By Jeremy Cooper (Webmaster)
This new-look website has much the same content as the old one, but it’s based on a completely different web maintenance system. Up to now the website has been run in the “traditional” manner, with me as webmaster being the only person able to update it using the files based on my computer and specialist web-authoring software. This new site has been developed using WordPress.
WORDPRESS
WordPress is a free Content Management System which has millions of users: it is “open-source” software which means that users can contribute to its improvement and development – nobody commercially owns WordPress (see wordpress.org). Once a site has been set up using WordPress, anyone who is registered as a user on the site can alter the site using just the web browser on their computer. The whole operation is managed entirely on-line!
PAGES & POSTS
This new site has two types of content: it has “static” pages like those on the old site: these are listed in the menu bar at the top of the page.
It also has posts: these are like a blog. The posts are what is shown in the “News and Features” section of the site – what you are now reading is a post. Posts are all archived and indexed by month of publication and by Category.
USERS
There are several types of “users”. The following are the types relevant to this site:
Administrator – somebody who has access to all the administration features within a single site.
Editor – somebody who can publish and manage posts including the posts of other users.
Author – somebody who can publish and manage their own posts.
Contributor – somebody who can write and manage their own posts but cannot publish them.
I am currently the only Administrator. If you are already familiar with WordPress and would like to share this role, let me know.
I envisage that most users will, to begin with, be Contributors – that is writing posts for approval before publication.
WRITING POSTS
Writing a post is like using a blog, and a bit like using Facebook. Posts can include images (Contributors can upload images and add them to their posts) and documents like .pdf files (Contributors can upload these and link to them in their posts). So a post might consist just of notice that a new document, for example a report on an event, is available, with a link to it.
All posts will have to be approved by an Administrator before publication – the Administrator can sort out any problems a new Contributor might encounter, and reserves the right to sub-edit all posts. If things go well, a Contributor could be promoted to Author then Editor …
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
If you’d like to write a particular post, or become a regular poster, let me know, telling me what you have in mind, and if I think it is appropriate I’ll register you on the site – you might like to suggest a user name and password, and also how you would like your name to appear on your post.
If you would like to post something, but would rather I did it for you, send me the text and any photos.
I hope you like the new look. Don’t hesitate to get involved if you want to!
