for cars, properties, posts, pages, images. It throws everything into a table called post (then you type the input).
When you deliver it to your client, there are things that you don't want your client to change, so you'll have to install another plugin to control what your client can change.
When you realize that there are 20 plugins installed, all consuming resources, there are 20 forums to try to solve the problem, and that's when the plugin developer is willing to help you.
The WP dashboard is not modern, and if you want to make it modern you have to install another plugin.
For me, it's the worst of all. If you have a site in production, and this site is constantly used for publishing posts. And you want to launch a new one with new functions. This is where you'll have a big problem. Since it relies 100% on the content in the database, you will have to upload a new database, and since the old database is in use, you will break the site, because it will conflict with the ID of something. The solution would be: create a copy of the old one, suspend publications during this period, work on it, and then replace it.
If you ask me if WordPress is bad, I will say it is not, but I am working on not using it anymore and if I do use it, it will be as little as possible.
I think Wappler is magical. It is a low-code tool, but we are not tied to an ecosystem. Here the limit is your imagination.
I am having a lot of difficulty, I think the learning curve for Wappler is big. But I am persistent and one day I will get there.
Looks great Brad, your example, but what does the process of updating blogs (on the admin page you referred to) look like? Can you describe the process? I imagine my sisters blog would contain text+small images. Maybe a screenshot would give me inspiration
Wow, so many details. Thank you for taking the time. Feel free to ask anything you want on Wappler. Another question, do you think that WP will eventually come to a decline? I think that as users start to understand the importance of a nicely designed database for their webapp, website, WP will not serve them that much anymore. Especially with low code tools like Wappler which permits to build custom things fast, I see no reason for someone to keep on using WP. I really dont understand how is it possible to accept that any kind of company (a drugstore, a car dealer, a hotel, a butcher, etc) are using the exactly same structure for their database. This limits their potential so much...
Built a custom ecommerce CMS for my wife's craft business completely with Wappler. Including using the Stripe components in Wappler. https://www.r4xdesigns.com
Hi Brad, CRUD I can do, with list and detail screens. Just a reality check please of my current phantasy: suppose blog items are show in a list (title/date), user clicks EDIT on a line and detail screen opens, with a big pagefilling Summernote control, where the user can WYSIWYG and style her article and also embed images where she wants. Would that work? That would be aweome!
Brad with this you also answered my question "what does the process of updating blogs look like", big thanks. Only thing I am not sure about if I can embed images in Summernote at any place (I remember some Sumernote upload functions vaguely) but that I can test that myself.
Sure, that would work. Summernote is kind of limited when it comes to page layout. Actually, they all are. Yes, they can create content, but when it comes to mobile devices and stuff they come very short.
Yes, you can add and align images in Summernote no problem. I just choose not to in my blogs as all they do is result in more scrolling. I would probably set up a blog article template where you can plug content and images in rather than rely on an editor for detailed layout to keep each page consistant in look.
Yea I went a little crazy. I'm going to clean it up a lot. I needed to build it quickly so some back end organization is much needed haha.
But you see it can be done. Like others have said, the key is new page layouts. I haven't gotten the perfect system for it yet, but I think I can concentrate on that soon.
Thanks for the good tips Brad, will follow your advice. Yeah I can see that it's better to rely on Bootstrap re-arranging text and pictures in lines/columns on smaller devices than to rely on Summernote for that. I get the point...!
