Knights of Columbus CMS

Knights of Columbus CMS

Knights of Columbus CMS /
User Manual /
Chris Ozoniak /
11/20/2010 /

Submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements of

MIT 490 – Senior Projects

Advisor: Dr. Benjamin Bishop

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction______3

1.1 Introduction______3

1.1.a Functionalities/ Reasons for System______3

1.2 Glossary______3-4

1.3 Document Overview______4-5

Chapter 2: Introductory Manual______5

2.1 How to Use the System______5

2.2 Troubleshooting______5-6

2.2.a Browser Incompatibilites______5

Chapter 3: System Reference Manual______5

2.1 Alphabetical Listing of Services______5

2.2 Error Recovery______5

2.3 Installation Information______5-6

1 – Introduction

1.1 Introduction

The goal of the Knights of Columbus Content Management System (herein CMS) is to create a Web site that is easily manageable for the Knights of Columbus 5510 Council. It needs to be a Web site that is easily modified by members of the council in addition to the Webmaster. It also needs to have a more modern look and feel that will encourage users to be interested in the site. It will require integration with social media to increase traffic flow to the site. It is designed to help others learn more about the Knights of Columbus, and the Knights of Columbus Council 5510. The Web site will feature various forms of content from the Knights of Columbus, including pictures and possibly videos. The site will be built using WordPress, a Content Management System. This Content Management System will allow members of the council to update and create new events, and to update other parts of the Web site. The management of the site will not involve any further coding beyond what is used to create the CMS. The ultimate creation of the site will be through HTML, PHP, CSS styling and photo editing software such as Gimp or PhotoShop for creating banners and images for the site.

1.2 Glossary

Chrome / A free, simple, lightweight, and easy to use cross-platform Web browser
Content Management System (CMS) / CMS- The collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment.
CSS / Cascading Style Sheet – Style sheet language used to describe a Website’s visual presentation
Domain Name Service / AnInternetservice that translatesdomain namesinto IP addresses. Becausedomain names are alphabetic, they're easier to remember.
Firefox / A free and open source Web browser
Flash / Multimedia platform used to add animation, video and interactivity to Web pages
Javascript / Used by Webmasters to design interactive sites
LightBox / Javascript Application used to display large images
MySQL / Open-source relational database system
PHP / Hypertext Preprocessor, PHP is an HTML-embedded Web scripting language.
Plugins / Software component that adds specific potential to a larger software application, in this instance WordPress
Themes / Preloaded CSS themes for WordPress, can be customized
User Interface / The part of a software application that a user sees and interacts with.
Widgets / Similar to a plugin but it is designed to provide a simple way to arrange the various elements of your sidebar content
Web-interface / A simple and straight-forward user interface used to interact with the system and underlying database. This is made of a set of interrelated pages that communicate with each other and the Web server.
WordPress / WordPress is a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, Web standards, and usability. WordPress is both free and priceless at thesametime.
XAMPP / A free and open source cross-platform Web server package, consisting mainly of the Apache HTTP Server and MySQL database.

1.3 Document Overview

This document will describe the functionalities of the Knights of Columbus Content Management System and the reason for the system. It will also include an introductory manual on how to use the system, as well as atroubleshooting section. It will include a system reference manual. This system reference manual will include an alphabetical listing of services, help with error recovery and installation information (should the user decide they want to create a CMS of their own).

2- Introductory Manual

2.1 How to Use the System

The user will utilize a Web browser such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari or Microsoft Internet Explorer and navigate to the Web site with the address From here the user will be directed to the corresponding Web site using Domain Name Service. This will take them to the actual Knights of Columbus Web site. From here the user will be able to sort through a total of thirteen other pages. They include Members, By-Laws, Photos, Newsletters, Officers, Council History, Events, Contact Information, Links, Insurance Info, Grand Knight History, Charter Members, and the Form 100 page.

If accessing the Members or the By-Laws page the user will be greeted with the following prompt.

This prompt will keep users who do not have a username/password combination to these pages out of the sensitive material they contain. It will also be immune to SQL injection, which is a method used by hackers to infiltrate a system.

If the user is accessing the Photos page they will have a rather intriguing tool at their disposal in the form of a LightBox plugin. The LightBox will enlarge the image on the page when clicked. In order to open the LightBox, the user will need to click a picture on the Photos page, and then a bordered/overlayed image will appear that is sized 400 pixels wide by 400 pixels tall.

