Forum for discussing general topics related to Couch.
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Hello, I am looking for a bit of advice on how to structure my Couch CMS website build.
Specifically where and or whether to use: Nested Pages / Cloned Pages / Folders etc

This is the live (static) website: https://www.buyadigger.com that I am converting.
This site has been designed and coded by myself over the last few months.

I have attached an image of the 'folder structure' used on the static site to help give context:

I would really appreciate someone's input on how to structure the site to get the best results.
I need to give the users the ability to add new machines via the CMS, so I will use cloned pages for this purpose, however getting my head around the categories structure is proving testing.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Attachments

Hi there.

It could be a classic use of cloned pages + dynamic folders. "Machines" would be a template, each type would be a folder i.e. "Rollers" with a possible subfolder "AMMANN AV12-2" and each machine - a cloned page within the folder (i.e. R04014).

Each page could have a linked gallery (viewtopic.php?p=16293#p16293) or, better, a Mosaic with tiles where each tile could be an image or a video (if that comes in future) or something else.

Showing the page on the frontend could use a <cms:smart_embed /> tag, which would automatically load a requested view (page-view, folder-view) from the snippets.

Your categories (folders) don't seem to have any extra fields and folder view just shows subfolders (image+link), so no Extended Folders required.

If that was my website, I would take care first about something else, not the above technical details. I mean that I honestly wrote above the reply to your request, given the stated task - i.e. described in Couch-terms what you already have - and it is 100% correct and valid (and long proven). However there is a SEO aspect which can redefine the task itself.

Consider an URL structure which is not from the last century. Yours is -
https://www.buyadigger.com/categories/machines/rollers/R04014/R04014_Ammann_AV12-2.html

Seriously? Of course, it is not a big deal for a small website like that, but again, I would personally take care of that long and ugly URL and give a go with the "Custom routes" addon to attempt make a "flat" structure -

Or something similar. Of course, it would need some consideration regarding what's best for you and what is within your knowledge / timeframe / expense / manageability. But that's a pro's advice which doesn't take into account what you can or can not.

Does it help?

P.S. If taken as is, your website it pretty basic and can be couchified within a week or so.
Many thanks Trendoman, yes that's a great help.

I will look at the points you have made and decide how to proceed.

Regarding the "Retro" URL strings, yes I will be sure to address this on the new build.
Many thanks.

That's good to know it should be a relatively easy port over to couch - I have only done one site previously: this took me a few weeks to move onto couch:
https://www.evrent.co.uk/

Regards
stylish187 wrote: Many thanks Trendoman, yes that's a great help.

You are welcome.

stylish187 wrote: That's good to know it should be a relatively easy port over to couch - I have only done one site previously: this took me a few weeks to move onto couch:
https://www.evrent.co.uk/


Looks great. Also there is a paypal thing, so that probably took some time to fiddle with docs and cms:paypal_processor.
There is a dead link in your website - https://www.evrent.co.uk/bmw_offer.php (came there from here https://www.evrent.co.uk/bmw_home/)

"Easy port" would be with existing structure. If Custom Routes addon employed (https://www.couchcms.com/docs/custom-routes/) it could be very time consuming for the first time. I gave a time estimate for someone with extensive experience (like @KK or me).

Best regards and happy couching!
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