Textpattern CMS - A good self-host blog option - ♺ ∙ Web Crafting Materials

Textpattern

Hello, I just wanted to make this small thread for the Textpattern CMS, partly because I think its a lovely project run by lovely people, but also because it's a good opportunity to explain CMSs!

Also a heads up this is a PHP based script and will not work on a static host like Neocities ^^ - if you are interested in trying PHP here are some options!

What is a CMS:
A CSM is a Content Management System ~ it is essentially a pre-made web-program that you can use to power your website; it will handle things like image uploads, creating pages, templates, comments, and server-side scripting etc. Its very well suited if you have a lot of pages that all need to be quite similar to each other, and you want to reduce the friction of creating and uploading stuff.

In particular its best use for many people here would be as blog, because a blog has many pages that mostly will look the same and have text, images, comments, and when you're writing a blog post you don't really wanna worry too much about the actual web-design of your blog when your focusing on the post itself. I actually use Textpattern for my current blog! (https://thoughts.melonking.net)

On the flip side of course, I don't recommend a CMS for casual homepages or for learning HTML, since it will be much more confusing and limiting!

Also an added note, you should look for an open source CMS that is maintained and self host-able! Thats quite different from a non-self-hosted service like Wix, which contains a mix of hosting, CMS and site building tools.

Why is Textpattern Good:
Another good example of a CMS you probubly know is Wordpress! If you're into websites you may also know that Wordpress is a bloated, messy, bot infested dooms day product managed by a maniac

Textpattern is the polar opposite, its light, fast and the people who manage it have been a joy anytime Iv interacted with them.

A Textpattern blog does everything from managing image uploads and alt-text, tags, categories, RSS feeds, editing posts etc. There is a learning curve to Textpattern sites (they use a custom template system for example that you will need to learn); however the result is clean, fast and really easy to manage.

Like other old school blog sites, it can also be used with local blogging programs like MarsEdit for mac, Open Live Writer on Windows or Drivel on Linux - so you can write on your computer and publish blog posts without even needing to open a browser (I find that cool, sometimes I get sick of browsers!)

Should you consider setting up a Textpattern site?
Maybe! I would recommend Textpattern to anyone who already has some experience with HTML/CSS and who wants to get into self hosting a more serious blog, yet is not an expert coder and does not want to have to make everything from scratch themselves. It's an ideal option if you already have been considering a Wordpress blog and want a better option!