Types of Sites

Different types of Web sites have different typical needs for access control. For example, I have a friend who runs a Web site on which he posts news and opinion pieces. He doesn't care who reads them, so most of his site's modules are open to all users. Folks who register can sign up for his newsletter, but not many people bother, and he's okay with that.

I have a Web site at www.scriptinganswers.com where I provide a lot of content related to Microsoft Windows administration. I also have an e-newsletter, which PHP-Nuke manages for me. I don't want anyone reading the content on the site unless they've logged in, so that I can keep track of how many people are accessing my site and keep track of which users are my frequent visitors. So, most of my site is available only to registered users.

Other sites might want to provide their content to only subscribed users, such as sites where the content is actually what you're paying for.

Regardless, certain sections of your site need to be accessible to everyone. You might use the Content module, for example, to post pages with your contact information, and you'd want (probably) everyone to be able to get to that page. Most Web sites always restrict their Forums module to registered users, since allowing anonymous users to post messages can result in a lot of rubbish (like sex ads) being posted to your site. Restricting things to registered users reduces their anonymity a bit, which helps people remember to behave themselves.

So you should start by mapping out which bits of your Web site you want to be accessible to everyone, which bits are for registered users, and which bitsif anyare strictly for subscribers.