About Calvin | Bolt-Ons, Additions and Templates

The initial installation of Calvin allows you to produce simple but effective websites. However, you may wish to add more functionality to website, such as adding a shop or a forum. This is where Bolt-Ons can be used. Bolt-Ons allow Calvin to add extra features to your website, but still retain the ease of use and simple interface that you had previously.

There are many Bolt-Ons that are available to you, and each adds its own unique features to your website, but there are no limitations to the Bolt-Ons that you can use. They have been designed so that you can simply “pick ‘n’ mix” your Bolt-Ons depending on what you want to add to your website. Each Bolt-On that is available was developed with a specific market in mind, to allow people to customise their website and add features that are relevant to their particular area of expertise. As an example, the Podcast Management Bolt-On allows podcasters to easily create and manage their podcast episodes and associated material. Another example is the Hotel Management Bolt-On, which allows hotels and guesthouses to manage their booking systems online and provide other features that are specific to the hotel and accommodation industry.

Each Bolt-On is being developed to ensure that you can create a high-quality website, but without the high price tag that normally comes with building a fancy website.

Additions are similar to Bolt-Ons in that they provide extra features for your website, however whereas Bolt-Ons provide extensive features, Additions provide smaller services that help you to manage your website as a whole. For example, you may wish to add a news-ticker to your homepage, photo album manager, or an events calendar. All of these things are much smaller than a Bolt-On but give you extra little features to improve your website.

Templates are what allow you to alter the look and feel of your website overall. When you use a new template for your website, it will change the look of the site, along with any extra Bolt-Ons you may have installed (such as a forum) so that your website continues to look and feel the same throughout. With conventional CMS’s you have very little control over how each part of your website looks, and so it is very difficult to keep the overall feel of your website consistent. The major advantage of Calvin is that all sections are maintained through the same simple interface, giving a more integrated approach to running your website.