SlickCMS roadmap

SlickCMS has been released for a few months now and several live sites are powered by it without any major issues. However, since its public release I've not received any outside feedback and indeed, haven't spent much more time continuing with development.

I partly blame my lack of blog updates, as once the development was out of the way and slickhouse itself was running on SlickCMS - I planned to spend more time blogging and actually using SlickCMS from an end-user point of view. Also, I've not actively marketed it to the public, even though Google has ranked it well since its inception.

The current release is version 2.6.147 and 2.7 is progressing steadily. Currently, there are 9 open bugs and 41 features. 2.7's goal is to improve existing features and fix any outstanding bugs. 3.0's goal is to implement new features, with 4.0 being a port to ASP.NET 4.0

However, Classic ASP/VB6 has been around for over 10 years and has been overshadowed by it's .NET sibling. At work, I'd say 90% of the code I write is now VB/C# .NET and I'm learning new techniques each day.

So I've decided to amend the SlickCMS roadmap slightly.

There will be releases in between those major milestones, but it allows me to focus on getting the existing Classic ASP version of SlickCMS 100% bug free and bulletproof - with the code being downloadable for all. Then I'll work on a port to ASP.NET, using properly defined classes in an object orientated way, rather than making do with Classic ASP's flawed implementation of OO. Once that's working well, it'll be onto new features to give SlickCMS the edge.

Once 3.0 is here, I will focus on spreading the word and making it known to others - hopefully gathering some support and even other contributors to the project. I've been contemplating a site like SourceForge/Codeplex/Google Code for hosting the project itself.

If you'd like to keep up to date with the current progress and what's in the pipeline, make a visit to the SlickCMS roadmap - powered by Redmine.

comments Posted: Wednesday 30th June 2010, 05:20pm
Categories: SlickCMS
Tags: slickcms

Spam Free

Slickhouse has been live for almost a week now and I'm yet to receive a spam comment. In comparison, each time I logged into the WordPress Admin on v8 of the site, I was greeted with over 200 spam comments to moderate, that Askimet had trapped.

So it seems that OpenCAPTCHA is working as intended and preventing spammers from submitting comments.

When selecting a Captcha provider for SlickCMS, I had several criteria including:

OpenCAPTCHA was the only one I came across that met all my requirements. Although no formal sample code is provided in ASP (SlickCMS' language of choice), the PHP code was easy enough to grasp and develop the same.

So, if you're looking for a spam prevention tool for your next web project, consider OpenCAPTCHA.

comments Posted: Tuesday 2nd March 2010, 05:20pm
Categories: Slickhouse
Tags: slickcms

V9 and SlickCMS is live

Version 9 of Slickhouse.com is now live and I've switched from WordPress to my very own Content Management System, SlickCMS.

The theme has gone a bit darker this time around, but should hopefully tie everything together well. I've decided to drop the 2 sidebars and have increased the main content width, to allow for bigger images within future Posts.

It's been tested working in all the major browsers and has taken about a week's worth of evenings, after I'd released version 2.6.147 of SlickCMS to the public.

Overall, you should find the site closely resembles the previous version in terms of functionality and content. From a technical point of view, SlickCMS utilises Microsoft's ASP, ASP.NET and SQL Server platforms, rather than WordPress' PHP/MySQL.

Let me know if you come across any issues with the new site. I'll be closely monitoring the logs over the coming days, to ensure everything's running as planned.

Lastly, expect a lot more on this site in future - as after completely every line of code, I can concentrate on some content.

comments Posted: Wednesday 24th February 2010, 05:20am
Categories: SlickCMS, Slickhouse
Tags: slickcms

5th November of Slickhouse

Take a look to the right and you'll see 5 lots of Novembers in the Archive:

Which makes this blog 4 years old! A lot has happened in the past 4 years, including 2 jobs (with a slight career change); visiting Africa twice; becoming a Dad; getting married; becoming a Dad again.

Hopefully I'll be looking back in another 4 years stating that slickhouse.com is 8 years old. Over the coming months into 2010, I plan to make a few strategic changes to the site and increase its popularity. I've learnt a wealth of knowledge working as a Web Developer since May 2007, so I'd like to publish a few articles along those lines too. And my side-project SlickCMS has been rolled out to several sites, so I figure it's now time I bite the bullet and switch from WordPress. There's a bit more functionality still to add, such as RSS feeds and Archives - but once they're done Slickhouse will be powered by SlickCMS.

Don't get me wrong: WordPress is a fantastic piece of Web Publishing Software, it's just that after 4 years I feel it's time to put what I've learnt from using it to good use and develop my own. Besides, I'm an ASP.NET/SQL Developer and my PHP knowledge is dwindling in comparison.

comments Posted: Saturday 14th November 2009, 05:20pm
Categories: SlickCMS, Slickhouse, Web
Tags: slickcms, slickhouse