For working examples of VWcms concepts consult the relevant parts of the Vdub (this) site.

There are many sources for the essentials of a Web site, including free and commercial template packages.  These are constructed by professional graphic artists and designers and can provide a polished look and feel to a Web presence while saving a significant amount of effort for the site administrator.

For detail on adapting these to VWcms see the description in Website Packages.

There are two major components that contribute to the look and feel of a site

• site template
• style-sheet (CSS)

In addition there is the

• content (HTML) itself
• print template

Site Template

The template provides the "superstructure" of the site.  It determines the overall layout of the information on each page.  The content (HTML infromation of the site) is embedded inside this layout.  The template is essentially HTML with some embedded keywords delimited by two dollar symbols.  As an example, the keyword  $$CONTENT$$  causes the substitution of the content of the current section.  More detail on this in Template.

Style-Sheet

The style-sheet provides the detailed look-and-feel of each component in the site pages.  It contains Cascading Style Sheet version 2 (CSS2) directives.  Some are required-by and reserved for normal VWcms appearance, other for VWcms management (editing, etc.) behaviour.  Generally, site design requires at least a working knowledge of CSS2.  More on its role in Style-Sheet.

HTML Content

The HTML Content is provided via the HTML editor and the associated VWcms dialogs described in TinyMCE and FCKeditor, and VWcms Edit.

Print Template

The Print Template is generally a simplified version of the site template.  It does not contain the components supporting on-line, interactive access to the site, and provides the essential HTML content in a structure and format suitable for print media.  Similar recommendations for designing the main template apply to printing.

Composite Site

A composite VWcms site is one that spans multiple directories, uses shared templates and integrates tables-of-content. This allows multiple, independent site management domains to provide an effective, tightly-integrated single site.  Recommended for larger and more complex sites.