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I am developing an EE site using the very useful Structure add-on for the first time. I want to make adding and editing content as easy as possible for my client. Currently I have a product section on the site where the client can easily add products by adding pages in Structure and it is very clear what they need to do. However, there is another section of the site which I can't currently see working with the same model.

Is it possible to develop/add data to part of a site without using Structure? If it is, would it be wise to do this when the client has a clear understanding of how to add/edit data to the section using Structure? Would this become too confusing for the client?

Thanks in advance.

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    Can you elaborate what this other section is and why you don't want to have it in Structure?
    – Timo Häkkinen
    Commented Nov 23, 2012 at 18:44
  • I agree with Timo - Can you elaborate?
    – ShawnCBerg
    Commented Nov 27, 2012 at 3:30
  • I've actually had a rethink of how I'm organising things and am now including the section in Structure! However, initially I was wanting to include a large stockist list on the site, broken down into countries and states. I wasn't quite sure how to integrate that into the site easily using Structure. Neither listings nor assets seemed right, a little confusing for the client and I was originally organising things using categories which didn't integrate easily with Structure - for me anyway! I thought maybe using the regular Publish tab for the Stockists would be easier.
    – Mosaik
    Commented Nov 27, 2012 at 7:33
  • I'm using Structure Pages and Matrix fields now. But it's still an interesting question for other Structure users.
    – Mosaik
    Commented Nov 27, 2012 at 7:34

5 Answers 5

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Possible yes, easily, not overly confusing no, but sitting down with the client and explaining the use for 15 minutes would be really useful.

That said you do want to make things as clear as possible for the client and each client have different levels of experience and general nous / common computer sense. We normally make short video tutorials built into an accessory to explain things if they get lost. Generally though they don't refer to it much after initial training.

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I normally use Zoo Flexible Admin to create a navigation that makes it obvious to the client how and where to edit the appropriate sections of their site.

In the case of a site with Structure, I'd usually have a 'Main Site Structure' nav item and then the remaining non-structure channels in nav items like 'News > Add, News > Edit, etc'.

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  • Can I just check - Are you saying you use either Zoo Flexible Admin or Structure on a site? Or have you used them both together on a site?
    – Steve Holland
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 11:13
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    You can use both together. With ZFA, one of your nav links can be to Structure, using whatever naming convention you want.
    – Jason Varga
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 14:47
  • Excellent, thanks Jason. I can see me using this combination going forward.
    – Steve Holland
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 14:53
  • We use ZFA on sites also, but mostly just to control the CP navigation menu by member group instead of by member. This is a great method for organizing content, Jason. Thanks!
    – ShawnCBerg
    Commented Nov 27, 2012 at 3:31
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We have built multiple sites where one 'area' is not managed by Structure. For example, we gave a member group access to one set of channels, which worked in a template group, inside which was a 'controller' template (powered by Switchee). This combination of entries and templates created 'microsites' for these users.

The rest of the site, which was mainly editorial content, was managed by Structure. As there was a clear delineation of the content, I don't think we had any problems re: different ways of managing entries.

So, in practice: If you create a template group, and point a browser at it, as long as it doesn't match any Structure URL, it will be 'free' of Structure.

As an aside, check out Freebie, which lets you ignore Structure for URLs that you specify.

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  • +1 for explaining that template groups can be "free" of Structure as long as they don't match a Structure Page URL.
    – unexplainedBacn
    Commented Nov 28, 2012 at 19:57
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Possible yes. Confusing? Depends on the client and what the other content is. Have you considered using Structure's Assets? That might help too (though Jason makes an excellent point with ZFA).

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You might also try Zoo Flexible Admin with Low-Reorder. I have found this combo lets me control the backend client experience to a really high degree.

Low Reorder lets you rearrange channel entries display order, and also now links directly to each channel entry from the reorder list.

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