So... Sitefinity’s Module Builder: “the state-of-the-art module builder which allows you to build your own content types without programming”. A big promise, but does it work?
Casting our minds back a little, back to when Sitefinity 4.4 was released, I take a look at the Sitefinity Module Builder to see how effective it is at reducing the amount of programming required for simple modules.
When Sitefinity 4.4 was announced, it boasted a range of new features and improvements to the globally used CMS platform. With a huge emphasis on making it easier and more simplistic to develop websites and applications, most excitement revolved around the news on Sitefinity’s new Module Builder.
The Sitefinity Module Builder claimed that you would be able to build complete custom modules without having to get your hands dirty with programming. Avoiding the standard method of creating custom modules, the Module Builder indicated that it could drastically improve the workflow of site development.
Generally, as a Web Designer/Front End Developer (with minimal development knowledge), I would create my custom modules directly in Visual Studio. This would usually be a problematic process trying to overcome build errors and paying regular visits to Google with the hope of discovering a new method to achieve a fully functional module. Set in my ways, despite the Module Builder being released, I plodded along with my Visual Studio-based custom modules. This was until I attended the Sitefinity and Beyond conference at the British Museum in London on 17th April. Up on stage Hristo Borisov (Sitefinity Business Analyst) was going through the processes of creating a new custom module using Sitefinity’s Module Builder. Shortly after he had started, he was able to show us a fully functional product listing with use of jQuery for effect. It looked so easy that I was eager to try it for myself.
Sure enough, back in the office I set to work on a dummy site with the intention of putting the Module Builder to good use. I revisited some of the things I had developed before on previous sites where it had appeared that HTML was the only solution (not very client friendly). I started with a full page, automatic, clickable slideshow. After naming it (appropriately named “Mega Slideshow”), I began adding my fields. With “Title” already existing, I continued to build brick by brick: “MainContent”, “SubHeader” and “SlideImage”. Now, with my fields complete, my module was ready to be populated. The fields made it a breeze to fill out and in almost no time at all I had created a range of slides to display within my slideshow.
I proceeded to my page where I was able to simply drag the control onto the page and immediately see my content appear, although the functionality still needed to be applied. By clicking the “Edit” button on the control, I was then able to navigate through and select the default module template. By copying the existing template code, I was able to create a new template within Sitefinity and then paste the code, with the correct fields, into the nicely laid out internal code editor (although IntelliSense would be nice*). To assist with customising the template, Sitefinity also provides an “Other data” drop down where code is automatically generated for pasting by simply clicking on a data name.
It’s fair to say that I had to tweak the code a little purely for design purposes and had to add an extra asp hyperlink, but aside from this, the end result was a complete, fully functional slideshow complete with image, title, content and a “Learn More” link. With a drastically reduced development time it’s clear to see just how powerful the Sitefinity Module Builder can be at improving site development workflow.
In part 2, I will be looking at how far the customisation for the Module Builder can be pushed and what areas could be improved by Sitefinity to fully complete the Module Builder.
*Telerik's Ivan Osmak got in touch to remind us that IntelliSense is supported in Thunder, the Visual Studio plugin. Thanks!