Projects: Tags: DotNetNuke: NFS StoneRiver

Information

Timeline: April 2009
Application Type: Website / CMS
Status: Complete
Technologies: DotNetNuke, C#, .NET
Partners: BWD Staff

Description

This project was a skinning job for NFS-StoneRiver, which used the open-source CMS DotNetNuke. My job was to convert an HTML/CSS tempate from the project's frontend developer and make it into a DNN skin. I set up the skin on a development server, and from there we moved it to the client's production server on-site. The final step was to integrate a custom menu component written by another programmer, which used functionality that wasn't immediately available to DotNetNuke.

This had been my first experience with the CMS, so I also got to learn a lot about how its skinning and backend implementation work. Part of the process of skinning the site entailed setting up the site structure, configuring permissions for pages, and assigning the editable regions that the client could customize. Since we were working with a large client, I had the luxury of a generous time budget, which allowed me to determine the correct way to proceed in skinning the site.

I also got to install the skin on-site. The client's corporate policy forbid my company from being able to access their server directly, so we got some face time at their corporate ofice. Off-site installations are a rare opportunity, so I was glad to do it. Since I started out working in tech support, I enjoy talking to clients and helping them overcome technical hurdles. We ran into a few hitches with the installation we were using, but finally got the skin up and running correctly.

The final piece of the puzzle was the customizable menu, which in the original specification had to use an accordion menu. I got to work with another programmer who developed the code for this module, so all I had to do was configure and install it. The client hasn't gotten around to using the sub-menu navigation yet, which is too bad because the custom menu module is a nice piece of code and not used to full potential.

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