Introduction
Hi folks
I've been working with a couple of Perch sites recently. One of these is an existing site. It's great to be able to see how things are done on a site that I've not worked on before, there's always something new to learn. Perhaps a different way of doing something or a completely new approach to a problem
Let me know if you have links or tips to share and I'll collect them for the next issue. Thanks!
News
Best way to reuse content
Here's a useful forum post thread that discusses different ways to share content. Shared regions vs Runway Collections vs perch_content_custom.
Add-Ons
Introducing the Chirp Fieldtype
More great work by Ryan Gittings with the Chirp SEO add-on. In Chirp 1.2, you will be able to see a page SEO breakdown in the Page Details tab. Also, Chirp adds a new image attribute check for missing alt text.
Site Examples
Whittle Design
A small but perfectly formed graphic design agency based in Penzance, West Cornwall. We specialise in branding, illustration and digital design.
In terms of the site it is pretty much a straight up Perch site but what we like about it more than anything is how lean the site is when compared to WordPress. Also, the fact that we did not have to battle with Themes or code we did not know what was what. With Perch you are in complete control and it allowed us to design and build the site how we wanted it. It also means we can build into the site going forward much easier than say WordPress. It also fits in with our development process much better over WordPress and is more secure. Although WordPress is free, we don’t mind paying for Perch as it,,s a quality CMS and their support is second to none!
Perch Documentation
Keyboard Shortcuts
Turn on editing and keyboard shortcuts In the Perch settings page. Navigate round the Perch admin using shortcuts like, for example g + p for Page Listing and g + d + r for Diagnostics Report.
Use Ctrl/Cmd + S to Save a Region after editing.
Use Ctrl/Cmd + E to edit a page. Needs perch_get_javascript(); and after that browse your site and click Ctrl/Cmd + E to jump to the edit screen for that page.