Textpattern

What is Textpattern?

Textpattern is a comprehensive open source CMS for which you do not need to have server-side development skills. It is secure and at the same time simple and easy to operate with. This CMS is suitable for the creation of blogs, corporate or personal sites, as well as for any types of publications. It includes all the utilities that you expect to find in such an application, and allows website administrators to upload/update content on a website without having to learn HTML first. There is a privilege-based user hierarchy, several options (filters) which are used for unwanted mail (spam), detailed statistics, multi-language support, built-in site statistics, a tag-based template system and lots more. The result is a clean and nice looking page built with a tool, which is user friendly and easy to learn while creating the site itself. There are plenty of plug-ins available which make this CMS flexible and which can be turned on and off from the interface menu once installed.

Comparison with Other Scripts

WordPress is another CMS, similar to Textpattern, that we are offering. The main difference is the templating language. In Textpattern there are HTML and Textpattern tags (a method for calling functions defined in Textpattern) while in WordPress there is PHP as well. That is why in this field Textpattern is more user-friendly, mainly because it does not mix the programming with the end user layer. At the same time WordPress is more user-friendly when it comes to switching themes. There is more documentation available over the Internet for Textpattern than there is for WordPress and at the same time you can get useful support from the Textpattern community at their forum http://forum.textpattern.com/.

Still, the above scripts are different and we’ve tried to outline the features that you might be looking for. In case you are doing a blog-only website - WordPress is the tool for this, while Textpattern is a lightweight Content Management System and it will be worth to spend some time learning it in case you are doing a non blog-centric site.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Textpattern is a comprehensive CMS that is not hard to do websites and blogging with. It comes with its own template tags which are easy for website implementation. It has a user-friendly file manager and uploading and managing files is simple. The built-in template editor is handy and can self generate tags based on user settings. The lack of a custom theming feature can be pointed as the only weak side of Textpattern.

How to install Textpattern with us?

The script can be installed very easily from the hosting Control Panel. Once you log in your account with us, you need to make sure that you have a domain or a sub-domain hosted in the account. Then please go to the “Web Tools” drop-down menu and choose the first option - “Elefante Free Scripts”:

Once you are in the Elefante Free Scripts section you will find a list of all the scripts that are included in the library. Textpattern is under the “Blog” section:

Once you choose and click on Textpattern you will see this pop-up window:

The next step of the installation wizard is the configuration page. You will be given an option to choose a database for your script. In case you do not have a database created, please click on “CREATE A DATABASE ”. This link will redirect you to the “MySQL Databases” section where you can create one. Here is the screenshot you’ll see if you do not have a database created:

Here is the screenshot you’ll see if you have already created a database:

In case you have already created a database but want to use another one, just go to the “MySQL Databases” section of the “Site Management” drop-down menu and create a new database.

In the “Database Prefix” field in the Installation Details section you have to choose the name for the section in your database that will be used for Textpattern. For “Domain”, please select the domain where you want the script to be installed.

For “Path”, choose the exact domain address where you want it to be installed. Then for “Admin User”, “Admin Password”, “Confirm Admin Password”, enter the login details for the script’s admin panel. The last three sections are for the administrator’s email, your name and the site’s name.

Once you are ready, please click on the “STEP3: Install” button. When the installation completes, you will get a screen that will indicate the successful transfer:

In case there are any problems during the installation, you can open a ticket from the “Help Center” drop-down menu and the tech department will help you with this matter.