My experience with SnippetMaster

There are 2 versions of SnippetMaster.

1. Snippetmaster LITE – free, copyright information must remain intact
2. Snippetmaster PRO – $24.95 One License, can remove copyright information
3. Snippetmaster Rebrandable License – $74.95 The templates are completely brandable to your own company details.

I have only installed the Lite Version but I found it was sufficient for my client to use.
I installed it in the root directory of the site files.

Configuring the admin panel

-Click General to fill out the program options
-Click Users to give the client User Privileges

* Admin – User has access to all Admin Areas. User can edit all files and all snippets.
* Super – User can edit all files and all snippets.
* Power – User can edit all snippets.
* Regular – User can only edit snippets if they are listed in the Users access control list of the Snippet Tag

I gave my client admin privilege as she will be the only one editing her site.
Note: Make sure you edit the UserName, RealName, UserType that already exists in the admin panel.

-Click List Group to create a group that the user will belong to.

Here is how I wrote the snippet into the html code:

############################

<!-- #BeginSnippet name="main content" users='clientname' -->

Editable web page content goes here

<!-- #EndSnippet -->

############################

Notice that I named the snippet “main content” because I only wanted the client to edit the main content and nothing else e.g., navigation, images, footer I used the client’s name as the user.

How to use SnippetMaster

1. Login to SnippetMaster
2. Select a folder on the server from the drop down box
3. Click open
4. Select the file you wish to edit from the second drop down box
You will see a heading titled “SNIPPETS” these are the snippets embedded in the web pages
that can be edited .
5. Select a file from under the SNIPPET heading
6. Click open.
The editor will open the web page to be edited.
7. Edit the area displayed in the window (only the editable area will be displayed).
8. Click save
Your edited page will now appear in the window.

Note: The PRO version allows you to preview the page before you save it.

Conclusion

I highly recommend SnippetMaster for any web designer who needs his clients to update their own static web sites.
The Lite version is free, easy to install, simple to configure. It’s also easy for your client to understand how to operate it.
It enables you to predefine only those areas you wish to make editable for your client without messing you the design.

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Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, Search Engine Optimization

One of the most often asked questions about web site maintenance is

How can I update the web site myself?

If it’s a small html web site containing 5-10 pages I suggest using SnippetMaster. If it’s a content management(CMS) website the customer has access to an administration panel which allows them to edit the content.

The beauty of a static html site is that it only has a small number of files. A CMS site contains 100s of files and the software needs to continuously be updated to the latest version to stay ahead of security bugs.

What is SnippetMaster?

SnippetMaster is a free content editing tool that edits pre-defined areas of a web page, through any browser, without altering the rest of the web page.

Features

* Fully compatible with all major browsers (including the Mac)

* Supports embedded and linked CSS files.

* Unlimited users (with different permissions levels!).

* Unlimited snippets per page.

* Ability to edit whole pages.

* A simple visual editor that is easy to use. (If you can use MS Word, then you can use SnippetMaster).

* Creates fully “valid” code that is compliant with all XHTML standards.

Read about more new features

Installation

Web Browser

SnippetMaster works with all major browsers.

Web Server

PHP 4.3 or higher with Zend Optimizer or Ioncube Support

Use the Autoinstaller to install or upgrade SnippetMaster

With the Auto-Installer, you do not need to unzip anything, worry about Zend/Ioncube encoders being installed on your server, edit any configuration files, set binary/ascii ftp mode, change file permissions, or anything else!

How does it work?

SnippetMaster is specifically designed to work seamlessly with existing web pages (including Dreamweaver templates and similar programs) without having to modify the existing design or HTML you or your designer has worked hard to create.

With SnippetMaster you can easily edit any web page or you can create editable regions (called “Snippets”).

Here’s an example of a snippet:

#############################


Page content goes here...

<!-- #BeginSnippet name="My editable area" -->

    Place any web page content you wish to make editable here...

<!-- #EndSnippet -->

Page content goes here...


############################

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Receive fresh, in-depth articles articles on how to design, optimize and promote your web site by subscribing to my “Marketing Tips” newsletter at: http://www.isitebuild.com/

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, Search Engine Optimization