What is BBCMF?

Building Blocks Content Management Framework is web site development and management software.

Why BBCMF?

I wanted to create a simple articles repository site (EveryBodyHealthy.com) that would focus on health and well-being news and information. I initially chose Drupal after a very long period of study because of its large feature set and because it seemed very capable in theming a web site (it apparently runs The Onion). Unfortunately, it's a very cumbersome design process and you have to know PHP (which I learned during this time) in order to really make it do what you want. Its default installation is very slow, which is annoying and aggravating. I said to myself, "Self, there's gotta be a better way."

So, like I always do when I see a chance to make something better, I take it. I developed the Building Blocks Content Management Framework (BBCMF). It's a pretty accurate description. You simply create a set of blocks and you stack 'em up (arrange and display them) on a page. The content of each block can be 1) static text that you assign, 2) pulled from a database into a default (or custom) template, or 3) built with a custom function you write using the Euphoria programming language (BBCMF is written in Euphoria).

BBCMF can be used to run any kind of web site, from a simple blog to a complicated articles web site. It will just be a matter of what plug-ins you use.

Right now it's in the beta stage. It's functional (see list of sites, below) and complete, but not beginner-friendly. I have more features to add to make it really easy to use for beginners. I want to create a forum, also, or at least a way to interface with forum code that's already available.

It's not pretty just yet, either. I'd like to design a default template and an administration page that looks good (but remains completely functionally efficient).

Anyway, if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please send them to me!

List of Sites Running Building Blocks CMF

• cklester.com - my home on the web
• StepByStepToDo - simple-to-use advanced list manager
• More sites coming soon!

This is a shot of the Admin screen. See the 'Admin' menu at the top? That's for Admins only. As is the Admin block on the left-hand side of the screen, showing Admin options for a variety of plug-ins and other site settings. (Currently, the Admin is viewing the BBBlog screen.)

This screenshot is really old! I'll make a ToDo List item to update the screenshots.