Common practices

[aren]

Hi guys, I have a few questions regarding a few common practices when dealing with CMSes:

1- How can I install ProcessWire above the root for better security?

2- How can I change the default folder for uploading images? For example, I'd like to create a folder /uploads in the root and have all my uploaded images in there. And can I have multiple folders or just one folder for all images?

3- Is it possible to have site assets (css, js etc) stored in a folder /assets in the root?

If you have other common practices or security tips etc and you'd like to share, please do.

[diogo]

I don't think that would be an easy task but you can rest assured that Ryan took very good measures to keep the PW folders as secure as they can be.

[OrganizedFellow]

"3- Is it possible to have site assets (css, js etc) stored in a folder /assets in the root?"

Yes, I prefer to do that. you just link to the files accordingly.

You don't HAVE TO keep them in the "/site/" folder.

[teppo]

Regarding moving assets (as in static site files, JS and images etc.) outside /site/:

Keeping everything "site-specific" within /site/ can make upgrading ProcessWire slightly easier and enables you to move all site-specific files to another server / PW installation etc. without needing to wonder which files were / are part of PW and which belong to this specific site.

This is also how (and why) modules such as Site Profile Exporter work; they simply copy (most) content of /site/ folder and leave everything else intact.

So, short answer is "yes, you can do it." But that doesn't necessarily mean that you should do it

[OrganizedFellow]

Very good point teppo.

I had not thought of that.

I guess I'll be moving all my css and js to the site folder  

[ryan]

1- How can I install ProcessWire above the root for better security?

You can move your /wire/ dir wherever you want and use symlinks. However, I don't think this would do anything for security. The benefit of doing it would be just if you want to share the same /wire/ dir amont multiple installs. I think that some CMS products are prone to vulnerable files and so you want to move them out of web root. ProcessWire is not one of those products and your .htaccess file protects several directories from web access. 

2- How can I change the default folder for uploading images? For example, I'd like to create a folder /uploads in the root and have all my uploaded images in there. And can I have multiple folders or just one folder for all images?

You can try modifying PW's /index.php file to choose a different $config->assets dir. But I don't recommend it, as I've not tested it. 

3- Is it possible to have site assets (css, js etc) stored in a folder /assets in the root?

Yes, you can store these assets wherever you want. ProcessWire doesn't actually link to them, only you do, in your template files. As a result, it doesn't matter where you put them. 

[Hari KT]

So here is my first module for ProcessWire if someone is interested in this http://modules.processwire.com/modules/assets/