Description
Description
SiteNOTE is a simple and powerful solution to maintain web site
content. With SiteNOTE CMS (Content Management System), you can manage, update
or create the content of your web site, while preserving a consistent look and
feel throughout the pages.
Provided with a ready-to use sample website
(template), creating your portal is as easy as downloading the package,
deploying it on a hosting environment, and configuring it.
Want a demo video on the editor ? See on http://www.SiteNOTE.net
Want to play with it ? See
on http://demo.SiteNOTE.net
Want to contribute on its development ? SiteNOTE's community is located on CodePlex : http://sitenote.codeplex.com/
Main features for Designers and Developers
- Platform: Windows 2003-2008, ASP.NET 2.0+
- File-based editing, does not require a database, means easy maintenance and
increased performance
- Integrate regular ASP.NET web site with SiteNOTE-based editable content
- Graphical guidelines easily expressed in CSS, HTML, XSL, XSD, depending on
the level of control required
- Friendly URLs for search engines (SEO optimization)
- Available modules (picture gallery, FAQ, forms, menus, breadcrumbs, quick
poll, ...) can be extended by developers
- Syndicate and manipulate content through a web service API
Main features for Site Editors
- Very easy to use, no technical skills required
- Graphical guidelines assistance and enforcement
- Role-based security and page-level access rights
- Preview content while editing
- Submit and approve content before publishing
- Share contents across pages
- Single site structure to easily locate pages in site like visiting users
- Search engine (Karamasoft's UltimateSearch third party component)
Core concepts
Hierarchy
The web site appears to the user as a hierarchy of pages, such
as what is displayed on a sitemap. This hierarchy will be used to build the menu
navigation automatically. The editors and administrators create the pages and
manage the permissions according to the same hierarchy.
In order to
handle specific cases in the site navigation, SiteNOTE allows pages to be
hidden, offline, redirecting pages, or to be considered as page groups
(containing other pages, and whose role is to be displayed as menu entries)
Modules
All the pages of the web site are built using modules that can
be changed or rearranged by the administrator in design mode. These modules are
either ASP.NET server controls provided by SiteNOTE, either custom ASP.NET
server controls provided by the developer. Here are the controls currently
available in SiteNOTE :
* Editable controls: structured content (XML),
free content (HTML), forms (XML), shared content (the content is fed from a
content located in another page).
* Navigation controls: menu, path
(breadcrumb), sitemap, language selector.
* Other controls: search engine,
authentication.
Localization
SiteNOTE treats localized sites as subsites that can be
different -if needed- in terms of content, structure or design. They can be
considered unrelated, except regarding the following :
* Users and groups
are common across localized sites.
* The "splash" page at the root of the
site let the user select the language/locale.
* The page templates, content
structure, stylesheets and design images are common and available to all
localized sites.
Access to administration
When you access the site administration, after
entering your user name and password, the web site is displayed in your browser.
The top of the window shows the toolbar, which allows you to perform
administration tasks.
The toolbar groups the "page" actions: create, edit
content, design, delete, change sort order, properties, permissions. The other
icons let you access general-purpose functionalities: publication, site
administration, logout.
Technical features
Platform
Server
SiteNOTE runs on top of ASP.NET, CLR 2.0, on
Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008.
As SiteNOTE runs as a standard
file-based web site, it can run on any standard server (e.g. dual-core cpu, 2GB
RAM)
Content Editor
SiteNOTE requires Internet Explorer 6sp2 or
higher to edit or administer the website.
Visiting users
Visiting
users can browse a SiteNOTE website using any standard web browser like Internet
Explorer 5.0 , Firefox 2.0, Safari, Chrome, etc...
Integrated third-party components
CuteSoft CuteEditor is
integrated as the HTML editor for content of pages. It is optional as pages can
be edited using the structured content editor (XML Editor). SiteNOTE Maintenance
contracts provide you with a registered licence to replace the trial
one.
Karamasoft UltimateSearch is the integrated search engine for
SiteNOTE. Trial licence is replaced by a registered one when subscribing a
maintenance contract.
Data storage
SiteNOTE does not require a database for storing content.
Changes are directly propagated to the files and served by Internet Information
Server. When using the structured content editor to modify content, all the
information is stored in XML within the file.
The site
structure and security information are stored in XML files that can be rebuild
from the information stored in files.
SiteNOTE is using an Access database
(mdb file) to store statistics and data submitted through forms. It can be
replaced by a SQL Server based data store if required.
Maintenance
Maintenance procedures for a SiteNOTE website are similar
to procedures for a static website:
* Backup: copy files in the web site
folder and copy IIS configuration
* Monitoring: like static website
*
Statistics: like static website: logs can be analyzed with any standard stats
tool on the market. Online statistics engines like Google Analytics can be used
seamlessly.
* Update: the SiteNOTE admin panel includes a remote update via
Internet.
Site Structure
Unlike other CMS, SiteNOTE is only using one structure
to manage websites: the navigation structure. It means that page adress paths
reflects a natural, search-engine meaningful structure.
Specific cases in
navigation are adressed to allow for maximum flexibility:
* Hidden page:
accessible, but invisible in navigation
* Page group: visible in navigation,
but only used as a node in the navigation (no content in this "page")
*
Offline page: not visible, not accessible
* Redirect: visible in navigation,
but redirects to an external or internal page
Integration
SiteNOTE has been designed from the ground up to make
maintenance, personalization and development a straightforward
experience:
* Application integration: ASP.NET pages can be added to the
web site by a developer. ASP.NET controls can be added to the SiteNOTE control
list, immediately available to Content Editors.
* Object-oriented: the
developer, by inheriting from the base class "SiteNOTEPage", has automatically
access to the SiteNOTE environment: user, permissions, page properties, site
structure, etc...
* Interoperable: SiteNOTE exposes a web service, SOAP-based
API to syndicate information with other applications. SiteNOTE can be totally
remote-controlled by external apps.
* ASP.NET standards: Master Pages, Web
Parts, Membership Provider, SiteMap provider, usual asp.net controls like menu
or sitemap, etc... The developer will feel at home...
* SiteNOTE controls:
Several controls available to fasten website development: search form and
results, language switches, events summary, FAQ, picture gallery, video streams,
polling system, etc...
* Designer templates: thanks to our very flexible CSS
page design, the designer can create totally new website just by changing CSS
and images, without changing ASP.NET page templates.
* Total control: any
design can be implemented, because the developer has a total control over the
way the content is presented, from easy-to-configure CSS to very powerful XSL
templates and XSD schemas.