Creating a Custom CMS with Rails and ActiveAdmin
Building a custom Content Management System (CMS) can be a challenging task. However, with the power of Ruby on Rails and the convenience of ActiveAdmin, creating a personalized CMS becomes a much smoother process.
What is a CMS?
A Content Management System (CMS) is a software application that allows users to manage and publish digital content, such as articles, images, and videos, without the need for technical skills. A CMS provides an interface for content creators, editors, and administrators to collaborate and organize content effectively.
Why Choose Rails?
Ruby on Rails, often referred to as Rails, is a popular web application framework for building robust and scalable applications. It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, which separates the application’s concerns for better organization and maintainability. Rails provides numerous built-in features, like convention over configuration, which reduces the amount of code needed to set up and configure a project.
ActiveAdmin is a Ruby gem that provides an out-of-the-box admin interface for Rails applications. It simplifies the process of creating an admin panel by generating administrative interfaces based on the existing database schema and ActiveRecord models. With ActiveAdmin, developers can focus on customizing and extending the administrative functionality without worrying about the basic CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations.
To create a custom CMS with Rails and ActiveAdmin, follow these steps: Install Rails by running the following command: Create a new Rails application:
Open the Gemfile in your Rails application and add the following line:
Then run the bundle command to install the gem:
Run the following generator to create the necessary ActiveAdmin resources for your existing models: This command will generate the necessary files and configurations for ActiveAdmin.
ActiveAdmin allows for extensive customization of the administrative interface. You can create custom resource files in For example, to customize the Post model, you can create a Once the customization is done, start the Rails server:
You can now access the ActiveAdmin interface by visiting Creating a custom CMS with Rails and ActiveAdmin allows you to build a powerful and tailored administrative interface for your web application. By leveraging the flexibility and efficiency of Ruby on Rails, along with the simplicity of ActiveAdmin, you can efficiently manage and publish content, making the management of your digital assets a breeze.
Getting Started
1. Setting Up a Rails Application
$ gem install rails
$ rails new my_cms2. Adding ActiveAdmin to the Gemfile
gem 'activeadmin'
$ bundle install
3. Generating ActiveAdmin Resources
$ rails generate active_admin:install
app/admin to define the display and behavior of each model.
posts.rb file in the app/admin directory and define the specifics:
ActiveAdmin.register Post do
permit_params :title, :content
end
5. Starting the Rails Server
$ rails server
http://localhost:3000/admin in your web browser.Conclusion
Leave a Reply