la.plume CMS Installation

Important!

The system is for use on APACHE web server only, because la.plume micro CMS requires the use of an .htaccess file and Windows web servers do not support the use of .htaccess. Read more about the .htaccess file »

Note! Most of the system files are located in a folder named cms. This folder also contains all web pages created with the system. However, to visitors, the cms folder name never appears in a page address. This is deliberate, and is achieved by the use of the .htaccess file.

The default .htaccess file assumes the cms folder is located in the website root folder. Unless the .htaccess file is substantially rewritten, la.plume micro CMS can NOT be used with the cms folder installed elsewhere, eg:

http://yourdomain.com/laplume/cms/

To install the system in test mode on an existing website, see the "Test mode" section below.

Installation

Files to edit before uploading to APACHE web server with PHP enabled:

(1) .htaccess

(In the website ROOT folder)

Line 29 - replace yourdomain.com with the real domain.

Do the following if you want to redirect non-www domain to with-www (optional).

Lines 32 and 33 - insert yourdomain.com (with backslash \ before any dots ON LINE 32 ONLY).

Then remove # at start of lines 32 and 33, eg:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^yourdomain\.com [NC]
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.yourdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

(2) contact.php (optional page)

(In the website ROOT folder)

Line 41 - yourdomain.com
Line 97 - admin@yourdomain.com (your real email address)
Line 164 - Your Name

Note! The contact page is optional. If you don't want a contact page, delete the file contact.php (located in the root folder) before installing the system.

(3) tracking.php

(In /CMS/INC folder)

Add your visitor tracking script (optional).

(4) password.php

(In /CMS/ADMIN folder)

Line 3 - your password (max 25 characters).

Use a long password with UPPER and lower case letters plus some numbers, eg:

7jr93Ej34F9L2kwM3i32Qrp

Now upload (FTP) all the files and folders to your website root folder. Exclude contact.php if you don't require it.

File permissions

Folders and files to be given permissions on the server:

stylesheet.css (CHMOD 666) (in root folder)
/CMS folder itself (CHMOD 777)
/IMG folder itself (CHMOD 777)

Visit http://www.yourdomain.com/cms/admin/ to begin creating web pages.

Test mode

To use the system in TEST MODE on an existing website, upload ONLY (i) the /cms folder (and all its contents) into the root folder of the website, (ii) stylesheet.css into the root folder, and (iii) bg-body.gif into an /img folder located in the root folder.

When creating new pages DO NOT create an index page. DO NOT upload the default .htaccess file but make sure the following lines ARE put into an .htaccess file located in the root folder of the website:

AddDefaultCharset UTF-8
#
Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
#
# Rewrite "string" everything to /cms folder
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/index$
RewriteRule ^([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)$ /cms/$1.php [L]
#

It should then be possible use the CMS to create test pages without disruption to the pages that already exist on the website. Clicking the navigation "home" button will open the website's existing homepage. Other navigation items and links (except "contact") will be fully functional within the CMS.