Lightbox is used by the user for a more well-rounded experience when dealing with images, the user is able to get a larger view of the image. In order to view the Newsletters the user may need to download a PDF reader if they do not currently have one installed on their machine. The other pages of the site are relatively simple in concept and have a very simple user interface.

2.2 Troubleshooting

In order to troubleshoot any issues that arise such as a LightBox not functioning properly on a certain browser or not at all, user feedback will be needed. An email address to contact the Webmaster will be provided, and a drop-down menu with a list of options of what the issue or problem is. There will also be a comment box available with a captcha to avoid spam from computer-generated content. The user will be able to provide the Internet Browser they are using, their operating system, and any other vital information, if the user is unaware of what they are using they can be navigated to a page that will tell them what they are using. This will allow less-tech savvy users to be able to troubleshoot their issues more efficiently.

2.2a Browser Incompatibility

In order to avoid issues with browser compatibility, the site is currently being tested on a number of platforms. On the Windows side, it is being tested on a Windows XP machine running Firefox 3.6, Internet Explorer 8, and Google Chrome 8. Also on the Windows side, it is being tested on a Windows 7 machine running the sameFirefox 3.6, Internet Explorer 8, and Google Chrome 8. Both of these machines are capable of running Javascript, Adobe Flash, and have PDF readers installed on them. The site is also being texted on a Mac system running Mac OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.5 with Safari 4 as the main browser; it also has Firefox 3.6.12 installed. Lastly, the site is being tested on a Linux-based operating system Ubuntu Netbook Edition, this is running Firefox 3.6.12.

Most of the issues with browser compatibility are due to Internet Explorer and its interactions with CSS, particularly IE 6 & 7. Internet Explorer 8 has fixed some of the CSS issues but IE 7 accounts for 9.34% of the Web browsing and IE 6 still accounts for 5.24%. A complete chart can be seen here or at

Web Browsers
1 / Internet Explorer 8 / 27.01%
2 / Firefox 3.6 / 24.22%
3 / Internet Explorer 7 / 9.34%
4 / Chrome 6 / 6.91%
5 / Internet Explorer 6 / 5.24%
6 / Safari 5 / 4.46%
7 / Chrome 7 / 4.38%
8 / Firefox 3.5 / 3.41%
9 / Firefox 3 / 1.86%
10 / Safari 4 / 0.92%

Another user-related issue to attend to is Screen Resolution. More than 1/5 of total users are still using a screen resolution that is 1024 x 768 pixels. If the user is using a smaller resolution, he or she may have issues if the site is not properly designed for that particular resolution. One way to avoid this issue is to use a liquid layout that stretches to the current user’s windows size.

Screen Resolutions
1 / 1024x768 / 21.98%
2 / 1280x800 / 17.93%
3 / 1280x1024 / 9.36%
4 / 1366x768 / 8.32%
5 / 1440x900 / 7.81%
6 / 1680x1050 / 4.92%
7 / 1920x1080 / 2.79%
8 / 1024x1024 / 2.73%
9 / 800x600 / 2.15%
10 / 1152x864 / 1.91%

3- System Reference Manual

3.1Alphabetical Listing of Services

Chrome, 3

CMS, 3, 4

CSS, 3, 4

Domain Name Service, 4

Firefox, 4

Flash, 4, 8

Javascript, 4, 8

LightBox, 4, 6, 7

MySQL, 4

PHP, 3, 4

Plugins, 4

Themes, 4

Unit Testing, 2

User Interface, 4

Web-interface, 4

Widgets, 4

WordPress, 3, 4

XAMPP, 4

3.2Error Recovery

Should the system suffer a fatal error (ex. a server crash) the host will provide the most recent backup of the site. The Webmaster will also keep a version of the site that is updated weekly; this will most likely be through the use of a plugin.

3.3 Installation Information

If the user is intrigued enough by the concept of a CMS they may be interested in setting up a Web site using a CMS themselves. The user should first explore the option of using Wordpress.com so they can become familiar with the system, before creating one of their own. When they choose to do so they will need the following:

• Web server with PHP version 4.3 or greater
• MySQL version 4.1.2 or greater

In order to properly view the Web site the user may need to download Adobe Flash player for any video content. It can be downloaded from