Question

Photo of Don Smallman

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multiple Locations

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How are people with multiple sites, using RockRMS? Are you creating multiple websites? I looked through the documentation, but still don't know if I should create another site or not. Much of the info from site to site will be identical. If I do create another website, I would want to copy the main site to the new one and then just change the data that is different. I just don't want to have to change two sites everytime I make a change that affects both sites. Any suggestions? Thanks! Don
  • Photo of Trey Hendon III

    1

    Hi Don,

    I think the most common website approach folks are taking is to build one website for the church. Then, if there are pages that are Campus specific, build a page tree structure on the site for the Campuses and have any pertinent info there.

    For example:

    Home
       |- New Here
       |- Resources
       |- Connect
       |- Give
       |- Blog
       |- Campuses
          |- North Campus
             |- Location
             |- Contact Us
          |- South Campus
             |- Location
             |- Contact Us

    Then, if there are any blocks that need to have the context of Campus, those are set one of three ways.
      1. In the Block Settings.
      2. The block evaluates the current person's Campus from their record.
      3. Manually by the user (assuming the Block exposes Campus).

    Hope that helps!
    -Trey

    • Don Smallman

      Don Smallman

      Thank you. Are you talking about using the Campus Context Setter with that tree structure; so, when someone selects a campus (Using the Campus Context Setter) and then location, that see the page that they are supposed to? Sorry Trey, I am still not getting it, because I do not see any setting at the page level that says "This page belongs to Campus 1".


      Or are you talking about just using that page tree structure without using the Campus Context Setter, and just allowing people to navigate to the correct campus, then the location page?

      • Trey Hendon III

        Trey Hendon III

        I'm referring to no context setter. Just plain pages and navigation.


        Personally, some sites get to be annoying when they're "too smart". For example, if I regularly attend the North Campus and need directions to the South Campus for a special event, an auto-context switcher on the website could bug me to no end because it could stop me from getting to the correct "Directions" page. If you want to explore and use context, make sure to test every possible use-case. Just my 2 cents.

        • Jay Greentree

          Jay Greentree

          I agree with Trey on the auto-campus selection. I've been to church sites that use your physical location to provide the closest campus when I was actually looking for info on a specific location and basicly got stuck in an endless loop.

          • Don Smallman

            Don Smallman

            Thanks guys! I understand and agree; however, I did not think that the context setter was automatic. I assumed, maybe incorrectly, that they would select it each time. If you go to www.ccv.church, you will see the way I thought it was. It just remembers your last selection and is easy to switch. Not saying that I need that right now, but if there comes a time when there is a lot of different content between the sites, I may want to implement this. Thank again for your suggestions, they were very helpful.

            • Trey Hendon III

              Trey Hendon III

              The CCV folks will have to weigh in, but my guess is they are using a cookie (that's how we did it at OHC).
              My assumption is that context setter will use my person info and force it vs cookie can be changed.

            • Photo of Chris Allen

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              I think most churches are using one main website with the ability to select campuses to find details. We will be launching a second campus next year and will follow that approach. The information about small groups, classes, and events will be available on both campus webpages but accessed through one site. Rock has the ability to customize webpage appearance based on user data so the campus pages can have their own feel and show relevant information (service time/location) automatically.

              • Don Smallman

                Don Smallman

                Hi Chris. That is only for users that are logged in though correct? I have added another campus but I am not sure how to add a dropdown so visitors to the site can select the campus that they want info on.

                • Don Smallman

                  Don Smallman

                  Hi Chris, how are you planning to implement this on your website? I looked through the Docs and still cant find anything that talks about how to do this.

                • Photo of Jay Greentree

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                  if you want the cms side to have information for each site you have to first create pages for every campus either by adding subdomains that point to rock and adding individual websites inside of rock or (as mentioned above) a dropdown that lists each campus which links to campus specific pages. To create a drop down you would have to make a new block in the sidebar or where ever you want it and add the required html code.

                • Photo of Arran France

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                  Hey Don,

                  I'm marking this as answered because it seems like you've got a few different approaches given here.
                  Just to chip in when I was tackling this I had a really workable, but no ideal, solution using one page Lava and URL parameters.