Current Documentation - this is more of a resource than a tutorial on the basics. Some of it may be outdated though.
What you should know
- SCSS
- git
- html
- javascript
Overview
EpiServer sites are maintained differently from Banno or RedDot sites. Here are some basics of how they work.
- CMS for each site is accessed by adding
/episerver/cmsto the end of the base url to bring up the login screen. - Each site has its own CMS for UAT and Prod. There are probably inconsistencies between one site to another depending on when the site was built. So essentially, don’t have high expectations on what you’re going to see in the CMS for any given site.
Common for All Sites
- Nav Blocks
EpiServer code base
Front End
These are rather basic changes that can be pushed without compiling the entire site. Elements in this category are most HTML (contained in a Views folder) and all static elements such as CSS, JS, and images. HTML changes are made within visual studio. JavaScript and CSS have to be compiled using a local build tool similar to Banno sites, but not too similar. Once these changes are compiled, they are minified and added to a project in visual studio as well.
Backend (CMS Features)
The back-end code utilizes C# and MVC (Model/View/Control). This is where we program interactivity and functionality within the CMS for any given site. Changes made in this way requires a re-compile of the site and pushing more files. And we also occasionally have to edit the web config, which is broken up into three parts: global, UAT specific, and Prod specific. Depending on which environment you are compiling into, one of those web config modifications will be used. All of these changes for the backend are made using visual studio.
Pushing Changes
Changes are pushed to either server using the Microsoft Remote Desktop app. Depending on the extent of your changes, you might push one or several files, and possibly the entire code base.