News Section with Decap CMS - Setup Complete! 🎉

News Section with Decap CMS - Setup Complete! 🎉

All implementation is complete! Here’s what was added and what you need to do next.

✅ What Was Implemented

1. Decap CMS Admin Interface

2. Authentication Setup

3. Site Configuration

4. News Section Pages

5. Sample Content

6. Media Management

7. Documentation

🚀 Next Steps (Required)

You need to complete these steps to activate the CMS:

Step 1: Set Up GitHub Authentication via Netlify

Important: The CMS is now configured to use GitHub authentication directly. Users will log in with their GitHub accounts. Anyone with write access to the GitHub repository can access the CMS.

  1. Create Netlify Account (free - needed only for OAuth proxy)

  2. Set Up GitHub OAuth Provider in Netlify

    Option A: With a Netlify site (easier)

    • Import your repository to Netlify (just for OAuth, still deploys to GitHub Pages)
    • Go to Site Settings → Access control → OAuth
    • Under “Authentication providers”, click “Install provider”
    • Select “GitHub” and click “Install”

    Option B: Without deploying to Netlify

    • You can use Netlify’s OAuth service without deploying your site
    • Follow Netlify’s authentication provider setup: https://docs.netlify.com/visitor-access/oauth-provider-tokens/
    • Note: This requires some additional configuration
  3. Grant Repository Access
    • Ensure users who need CMS access have write access to the GitHub repository
    • Go to your GitHub repository → Settings → Collaborators
    • Add team members who should be able to create/edit news articles

Step 2: Test the CMS

  1. Commit and push all changes to GitHub 
    git add .
git commit -m "Add news section with Decap CMS"
git push origin main

  2. Wait for GitHub Pages to deploy (2-3 minutes)

  3. Access the CMS
    • Go to https://www.volunteersonwheels.org.uk/admin
    • Click “Login with GitHub”
    • Authorize the application when prompted
    • You’ll be redirected back to the CMS
  4. Create a test article
    • Click “News Articles” → “New News Articles”
    • Fill in all required fields
    • Upload a test image
    • Click “Publish” → “Publish now”
  5. Verify the article appears
    • Check homepage (if marked as featured)
    • Check /news page
    • Verify image displays correctly

Step 3: Share Access with Team

  1. Add team members to GitHub repository
    • Go to your GitHub repository → Settings → Collaborators
    • Add users who need CMS access
    • They need “Write” permission minimum
  2. Share the guide
    • Send README-CMS.md to content editors
    • They can access CMS at /admin and login with their GitHub accounts
  3. Important: Users must have:
    • A GitHub account
    • Write access to the repository
    • No additional invitations needed!

📋 Content Model

News articles include these fields:

🎨 How It Works

Content Editor → /admin → Decap CMS
                              ↓
                    Commits to GitHub
                              ↓
                    GitHub Pages Builds
                              ↓
                    Live on Website

🔍 File Structure

vow-website/
├── admin/
│   ├── index.html           # CMS interface
│   └── config.yml          # CMS configuration
├── _posts/
│   └── 2026-01-09-welcome-to-our-news-section.md  # Sample article
├── pages/
│   └── news.html           # News archive page
├── assets/
│   └── images/
│       └── news/           # News images folder
├── _layouts/
│   └── default.html        # (Modified with auth scripts)
├── _config.yml             # (Modified with authors)
├── _data/
│   └── menus.yml          # (Modified with News link)
├── README-CMS.md          # Editor guide
└── SETUP-INSTRUCTIONS.md  # This file

🎯 Editorial Workflow

The CMS has three stages:

  1. Draft - Work in progress, not visible on site
  2. In Review - Ready for review by another team member
  3. Ready - Approved and ready to publish

Drag articles between columns to change status, then click “Publish” when ready.

🔒 Security Notes

⚙️ How Authentication Works

The CMS uses GitHub backend with Netlify’s OAuth proxy:

User → /admin → Login with GitHub
                        ↓
                Netlify OAuth Proxy (api.netlify.com)
                        ↓
                GitHub Authorization
                        ↓
                CMS Access (commits as GitHub user)

Benefits:

Requirements:

🆘 Troubleshooting

CMS won’t load

Can’t log in

Images won’t upload

Article not appearing on site

📞 Support

🎉 You’re All Set!

Once you complete the Netlify Identity setup (Steps 1-3 above), your CMS will be fully functional and your team can start creating news articles immediately!

Implementation Date: January 9, 2026 CMS: Decap CMS 3.0 Authentication: GitHub (via Netlify OAuth proxy) Backend: GitHub repository direct commits