Joined Chris Graham behind the scenes in the development of Composr CMS in 2016.
Took on the lead developer role in 2023 when Chris Graham stepped back to attend to his new lifestyle changes.
Spearheaded the development of Composr CMS v11 and the new website, Composr.app.
Formed the company PDStig, LLC to take on professional support and development for Composr CMS users especially after the discontinuation of ocProducts, Ltd.
Structure: Composr's forums follow a hierarchical structure. You can create forum groupings, forums, and sub-forums (and sub-sub-forums etc) in that order of hierarchy.
Strategies: Avoid creating too many forums, which can dilute activity. Start with a few well-defined forums and expand as needed.
Permissions: Use Composr's permission system to control access to forums and features. For example, you can create private staff forums.
Composr provides several tools to help you stay up-to-date with forum activity:
Virtual Forums: Special forums like "Posts since last visit" and "Topics with unread posts" provide filtered views of recent activity.
Read Status: Topics with unread posts are displayed in bold with a jump-to-first-unread link. You can manually mark topics or entire forums as read or unread.
Notifications: You can enable email notifications for specific topics or forums, either manually or automatically based on your activity.
What security measures should I consider for local payments?
Answer
While Composr supports local payments (Authorize.Net), it requires high PCI compliance. Ensure you adhere to the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) guidelines, including secure coding practices, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, regular security audits, and staff screening.
Composr provides tools for monitoring your eCommerce activities:
Sales list management: Cancel purchases, view sales history, and manage refunds (Admin Zone > Audit > eCommerce > Sales list management).
Charts: Generate profit/loss accounts and cash flow diagrams for specific periods (Admin Zone > Audit > eCommerce, and Admin Zone > Audit > Site statistics).
Manual transactions: Record transactions outside of Composr for accurate accounting (Admin Zone > Audit > eCommerce > Manual transaction).
Server issues: Your server might be on a spam blacklist, or there may be problems with your server's reverse DNS or HELO settings.
Content issues: Your email content might trigger spam filters due to factors like an unreasonable image-to-text ratio, broken reply-to addresses, or inconsistent text and HTML versions.
SPF records: Your "Website email address" might be hosted on a different server with an SPF record that doesn't authorize your web server to send emails from that address.
Composr can use either its own SMTP connection code or PHP's built-in SMTP functionality. Using PHP's SMTP settings is generally recommended and can be managed at the server level. However, if your SMTP server requires authentication (which PHP doesn't support natively) or if your server lacks an SMTP server, you'll need to use Composr's SMTP connection code, configurable in the Configuration module.
Composr constructs emails using language strings and templates written in Comcode. It sends emails in both HTML and plain text formats to ensure compatibility with different email clients. To minimize the chance of emails being marked as spam, Composr embeds CSS and images directly into the email instead of linking to them externally.
How can I make my website design more appealing to different thinking styles?
Answer
Different individuals process information differently. Some are more visual, while others are more analytical. To appeal to diverse thinking styles, a website design should incorporate a balance of elements. For instance, using a striking header image coupled with well-structured, informative text can cater to both visual and analytical thinkers. Understanding your target audience and their thinking styles is key to creating a design that resonates with them.
What considerations are necessary when designing for different user levels on a website?
Answer
User levels often necessitate different content or functionalities. For instance, administrators might need access to content creation tools, while regular visitors only view published content. Consider these factors during design:
Visibility: Some elements might need to be hidden or displayed based on user roles (e.g., admin-only links).
Permissions: Design elements and interactive features should reflect the permissions granted to different user levels.
Customization: Consider allowing users to customize their experience based on their preferences and roles.
Remember, a well-designed website should cater to all user levels while maintaining security and a cohesive experience.
How do I make my website theme mobile-friendly in Composr?
Answer
Composr offers several features to optimize themes for mobile:
Mobile mode: You can design separate layouts and CSS styles specifically for mobile devices, which Composr automatically activates when a mobile user visits your site.
Tempcode's 0 symbol: This symbol helps conditionally display content based on whether the user is on a mobile device or desktop.
CSS media queries: By using media queries, you can target specific screen sizes and adjust styles accordingly, making your theme responsive.
Viewport meta tag: This tag controls how the browser scales and displays the webpage on mobile devices, ensuring a properly sized and zoomable experience.
What is responsive design, and why is it essential for mobile devices?
Answer
Responsive design ensures a website adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes, providing an optimal viewing experience across devices, particularly mobile phones and tablets. It utilizes techniques like flexible grids, fluid images, and CSS media queries to adjust layout and content based on screen dimensions.
This is crucial because mobile device usage is significant, and a non-responsive site leads to a poor user experience on smaller screens, potentially driving visitors away.
How can I create a theme pack for release in Composr?
Answer
After designing your theme, go to the admin panel's "Addons" section. You'll find an option to export your current theme as an addon. Composr will package the necessary files into a downloadable archive, ready to be shared with others or submitted to the Composr community for installation on other sites.
