concrete5 Beginner's Guide - Second Edition

by Remo Laubacher

concrete5 is a superb content management system and this book will show you how to get going with it. From basic installation through to advanced techniques of customization, it's the perfect primer for web developers. Overview In Detail concrete5 is an open source content management system (CMS) for publishing content on the World Wide Web and intranets. Concrete5 is designed for ease of use, and for users with limited technical skills. It enables users to edit site content directly from the page. It provides version management for every page and allows users to edit images through an embedded editor on the page. concrete5 Beginner's Guide shows you everything you need to get your own site up and running in no time. You will then learn how to change the look of it before you find out all you need to add custom functionality to concrete5. concrete5 Beginner's Guide starts with installation, then you customize the look and feel and continue to add your own functionality. After you've installed and configured your own concrete5 site, we'll have a closer look at themes and integrate a simple layout into concrete5. Afterwards, we're going to build a block from scratch which you can use to manage a news section. We're also going to add a button to our site which can be used to create a PDF document on the fly. This book also covers some examples that show you how to integrate an existing jQuery plugin. concrete5 Beginner's Guide is a book for developers looking to get started with concrete5 in order to create great websites and applications. What you will learn from this book Approach This is a beginner's guide, which takes a clear, step-by-step approach to guide you through the process of creating and adding functionality to your site. Who this book is written for This book is ideal for developers experienced with HTML and CSS and possibly PHP as well as JavaScript, who would like to build their first site with Concrete5. Some knowledge of PHP, MySQL, or HTML would be useful, but no experience with Concrete5 is expected.

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2011

Reviews

[Willwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Remo Laubacher and published by Packt, this updated beginners guide continues to be one of the best books available for Concrete5. It's ideal for anyone comparing content management systems or interested in building a new website using Concrete5. It starts out with the absolute basics of how to install Concrete5. It then progresses through several chapters to more advanced aspects of site deployment and management. I don't really think there is anything this book lacks and it covers all the important aspects. It's a good companion to the other book available on creating Concrete5 themes.

Although much of the information contained in this book can already be found freely online, it is good to have everything consolidated into a single book. Each chapter approaches a different topic in a methodical manner. Important details are emphasised and short quizzes are used to help recap on information learnt. It lets you study at your own pace.

I think the only thing to be aware of is that the next version of Concrete5 (due for release in a few months from now) is going to introduce a pretty radical overhaul of the editing interface and changes to the way you can drag and drop blocks within a page. So that is something to watch-out for, as the instructions given in this book may not correctly match future versions of Concrete5. Things like the TinyMCE editor appear to be getting replaced with an in-page content editor instead (if the latest Beta builds are anything to go by). But apart from that, this book is totally relevant.

[Richard Holloway · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have built a few Concrete5 sites and have never had problems in finding help and information online. Concrete5 is easy to work with and the help and support is so good, you can just jump in and figure it out as you go along.

But what you get from this book is a guided tour of Concrete5 from one of the key members of the Concrete5 community. You are introduced to all aspects of the CMS and shown things you weren't aware of before. You get to develop themes, blocks and addons and extend Concrete5 as it was designed to be done, without having to hack the application code, cause breakages or prevent future updates.

So if you are working with Concrete5 or looking to do so in future, this book will save you time in getting to grips with this CMS.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been using concret5 for over a year to design, eventually you will want to learn how to use it to develop (it does act like a loose framework after all) when you are ready to take that step you need to read this book.

Remo is one of the top contributes on cocnrete5.org and it really comes out in this book. Easy examples, and a thorough breakdown of how the system actually works.

To top it off I actually wound up reaching for this book several times in the last week for when doing work for a client. If you want to build themes, blocks or use cocnrete5 to crank out more then just a 5 page brochure site READ THIS BOOK!

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read with up to date easy to follow information.
I strongly recommend this book to all that are new to concrete 5.
It is extremely well written with practical exercises and pop quizzes that make reading both enjoyable and fun.
The book is full of best practices that will prove vital in avoiding any beginner errors
All visual aids are up to date and accurate
It provides you with everything you need to have your own custom made concrete 5 site up and running.
10 out of 10 , Congratulations to the author.