The GreenBeast CMS
Coming soon! I’ve made a simple PHP-Driven CMS or Content Management System I’m calling the GreenBeast CMS v.1.0!
I will be providing a link to a demo right here as well as at Green-Beast.com, of course, very soon so stay tuned. We’re talking a week or so from the date of this entry… I sure hope so anyway.
I will be providing beta-test opportunities to a few people and this will serve as a good place for feedback. Volunteers should make themselves know either here or one of the other ofurms I will announce it on.
The GreenBeast CMS features include…
- Accessibility features making it useful anywhere
- Extremely portable and felxible package
- Enables one to Edit all website files
- Enables one to Upadate all content files
- Enable one to even Edit the CMS system files
- Small package at 119kb Zipped
- Comes with several pre-installed “skins”
- Comes with smart skin changer
- Secure session login access.
- Has Update Messages function, from me to your CMS Home
- Hand written to a valid and strict XHTML specification
- Comes with multiple valid CSSs or cascading style sheets
- It is made to be highly accessible, written to those standards where possible
- It produces valid XHTML with its Content Updater utility
- It has no JavaScript; all functions are server-side PHP
- Live Feed Bug Reporting to users
- Live Feed Update Notification system
Stay tuned! 
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: May 1st, 2005 at 8:26 am →
Well, time for an update.
Just about done. Minus two known and documented bugs, the thing is done. I’m just finishing up the documentation. I was able to add to the features as well, or perhaps more accurately expand and better define the features it has, but I won’t say more at this moment.
I should throw up a link here a day or two.
…A couple of days pass…
Okay, here it is, no crowds, no fan fare, the first release of GreenBeast CMS v1.0 (beta) Demo Login. This link takes you to the login page.
The demo version login is:
Loginname: Joe Admin
Password: thepassword
This login is case-sensitive.
If you would like to beta test GreenBeast CMS v.1.0 Beta, you may download it from the Login page (now disabled). However, it is requested that you let me know and actively provide feedback.
Rob Anderson responds:
Posted: May 3rd, 2005 at 5:29 pm →
This is really nice… Is this finished?
I’m looking for something like this for my front page. This is perfect. I’m gonna have a look at it properly tomorrow night.
What about skinning it? I use a nosebleed style for my front page. Could I easily mod that onto this - www.mothbox.co.uk
I look forward to testing this out.
Nice work.
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: May 3rd, 2005 at 5:41 pm →
Thanks Rob.
Yeah, it’s as finished as it can be as a beta. My hope is that I’ve made it in such a way that it’ll be easily updateable by way of module swapping, so to speak.
If you need any help with setup just let me know. A retrofit is a little more difficult, a lot depending on the markup and the way the content is included. I did one today and found a couple of bugs with the CMS but they’re fixed and the download is a good one.
Robert Wellock responds:
Posted: May 4th, 2005 at 5:30 am →
Well, some of the control panel text was rather small and I managed to break the well-formedness other than that it appeared to function fairly well.
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: May 4th, 2005 at 8:00 am →
Thank you Robert. I appreciate the feedback.
It’s funny in a way. I didn’t know how to address this project in regards to accessibility. It’s really meant for a single user or small group and that’s it. I wasn’t sure how concerned I should be about that sort of thing.
I did build in a bunch of features in that regard, anyway, though. Some tab indexing, acronyms, sizable fonts in Internet Explorer, style changing, etc. I wonder if I should have done more or less.
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: June 19th, 2005 at 1:26 am →
I just wanted everyone to know that the GreenBeast CMS has been updated extensively. The download version is new and imporved in many ways. So many that I’m calling this Version 1.1 (v.1.1). However, there is one more task at hand before it goes out of Beta status and becomes the full v.1.1. Do download the verion now though if you’re a user. Instructions will be posted on your CMS Home page. (The Demo’s Home page message is static. It is, after all, the demo version.)
The following upgrades were made:
Version information update with file.
Style sheets improved to fix field lengths.
Major Security Enhancements
Single validation error fixed finally
PHP htmlspecialchars applied to Content Updater. Converts “&” to
"&", etc.A mulitude of other tweaks.
Anyway, if you’re using this thing, it’s better than ever. And it simply plug-and-play on the upgrade, just refer to the instructions. I use it on three sites and I love it. However, feedback from others would be great if anyone’s using it. If not, you should. It works very well.
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: July 22nd, 2005 at 10:47 am →
I need to know if anyone’s using this? The release of version 1.1 is just around the corner and the changes are so profound you might want to let me know so I can help you transition to it. It’s not going to be a simple drag-and-drop update like the last one. This one’s major. Tons of new features, tons of form re-works to make the thing as smart as WordPress (almost).
If you haven’t downloaded it don’t (well you can’t since I disabled to download link). Wait until verison 1.1’s release. I promise you it’ll be worth the wait.
LSW responds:
Posted: August 2nd, 2005 at 6:33 am →
So how do you define around the corner? I am starting the re-design of a non-profit customer and thought I would use it to take the beast for a spin, so when you expect this update to be out? I have been shoving this re-work back over a year, really need to get it done. Thanks Mike
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: August 4th, 2005 at 6:50 am →
Release of version 1.1 is within a day or two. We are expecting Friday 8/5 (by day’s end) we hope. That would be our definition.