Datapitstop Overview
• Website Framework and Content Management System
• Directory Framework
• Website Framework & Directory Working Together
It's hard to outline exactly what Datapitstop is and what it does. In short, Datapitstop is a web based application
that consists of a directory type framework as well as a website framework with a content management system. Also, Datapitstop
as a whole contains many websites. Some are specificaly for Datapitstop (such as this one) but most are for our members.
• Website Framework and Content Management System
• Directory Framework
• Website Framework & Directory Working Together
| Website Framework and Content Management System |
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Every website includes both a website framework and content management system. These 2 items enable you to easily manage your website. Website Framework: The website framework consists of many ways to simplify configuring, setting up, and managing your website.
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Configure the look and feel of your website: Configuring the look and feel of your website is a
"set it and forget it" affair. Once you get your website looking the way you want it, that same look
and feel is applied to all new web pages and modules you add. This greatly simplifies the addition
of new web pages and modules. It also enables you to rapidly add new items to your website.
• Adding new web pages: We have a system for adding web pages. Web pages are added the same way no matter what type of page you are adding. You can add pages that consist of HTML and CSS, use a module, refer to another page, or add the page as an external link to another site. There are also many options for each page such as hiding or disabling the web page, making the webpage standalone(without your menu), or adding a Javascript OnLoad the page. • Menu System: Our Menu System is very dynamic. You can create vertical menus, horizontal menus, place menus anywhere you like, arrange items on your menu to your liking, create sub menus, or simply use your default menu. • Open Ended Framework: Our framework is open ended. Frameworks by nature have limitations however we believe we have achieved a good balance between the freedom of getting the look and feel you want and at the same time being easy to use. Content Management System:
A Content Management system is a way to manage the content of a website. By this definition, Datapitstop as a whole is
a Content Management System but the main focus of our system lies within our Modules. We have developed numerous modules for
you to use. A complete list can be found on the Modules page.
Modules are a way to easily add common types of content to your website. This can be a calendar event, a member of your staff, or a news event(among many others). Using a module is very easy. They don't require any knowledge of HTML or any advanced concepts. To put it simply, you fill in boxes with information and they are added to your site. Also, many of the Modules support features such as adding images or full image galleries. |
| Datapitstop Location Directory |
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Finding the information on a members Datapitstop website is not limited to a visitor using a search engine or directly visiting the site. All websites on Datapitstop require a zip code. We use the zip code to place the member in a state and county. When someone visits http://datapitstop.us and look at our products, for example, they will see all of our members products. If they drill down to the state level, they will see only members products in that state. Finally, if they drill down to the county level, they will only see members products located in that county. This gives visitors the ability to not only search for information, products, or services but also drill down certain areas. This structure applies to all of our modules where data is posted. |
| Website Framework & Directory Working Together |
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Datapitstop was developed in a structural sense. Everything is part of a big structure. A members Datapitstop website is no different. A Datapitstop website can have a child and grandchild website associated with it. The following explains this concept. Lets say we have a county government that wants a website. County government has several departments. There's the assessors office, auditors office, treasurers office, health department, etc. Some of these departments have departments within them. For example, the health department is sometimes broken up into Vital Records, Environmental, and Nursing Division. All of the departments and the departments within them can have their own website. This would enable each department and sub department to post their own information, add web pages, etc. Datapitstop was designed to handle this perfectly. In fact, going one step further, data can be shared between parents, children, and grandchildren. The following is a brief structure of this.
Main County:
http://somecounty.com Assessor: http://assessor.somecounty.com Auditor: http://auditor.somecounty.com Health Department: http://health.somecounty.com http://vital.health.somecounty.com http://environmental.health.somecounty.com Another example would be a Chamber of Commerce. Obviously, Chambers of Commerce have members that belong to the chamber. Normally, a Chambers website consists of a listing of businesses that belong to the chamber. By using the Chamber as the parent, and the child as the business, you could enable each business to have their own website instead of a listing with their name and address. The following structure would work well:
Main:
http://somechamber.org Business 1 http://fakebusiness1.somechamber.org Business 2 http://fakebusiness2.somechamber.org Obviously you may choose any names for the above examples. These types of structures help with website maintenance as well as organization. This is perfectly suited for larger organizations or organizations that contain multiple departments, stores, etc. If your company has multiple websites you do not have to use a structure like this. The choice is up to you but keep in mind you will have more flexibility if you do. |