existing websites

[Tracy]

Hello, I am new to this Forum as well as fairly new to Web Design. I have just installed CMS made simple with the hopes of using it only with my previously built sites. I want to build my sites with Dreamweaver. My clients want to edit and update a bit of content and change images once in a while. I had a hard time with Mambo and it Drupal doing this.

Can someone please tell me if I will be able to do this and maybe give me some simple pointers for getting starting.

Thankyou

[Vin]

Well, if it is just changing some pages and images, not some over-geared portal, then cmsms does the job perfectly.
However, to convert your design into cmsms templates, you've got to have at least little knowledge about HTML/CSS (but just really little). See [url=http://"http://cmsmadesimple.org/uploads/media/mint_chocolate.htm"]this flash video[/url]
and this thread: http://forum.cmsmadesimple.org/index.php/topic,9883.0.html.

Also, feel free to ask if you don't find answers to your problems with integrating your layout into cmsms in the forums or documentation. (But do try searching the forum - a lot of stuff seem to be asked over and over again)

[Tracy]

Oh thankyou for your reply,

I have had a little bit of success so far but have to say that I just about gave up. I am far from getting it all though. Hope no one gets tired of my questions here. I just looked through the Show off gallery. Some of the sites are amazing.

So far. I have managed to create a template from my existing design with my css page etc. but I have to work on it quite a bit. I wonder about a few things and hope I can ask now and here before going much farther. 

1. originally I uploaded with my FTP (filezilla) into the www folder on the server. I guess this is called the root,, correct? Was this the proper location?

2. If the website has say 30 pages but I only want the client to be able to edit and update images on 2 pages, then I only need to make my templates for these 2 pages?

3. When I create the new template (using my existing site that is) how do I name it so that when the client logs in to make the changes it will be the correct page. ( silly question but.....)

4. I don't know how to upload the changes once they are made. And,,,,,,I will have to teach the client right?

5. How do you all teach the clients how to use the CMS program? Are you charging them cause if I'm having a time learning (knowing html and css) then they may have a difficult time

thankyou so much for your time. I look forward to your answers and suggestions.

[Dr.CSS]

Most times I copy a templates HTML and replace the menu w/ {menu}, content w/ {content}, sidebars or other content areas w/ {content block="morecontent"} morecontent can be any thing you want, it shows up when you edit a page as Morecontent: edit area... don't forget to make sure it's set to 'active'...

Then copy the CSS into another/new style sheet and attach it to the new template, Layout > Templates click CSS icon on the right, dropdown choose CSS...

1) where you put your CMSMS folders/files depends on your hosts structures, when I FTP to mine it was blank first time no www folders nothing...

2) unless you are doing some kind of linking from the original site you would make the whole site using CMSMS and then you can give them just the pages they should edit, using Users & Groups...

3) pages have a template choice drop down where you tell it which template to use so it's the page not the template they have to work with...

4) The changes happen on the server it's not like dreamweaver or such...

5) teaching the client depends on if they are going to make template/look changes or just content/add pages changes, if you are the only one who is going to be doing template/style/look changes you don't need to teach them how...
just tell them , login go to Content > Pages choose/click name of page change content like using word click submit and it shows up  in the front end/website instantly...

Feel free to ask anything you need help with, that's what were here for...

Link below for CMSMS demo site....

[kermit]

2. If the website has say 30 pages but I only want the client to be able to edit and update images on 2 pages, then I only need to make my templates for these 2 pages?

3. When I create the new template (using my existing site that is) how do I name it so that when the client logs in to make the changes it will be the correct page. ( silly question but.....)

You tell CMSMS what "template" to use; and it will use it for all pages which you've chosen it to be the template for. The client need not know a thing about the templates, how they're made, or how they're setup and defined in CMSMS.

If you only want the client to only be able to edit the content of a few certain pages, you set up a separate user for them in the Admin Panel. Don't assign them a "group", just add that username as an "additional editor" (options tab while editing a page) on the few select pages you're allowing them to edit.