alberta sitecore user group creating exceptional web …files.meetup.com/5659972/2nd ab sitecore...

Creating exceptional web

experiences with Sitecore’s CMS

December 4th, 2013

Alberta Sitecore User Group

Sitecore 7

Authoring enhancementsAgenda

Evolving your website

Let’s chat

Introductions

Sitecore 7 overview

1. What’s new in Sitecore 7?

2. What does this mean for developers?

3. What does this mean for authors?

Sitecore 7

Sitecore 7What’s new?

Core concepts

• Increased scalability & integration

o Faster

o Robust

• The rise of search

o Impacts developers and authors

o Transformation in thinking about content

o Not where is it, but what is it?

Sitecore 7

Developer changesSitecore 7

Developer changes for Big Data

• Think search!

• Using ‘ContentSearch’ namespace

• You can forget about your old friends

o GetItem, GetField, Page Editor

• Testability!

o POCO, Interfaces & LINQ

• More later…

Sitecore 7

Content author changesSitecore 7

99 Problems (Content authors remix)

• Websites have a lot data

• Too complicated to organize

• Hierarchies don’t always work (for navigation or authors)

• Authors managing web content + data

Sitecore 7

Introducing item buckets

• Search-powered

• Simplifies large volumes of data into a single node

• Simplifies authoring

• Simplifies organization

• New ways to interact with items (stay tuned)

Sitecore 7

Taxonomy before item buckets

• Training

• US

• Oil

• Web

• In-Person

• Course

• Gas

• Green

• Canada

• Oil

• Gas

• Green

Sitecore 7

• Books

• A

• B

• Bee Book

• C

• Cat And The Hat

• Civil War

• Crime & Punishment

• D

• E

• Ender’s Game

• F

• G

• The Great Gatsby

Too complex Too simple

After item bucketsSitecore 7

When to use item buckets

• When content:

o Can be described in multiple ways

o Large volume

• Press releases

• Galleries

• Knowledge bases

• Blogs, stories, articles

Sitecore 7

Search in Sitecore 7

• Easier to authors to find items

• Find items in new ways

• Interact with items in new ways

• Search is everywhere!

Sitecore 7

Everywhere

• Search! Search! Search! Search! Search! Search! Search!

Search! Search! Search! Search! Search! Search! Search!









Sitecore 7

Search tabSitecore 7

Search from where you areSitecore 7

Multiple tabsSitecore 7

Filter with faceted SearchSitecore 7

Filter With Faceted SearchSitecore 7

Tailor the resultsSitecore 7

Quick actionsSitecore 7

ShortcutsSitecore 7

Advanced SearchSitecore 7

Bulk actions!Sitecore 7

Sitecore 7



Let’s chat

Introductions

Today’s authoring enhancements

• Custom fields

• Extending workflow

• Alternative editors

Custom fieldsBaking from scratch

Custom fields

• Most authoring tasks are handled by Sitecore field types:

o Simple Types:

Text, Date, Checkbox, Image

o List Types:

Droplist, Multilist, Treelist

o Link Types:

Droplink, Droptree, General Link

Authoring enhancements

Custom fieldsAuthoring Enhancements

Custom fields

• Why use custom types?

o Smooth the authoring experience

o Reduce complexity of rendering logic

o Make business rules more apparent to authors


Custom fields

• Examples

o Unbound Dropdown

o Field Sourced Tree List

o Many-to-Many Relationships


Custom fields

• Unbound Dropdown


Custom fields

• Field Sourced Tree List


Custom fields

• Many-to-Many Relationships


Extending workflowNotifications and interactions

Extending workflow

• Email notifications

• Workflow interactions


Email notification

• Out-of-the-box email notification from workflow:

o Allows customized static text

o Limited variable tokens (path, language, version)


Email notification

• More meaningful to the author/approver

o Custom tokens

o Dynamic text (comments, preview URL)

o Conditional text


Email notification

• Example email


Workflow interactions

• Publish to a preview server

• Link to approve or reject over email


Alternative editorsMarkdown in Sitecore

Shape of content

• Two main way of entering content in Sitecore

o Single-line text

titles, labels, (simple content)

o Rich Text

HTML-based, WYSIWYG, flexible, complex content


Rich text, defend yourself

• HTML is XML

• Simple, but not accessible, author requires knowledge

• Dan doesn’t even like to do it

• Dangerous (WHERE IS THAT OPEN TAG!?)

• But, it’s the best option we have.

• Alternatives?


How About Markdown?

• Markdown is a more natural shorthand

• Simple, like how you’d write in Notepad

• Content-focused (not Design)

• Magically converted into HTML


Markdown example 1

Alberta Sitecore User Group===========================

Welcome to our secound meet-up. Our topics for tonight include:

- Sitecore 7- Scalbility- Good People- Free Food

- Customizing Fields- Delivering Solutions

What’s New in Sitecore 7------------------------

One of the *biggests enchancements* in Sitecore 7 is its ability to scale with large volumes of data.

