To power the front-end of your website or intranet, we provide a range of standard FAQ web controls to suit almost any circumstance. We take a look below at some of the standard controls that are available to any web user in just two clicks.
This screenshot shows a typical list of FAQs using the FAQ Complete control
The FAQs Complete control
The FAQs complete control provides a full FAQ interface with a search and even an A-Z if required.
Each of the parts of the complete control can be used elsewhere, so you could just create a stand-alone list, or a stand-alone search on a homepage to search an FAQ archive.
The Control is configurable and each of the aspects can be fine tuned to meet the requirements.
As with most Contensis controls, a standard theme is provided, to ensure it looks good from the word go.
This screenshot shows a typical list of FAQs inline using the default theme
FAQs Complete Inline
The FAQ items returned can be displayed either inline or an FAQ can make an entire page.
The inline option is useful when your answers are only small, whereas if we were creating an FAQ with 16 screenshots, we should just navigate to the FAQ page.
We have demonstrated a typical FAQ list control with the inline option enabled, some of the questions have been clicked.
This screenshot shows a typical list of FAQs inline using categories
FAQs with Categories
The FAQ with categories control is very similar to the other FAQ lists, other than the fact that the FAQ items are grouped under a taxonomy category.
This can be useful, when you want to show many FAQs on a single page, and simply provide an anchor to jump to the relevant place in the list.
This screenshot shows a typical FAQ record page
FAQ Record
If your subject of FAQ is of a complex nature, you may feel that an entire page of content is justified to meet the needs of the FAQ.
In this case, rather than using the inline option, the user when clicking the question will be directed to the FAQ record control, which will render your entire answer in a stand-alone page.
RSS and Atom feeds as standard give you the flexibility to syndicate your content without having to lift a finger.
RSS and Atom feeds
Most Contensis controls come with the option to generate an RSS feed or an Atom feed.
FAQs are no different. The RSS is categorised by either taxonomy or tags, and the body of the article is presented, which can be really useful for syndication purposes.
The Editor
Creating a new FAQ can be achieved in just three clicks. All you need do is login to Contensis and then simply click the 'create new FAQ' option.
You don't need any technical skills and new editors can be up-and-running creating new FAQs in minutes.
We aim at every stage of the process to keep the editing environment consistent. If you have created an event, for example, you will immediately understand how to create an FAQ.
A screenshot of editing a typical FAQ
Because it uses the Contensis WYSIWYG editor, we are guiding users down the path of creating accessible content without them even realising it.
As with all Contensis content, a full QA check is available and if the content does not meet the relevant criteria, then the page can be prevented from being submitted or approved, depending upon how you configure the QA module.
As standard, you will have keywords and description meta-data to complete, but any other meta-data can be entered if configured. When entering keywords the system will auto-suggest other keywords that have already been used.
Often it is also useful to configure a meta data element for tagging the content. When this is done the listings will then be able to be filtered by these tags.
An FAQ is an integrated content type within Contensis. This ensures that all of the same rules apply to this as to any other type of content.
Standard Features
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Granular Permissions
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Full Audit Trail
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Full Version Control
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Full Workflow
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Full Reporting
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Fully Upgradeable
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Friendly Urls
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Configurable Meta-data
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Decoupled Publishing Architecture
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Standard Taxonomy Support
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Personalisation Framework
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Full Control Theming
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Full Control Localisation
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Standard Import/Export
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Full QA
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Configurable Publising Schedules
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RSS and Atom Syndication
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Multi Channel Delivery
From an administrator's perspective, you will need to initially configure the module and assign workflow and permissions.
Once this is done there should be no need for any involvement, other than just sitting back and letting the users create content
Hopefully you have seen the depth and breadth of the controls available to implement blogs on your site.
All of the controls have configurable options which allow for customisation to suit your needs, but sometimes this may not be enough, you may have specific requirements that are not included in the standard control set.
If you are using .Net then you can simply inherit from any of the standard controls and extend them to suit your needs, or you can use the same framework we use to develop new controls that meet your specific requirements.
If your idea is something that would be beneficial to all Contensis customers, then just run it past us, as we often will extend the system and provide new functionality based upon user specifications and ideas.
If you attend our developer training course, then you will be able to create any extra functionality or controls just like we do.