Web Links Module Administration

If you're brand-new to Nuke or websites in general, make sure you read our Introduction to PHPNuke. We have compiled a list of some of the best PHPNuke resources on the net, this is a great place to get started learning more about your Nuke site.

Like most Nuke modules, this one is designed to be easy to use and maintain. The trick is to play around with it until you get comfortable with it. Because most PHPNuke modules are designed in a similar manner, these instructions should give you an insight into the operation of other modules as well.

To see a "Web Links" module in action, you can visit the S.T.A.R. Programs, Inc. Links Page.

These instructions were made using PHPNuke version 7.1, but not too much about this module has changed or is likely to change, so it should work for any recent or near-future versions.

First, go to your admin page at www.your-site.com/admin.php. If you haven't logged in yet, you'll need to log in with your admin username and password. You should then be looking at your admin page. Click on the "Web Links" icon, it is often the next to last icon in the admin menu.

The first thing you will need to do is Create a category. Scroll down and create a category, we'll use "Web Developers", as an example. You would put in "Web Developers" for "Name" and something like "Companies and individuals who can help you build a website." for "Description". Click "Add".

You now have several more options. You can create another Main Category using the same procedure above for something else, like "Web Hosts".

You can add a sub-category under one of the Categories you have created. For example, you could add "Freelancers" under the "Web Developers" category. For this example, you would type in "Freelancers" under Name. Then select the "Web Developers" category to the right. Add a description like "Independent individuals capable of creating your website." Click "Add".

You can also add links. Put the title of the page or site you want to link to in the "Page Title" field. To use this site as an example, you would put "Divergent Lines" in the "Page Title" field. "http://www.divergentlines.com" would go in the "Page URL" field. You would then select which category you wanted to place the link in, In this case "Web Developers". Add a description like "Affordable custom website development for small businesses." Then enter a contact name and email address for a person at the site you are entering. With this example you would enter "Damian Smith" under "Name" and "dsmith@divergentlines.com" in the "Email" field. Click "Add". The Name and Email will not be visible to the public, it is just there in case you as the administrator ever need to contact that person for whatever reason.

Back on the "Web Links" admin page, the next option you have is to modify a category. Just select what category you want to modify and click "Modify". On the next page, change the name and description and click "Modify". Alternately, you can click "Delete" to remove the category. Deleting a category will delete all its sub-categories and all links in that category.

Assuming you have added a link, you now also have the option to modify a link. Unfortunately, PHP-Nuke has made this action more difficult than it needed to be. You will need the LinkID; an easier way to do this is click on "Web Links" in the "Modules" menu on the left to go to the public view of the Web Links page. Navigate through the categories and sub categories until you find the link you want to modify. Assuming you are logged in as admin (which you should be if you came from the admin page), you can click the "Edit" link (this "Edit" link won't be visible to your site's visitors) and do whatever you need to do. You can also add an editorial from this page, this is simply your comments about the site, this editorial will be visible to the public. You will also see some statistics on this page, I wouldn't worry too much about this right now. It will just be information about how many times the link was clicked, how well it has been ranked, etc.

OK, now go back to your admin menu by clicking "Administration" under the "Administration" menu on the left. The last option on the "Web Links" admin page is to transfer links among existing categories and sub-categories. This is pretty self-explanatory. Just pick what you want to move in the first drop-down menu, then select where you want to move them to in the second and click "Transfer".

People will be able to submit links to your site. When users submit links, you'll need to approve them before they are visible to visitors. When a link has been submitted, you'll see a number other than "0" next to "Waiting Links" in the "Waiting Content" menu. When you see this, click on "Waiting Links". From this page, you will be able to check out the link, modify it, approve it for addition, or delete it. it.

Spend some time poking around this module by again clicking on "Web Links" under the "Modules" menu. You'll be able to see how visitors will be able to vote on the links, add new links, report broken links, and more.

If you ever find that you need professional help with your PHP Nuke site, or any site for that matter, please feel free to contact us.