> Use a simple indent to create > A blockquote

• Customizing Fields


Markdown to HTML

Alberta Sitecore User Group===========================

Welcome to our secound meet-up. Our topics for tonight include:

- Sitecore 7- Scalbility- Good People- Free Food

- Customizing Fields- Delivering Solutions

What’s New in Sitecore 7------------------------

One of the *biggests enchancements* in Sitecore 7 is its ability to scale with large volumes of data.

> Use a simple indent to create > A blockquote

<h1>Alberta Sitecore User Group</h1>

<p>Welcome to our secound meet-up. Our

topics for tonight include:</p>

<ul>

<li>Sitecore 7

<ul>

<li>Scalbility</li>

<li>Good People</li>

<li>Free Food</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li>Customizing Fields</li>

<li>Delivering Solutions</li>

</ul>

<h2>What’s New in Sitecore 7</h2>

<p>One of the <em>biggests

enchancements</em> in Sitecore 7 is its

ability to scale with large volumes of

data.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Use a simple indent to create a

blockquote</p>

</blockquote>


Markdown example 2

# Alternative Heading Styling

Let's see what on [Google](https://www.google.com) today.

### Reference an image:

![Reddit Logo](http://www.redditstatic.com/about/assets/reddit-alien.png)

| Tables | Are | Cool |

| ------------- |:-------------:| -----:|

| col 3 is | Right-aligned | $1600 |

| col 2 is | centered | $12 |

| zebra stripes | are neat | $1 |

<p>And you can still use HTML if you <strong>really like</strong it.</p>

• Customizing Fields


Markdown to HTML 2

<h1>Alternative Heading Styling</h1>

<p>Let's see what on <a href="https://www.google.com">Google</a> today.</p>

<h3>Reference An Image:</h3>

<p><img src="http://www.redditstatic.com/about/assets/reddit-alien.png" alt="Reddit

Logo"></p>

<table>

<thead>

<tr>

<th>Tables</th>

<th style="text-align:center">Are</th>

<th style="text-align:right">Cool</th>

</tr>

</thead>

<tbody>

<tr>

<td>col 3 is</td>

…

</table>

<p>And you can still use HTML if you <strong>really like</strong></p>


Integrating Markdown with Sitecore

• Single-line text is a field type

• Rich-text editor is a field type

• So…

• Create a Markdown ditor field type!


Markdown in the editorAuthoring enhancements

Ideal for…

• Blog posts

• Informational (Wiki, Facts, Instructions)

• News releases

• Internal communications

• Content bins

• Frequently authored, variable content


Sitecore 7



Let’s chat

Introductions

Engaging the business to

evolve your websiteAlso known as Governance

How is your site managed today?

• Ad-hoc requests (i.e. loudest voice, first in the queue, biggest

fire, C-suite mandate)

• Re-launch to re-launch (big bang overhauls)

• Planned releases (prioritized roadmap, funded regularly)

Engagement

Portal management and sustainmentEngagement

Support and maintenance

• Making sure your system delivers

when it should as it should

• “Keeping the lights on” to some.

But more than that…

o Service desk

o Support

o Infrastructure management

• Responsive to issues, building

trust within the business

Engagement

Release management

• Planned design enhancements,

functionality changes, or defect fixes

• Scheduled releases throughout the year

paired with analysis, design, development,

and testing

o A/B testing

o Analytics review

o Listening labs

o Content reviews and updates

• Ensure regular enhancements to your site

Engagement

Portal management

• Where are you going with your portal? What are your goals? How much do you want to invest?

• Focusing on driving toward business outcomes

o Visioning workshops

o Planning and road-mapping exercises

o Iterative problem solving activities

o Change management techniques

o Governance evolution

Engagement

What does your team look like?

• Steering committee: own budgets, priorities and outcomes,

report up

• Project team: work on releases and enhancements as well

as support

• Business representatives: engaged in making changes and

decisions

Engagement

Getting governance started

• Allow for project recovery (burnout)

• Line up the post go live team and governance structure before

launch

• Recruit fresh blood ;)

Engagement

But what if you don’t have any of this yet?

• First step: be proactive

– Change the conversation from reactive

– Understand biggest pain points the business faces

– Meet regularly and build a relationship around solving

problems

Engagement


• Implement micro-enhancements to prove impact

– Take the listening and go guerrilla - just do it

– Share results, impact

– Arm yourself with data - simple ROI

• i.e. if we do xx we can shorten the sales cycle/save

time

Engagement


• Educate as you go

– Governance is the most mis-understood word in

technology

– Educate about what the ideal governance plan looks like

– Move incrementally towards the plan with proof points/wins

– Share this model!

Engagement

Let’s chat!

alberta sitecore user group creating exceptional web …files.meetup.com/5659972/2nd ab sitecore...

Documents