I started Egg Freckles with the goal that all of my entries would be written on a Newton and presented on a website that resembled a Newton. I choose a CMS that would keep my content and presentation separate but its database kept getting in between me and my writing, and its programming language kept getting in between between me and my design. My goal was a gimmick, but I was convinced there must be a CMS where my content could be uploaded straight from my computer or Newton, and my presentation could be written in straight forward HTML. Stacey is the CMS I found for Egg Freckles.

Content

Content management systems are like movie theaters. Your content is the movie, and your template is the decor. The movie and the decor are separate, but the theater combines them together into a single experience. In order to play your movie the theater must first convert it into film, and the film can only accessed in the projector room. In order to change the movie you must run up three flights of stairs into the projection room and tediously edit the film frame by frame while it is playing. Each frame is a separate post, and the film is the database the CMS requires your content to be in to play. The only way to edit your content once it is playing in theaters is to edit it article by article in the out of the way projection room, your content management system’s web interface.

In contrast Stacey is like an artist’s studio. Your content is the paintings, and your template is the decor. The paintings and the decor are still separate, but they are combined into a gallery experience. The paintings do not have to be converted into anything to be displayed. Stacey has no database. As artwork is completed it is hung up and presented. If it needs to be touched up or edited it can be repainted on the wall. In the studio the artist lives with her artwork. With Stacey your content lives on your computer. When you want to hang something you upload it via FTP. There is no special room to go to or interface required to edit or hang your paintings. You can use your favorite text editor and keep your work at home in the files and folders you are familiar with without converting anything.

Presentation

The decor at a movie theater is part of the theater’s branding. Each theater is different, and the branding is different for each theater. In order to decorate a particular theater you must uphold its branding. In order to design a particular CMS you must uphold its syntax. With a traditional CMS you can’t just design in HTML. You need to be able to interpret the programming language the CMS was written in and write the appropriate template code to act as placeholders for your content. Your decor can’t stand on its own without the theater. Movie theater decor looks silly out of place, and a content management systems templates can’t be viewed alone in a browser without the CMS.

Back in the artist’s studio the decor is defined in the same interior design language all web pages are defined in, HTML. There is no branding to uphold, no programming languages to interpret. You design in the same HTML as you would for any project but use a few special tags as placeholders for your paintings. Your decor stands on its own and can be rendered in a browser without Stacey present. When you are finished designing you upload your template and Stacey hangs your paintings where you planned.

Stacey

Stacey is a framework for building simple dynamic HTML websites.

The project is based around two core ideals: 1. Separating textual content & assets from your HTML, and 2. Keeping ugly PHP-style logic out of your templates.

Stacey accomplishes this without a database, or installation files. Simply drop the application on a server with PHP installed and it runs. Content is managed by creating folders and editing text files. Templates are generated by authoring HTML with a special set of tags. You have complete control over every piece of markup that is generated. All the dynamic parts like creating breadcrumbs, navigation lists, shared content, and linking images and assets are handled for you automatically.

I start a new entry in Stacey by duplicating the folder for the last entry I have written. Entries are separated into folders by title, and categories separate entries into folders by name. Each entry folder contains all the assets for a particular post including my writing in the form of a text file, and my illustrations in the form of a picture. Stacey supports text, images, pdf, audio, video, flash, and raw html as assets. All of my entries are written in Markdown, and the only special tags I have to remember to include in my text files are title, date, and content. New tags can be created as needed. When I am done with an entry I upload the entire entry folder with all of its assets into the proper category folder on my Stacey powered Egg Freckles site. Stacey publishes my content creating the necessary links and caching the HTML automatically. I retain a copy of my content on my computer right where I authored it and sync all of my content with Dropbox so I can write and edit from anywhere. Because Stacey only requires FTP with no special web interface to publish I can post from my Newton, a 68K Mac, my iPad, or even a BlackBerry. Stacey may not have an extensive list of plugins or capabilities, but what it lacks in versatility is makes up for in ease of use and minimalist appeal.