🧩 Dottiq CMS: A Lightweight, Custom-Built CMS Born from a Blog Idea

Dottiq CMS started as a personal project with a simple goal: “I want to have my own blogging feature.” That idea quickly evolved—“If I’m building this, why not create a system that can manage all kinds of content in one place?” From there, the CMS began to grow, little by little.

In this series, I’ll walk you through the development journey of Dottiq CMS, feature by feature. The first post in the series covers its origin: the blog posting function.

📝 Why I Built My Own Blog Function

I wanted a space where I could easily jot down development notes or share update logs—something simple, self-managed, and under my control.

Sure, I could’ve just used WordPress or an external blogging platform. But in the end, I chose to build my own—mainly because it seemed like a great opportunity to learn more about programming.

Throughout Dottiq CMS, I’ve focused heavily on reusability and scalability: modular code, flexible architecture, and a unified UI across the system. Naturally, those principles are reflected in the blogging feature as well.

🧱 Current Blog Features and Admin Panel Setup

Right now, the blog function is intentionally minimal. Each post consists of:

  • Title
  • Body content
  • Publish date
  • Slug (for use in the URL)

Posts are published in the format: https://www.dottiq.com/blog/article.php?slug=your-slug-here

There’s no rich text editor or formatting options yet—it’s a straightforward "write and publish" system, which is good enough for now since I’m the only one using it.

Even at this early stage, shared components like header.php, sidebar.php, and footer.php are already in place—built with future flexibility in mind.

🎛️ Why the Admin Panel Matters More Than You Think

A well-designed admin interface is about more than just looks—it’s essential for usability. Clean design and smooth interactions make it feel easier to update the site, which in turn encourages more frequent updates and long-term growth.

This isn’t just for me. I’m also thinking ahead—just in case I package this CMS for others someday. A good user experience starts in the backend.

🔁 Built-In Redirects for Slug Changes

Sometimes you want to tweak the URL slug after publishing a post. Dottiq CMS handles this by automatically redirecting (via 301) any old slugs to the updated one.

Here’s how it works: slug history is stored in the database, and when a page is requested, the system checks for matches and redirects if needed.

This helps keep shared links alive—like on social media—and also boosts SEO, especially when Japanese characters are involved in slugs.

🚧 What's Next for the Blog Feature?

The blog module is still in its early days—basic text-only posts for now—but I’m already thinking about future upgrades, such as:

  • Image uploads – for cover images and inline media
  • Markdown support – enabling formatting, links, and more
  • Tags & categories – to help organize and filter posts
  • Scheduled publishing – to automate future-dated releases

The vision is a CMS that’s lightweight but genuinely useful—and I’ll keep refining it step by step.

Next up in the series: Link Management. Stay tuned!