Since the apparition of ready made websites solutions, a big question has arrived for beginners: what are the alternatives to quickly learn the basic rules needed to control server side applications in order to rapidly deploy a full-featured website?

From all the possible answers, you must always look for a simple solution. In this sense, e107 CMS (content management system) could represent an appropriate choice for those who want to understand, in a visual manner, the main mechanisms which governs the behavior of a PHP / MySQL application.

The automatic installer is very intuitive for beginners. It can even create a MySQL database if you do not have a previously defined one. The only condition imposed for MySQL server user is the existence of database creation permissions on its account. At the final installation step, you are advised to change the file permission for e107_config.php to 644 in order to assure the CMS security (you can perform this task by using your FTP client or your webhosting account control panel).

After you define the administrative rights, you are ready to begin to customize the default e107 installation. For example, the setup of a forum on the front page is just a matter of a few clicks in the admin panel area. You must select Plugin Manager, then enable the Forum plugin (and, as optional choice, New Forum Posts plugin). Additional plugins are available to download for free from many sources.

By selecting the Forum icon in the Plugins area, you will discover all the necessary tools to construct your forum. In order to display it on the front page, you must select (in the main administration panel window) the Front Page icon, and from the new window you will be able to define the content that must appear on your index page (in this case, from the Front Page Settings menu you must choose Forum by checking the appropriate radio button). In the same manner, you can specify any other content type included in your e107 CMS to be displayed on your front page.

The navigation system configuration can be performed very easy, because the opportunity to associate a certain link to a well defined layout area in a visual manner is provided. If you previously have integrated content in others CMSs systems, the e107 application allows you to import it with the help of specific plugins (this feature is available for PHPBB, Mambo and PHPNuke). You can also change the website layout or even define your own themes based on comprehensive tutorials and examples presented on e107.org website. If you want to test or to begin to construct a website based on e107.cms, it can be downloaded from here.