CMS Happy Hour
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Sara Grimes
Chill. Shake. Stir. Garnish. Such are the essentials of making a cocktail. Responsive web design should be as easy. Having the right kind of content management system (CMS) is a large part of what makes or breaks the easy stride of an organic design. Surface fluidity shouldn't be a struggle. Try micromanaging a cocktail and see how far you get. Nay — the best cocktails are not mere concoctions thrown together at random, but an alchemy of exposure to taste and measured immersion. The same is true with content management. WordPress takes a potentially very confusing and complex system of making thousands of tweaks to its code base and distills them to a simple system called the plugin architecture. This is one reason we favor WordPress at Otrevo. A content management system should be a go-to database of all things media related. For a CMS as universal in scope as WordPress, its important to have an almost limitless repertoire of content possibilities. With the plugin architecture, this is virtually the case. It gives developers over 29,000 plugins — or hacks — to choose from. Alternatively, they can create their own. WordPress breaks down the process here. For an essential and fluent guide to a plugin project see, Smashing Magazine's guide Making a cocktail that goes down smooth is not enough. Cocktail waiters and waitresses add to the process by looking sleek, and making smooth conversation in addition to blending just the right amount of alcohol with juice. In essence, an atmosphere must be established so that when the customer sips on the smooth beverage, they don't gulp in apprehension but sip in delight — letting the ambiance provide its own source of intoxication as well. Likewise, its important that a content management system be built in a slick context. WordPress uses PHP — a programming language that was made especially for web development and dynamic web pages. The process isn't always pretty. Bar tenders don't always look as slick as they do when they are on duty. And PHP isn't the most flawless of languages, but when they are required to put on a smooth show they perform well. Its also about navigability. WordPress allows some content tools to stay static while the others perform more refined tasks. This allows maximum control over the site's contents in terms of storing the correct data and reducing the obstacles. Our go-to framework at Otrevo also speaks volumes about our commitment to keeping a clean presentation in all stages of the development process. We employ Zend Framework 2. What distinguishes ZF2 is that it is based on the simple concept of moving parts, or components, that are self-reliant. Recall the cocktail metaphor and that cocktails often involve ice. Now envision a margarita on the rocks versus blended. Rather than churning the drink to an icy pulp, isn't it nicer to look at the tequila and agave nectar cascading over the ice of the salted rimmed cool glass with lime slice? Sound enticing? Well in this metaphor, the ice, salt, and lime are the self-reliant components of a project and the "use at will" architecture allows the abridged code to freely flow around the "ice." From headline hacking to streaming live web content, the possibilities are virtually limitless with WordPress's plugin architecture. By combining the Zend Framework 2 with the WordPress CMS, we're able to manage our own content with the right alchemy of flexibility and structure. Responsive web design, after all, is about making the user experience as intuitive as possible. By working with the tools that simplify an otherwise clunky building process early on, we're able to promote an ethos of seamless integration at the earliest stages of development. Now that's a slick mixology.
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