CMS Admin Interface Customization: An Example

By Deane Barker • • 3 min read •
Author Description

A graphical look at all the different ways the Episerver admin interface can be customized. A good example of customization options you might want or need for your installation

AI Summary

This post explores how to customize the admin interface of a content management system, detailing specific techniques and strategies. The author provides practical examples and insights that guide readers through the customization process, enhancing usability and user experience within the CMS.

Note

Note that Episerver’s system has completely changed since I wrote this. It’s still very extensible, but none of this (nor the linked screencap) is relevant anymore.

But this post can still be instructive on what is possible, and the scope to which a CMS admin interface should be extensible.

So, I’m sitting around in Denver International Airport, on my way to speak at Gilbane SF, and I got to thinking about CMS admin interface customizations. In a lot of cases, this is what separates the men from the boys, in the CMS world.

Good systems let you customize to your heart’s content in a supported, elegant manner. Bad systems don’t – if you can do it at all, you have to go hack their code, and re-hack with every upgrade.

To give you an example of a system that was planned and built from the ground-up to be extended, I cataloged the ways Episerver will let you customize their admin interface (all the ways I know about, anyway). I thought about writing them down, but then I realized that would never do it justice, and it’s hard to understand something you never seen.

So, I had a little screencapping party, and I spent about an hour mustering up all the wretched image editing skills I have (there’s not much, believe me). I now present you with an uber-screencap of some of the ways you can customize Episerver’s admin interface.

Episerver Admin Customizations

I’m sure I missed some, but these are more than enough, believe me. Even if you don’t use Episerver, this is a great example of what’s possible, and what systems should strive for.

There’s a larger principle at work here: good systems don’t say, “you can do X.” Instead, they say, “how can I give you the options you need to do X,Y, Z, and whatever else you might think up?”