910292 - Edit access to Mozfest Wordpress templates

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Webmaker Graveyard :: Events, defect)

Description

[Michelle Thorne]

Hi, I'd like to modify some of the templates used in the Wordpress site: http://mozillafestival.org/ 

Example: http://mozillafestival.org/wp-admin/theme-editor.php?file=page-schedule.php&theme=mozfest2012

I could edit these directly in the Wordpress admin, and lighten the load for the dev team. 

This page explains how to make these files editable: http://codex.wordpress.org/Changing_File_Permissions

Thanks!

Comment 1

[Brett Gaylor [:brett]]

Michelle, I don't believe MoFo hosts the mozilla festival site, so this likely isn't a web maker bug.

Jon, could you help triage this to the right place and see if we can't help Michelle with this?

Comment 2

[Jon Buckley [:jbuck]]

:jp, is this site running on AWS or Labs? Looks like it's behind an Akamai CDN, so I don't know...

Comment 3

[JP Schneider :jp]

Actually, today this is sitting over in MoCo Labs if I remember correctly.
+Cyliang

Comment 4

[C. Liang [:cyliang]]

Someone (who is not me) needs to make a call about making changes to the site with its current setup versus enabling direct changes.  The current set up is more complicated but allows for testing and should make it easier to export changes to next year's server.  Enabling direct changes makes it easier for Michelle to make changes, but it means making changes directly on a live, working server setup.


Looking at the way that the site is set up, there's separate directory that holds the theme files.  This directory is stored in github at
   https://github.com/mozilla/content-2012.mozillafestival.org

This means that someone can download the theme from github, install it in their local Wordpress instance, and make changes.  Once everything is good, those changes can be merged back into github and then be pushed onto the server.

Pros:
  - changes can be tested before going live 
  - makes it really easy to apply/undo multiple changes
  - multiple people can work on changes w/o stepping on each other on the live site
  - it should be relatively easy to port over all changes to another server (since it should be a git pull)
Cons:
  - a lot more complicated than direct editing (dev setup + git pushes/pulls)

With direct editing:

Pros:
  - simpler setup 
Cons:
  - changes (including mistakes) will be made directly on the live site
  - tinkering with the current site's configuration and permissions may leave it more open to abuse (as Wordpress is a very active target for abuse)

Comment 5

[Michelle Thorne]

Thanks for the breakdown! I'll defer to the dev team about which setup is best. 

I can also fill bugs to explain the edits, if that's somehow easier than either of the two options.

Comment 6

[Michelle Thorne]

We're experience issues on sessions.mozillafestival.org. Our dev said it's because permissions have been removed and he can't fix. Is this related to this thread?

Comment 7

[Jon Buckley [:jbuck]]

No, they're two different sites. It was a DNS change, which we will be fixed in bug 911485.

Comment 8

[Jon Buckley [:jbuck]]

I'd definitely prefer editing the theme, then updating it via git.

:thornet - I'd be happy to help you get this setup running locally if you've got the inclination and the time. If not, filing new bugs to update content would also work.

Let you know what you want

Comment 9

[Michelle Thorne]

Great, I'll just file bugs based on any needed edits. Thanks!