Content management systems are commonly available, widely used, and usually easy to use and implement. However, in our previous projects as well as this website, we've found that the average full-featured CMS is overkill for most clients, who just need something to publish articles without editing/uploading individual files. Combined with the fact that integrating an all-in-one pre-built CMS into an existing site without building the entire site around it is a tedious and time-consuming process, we opted to write our own.

This application is designed to work with the modular framework, and while its only job is to manage and display articles stored in the database, it does that job very well. Designed primarily to use rewritten URLs, it provides human-readable links that are easy to understand and remember, much like how static pages are typically saved and organized. It can function without URL rewriting as well, though it's not an optimal environment.

Full multi-user support is built-in, with varying security levels for articles allowing them to be visible to everyone, all logged-in users, specific security groups (ie, staff), or just the author. Articles may be saved in an unpublished state, and lower security groups can be configured to require a higher-privileged account to review their content before it can be published. And, an article's displayed timestamp can be toggled between "Posted" (editable, auto-filled when initially written) or "Modified" (system-generated, shows last submitted changes).

Additional features include a featured article system (can be implemented as a front-page display in addition to highlighting the article in the directory list), and an alternate list-style article display for logged-in users to see articles they can edit in an easier-to-sort format.

• Blackwolf Design

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