Routing

Route Types

InspireCMS handles several types of routes:

1. Content Routes: Dynamic routes that map to content entries
2. Admin Routes: Routes for the administrative control panel
3. Asset Routes: Routes for media and static assets
4. API Routes: Routes for programmatic access to content
5. Custom Routes: Developer-defined routes for custom functionality

URL Structure

By default, content URLs follow a hierarchical structure:

/parent-section/child-section/content-name

For example:

• /about: A top-level "About" page
• /products/widgets/blue-widget: A "Blue Widget" page under the "Widgets" section of "Products"

Route Patterns

Each content item can have:

1. Default Route: The system-generated path based on content hierarchy
2. Custom Route: A user-defined URL that overrides the default
3. Aliases: Additional URLs that redirect to the content

Setting Content Routes

To set a custom route for content:

1. Edit the content item in the admin panel
2. Navigate to the "URL & Routing" section
3. Enter your custom route in the "Path" field
4. Save the content

Route Constraints

You can define URL patterns with parameters:

/blog/{year}/{month}/{slug}

Define constraints to validate parameters:

[
    'year' => '[0-9]{4}',
    'month' => '[0-9]{1,2}',
    'slug' => '[a-z0-9\-]+'
]

Automatic Slug Generation

When creating content, InspireCMS automatically generates a slug from the title:

• "Hello World" becomes "hello-world"
• "Top 10 Tips & Tricks" becomes "top-10-tips-tricks"

Custom Slugs

To use a custom slug:

1. Edit the content item
2. Find the "Slug" field (often near the title)
3. Enter your custom slug
4. Save the content

Slug Validation

Slugs must:

• Contain only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens
• Not conflict with existing routes or reserved words
• Be unique within their parent section

Adding Custom Middleware

Apply middleware to frontend routes:

// config/inspirecms.php
'frontend' => [
    'routes' => [
        'middleware' => [
            \App\Http\Middleware\TrackVisitors::class,
            \App\Http\Middleware\CacheControl::class,
        ],
    ],
],

Custom Route Handlers

To handle specific routes with custom logic, register them in your application's routes/web.php file:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

// In routes/web.php
Route::get('/special-section/{id}', [\App\Http\Controllers\SpecialController::class, 'show'])
    ->name('special.show')
    ->where('id', '[0-9]+');

These custom routes will be processed before InspireCMS content routes, allowing you to override or extend functionality for specific URL patterns. For more information on Laravel routing, refer to the Laravel documentation.

Cache Configuration

// config/inspirecms.php
'cache' => [
    'content_routes' => [
        'key' => 'inspirecms.content_routes',
        'ttl' => 120 * 60 * 24, // 120 days in seconds
    ],
],

Clearing Route Cache

To clear the route cache:

php artisan route:clear

This is useful after:

• Bulk content changes
• Changing route configuration
• Upgrading InspireCMS

Content Route Resolution

The route resolution process:

1. Incoming request URL is parsed
2. System checks for exact matches in the content route table
3. If no exact match, pattern routes are checked
4. If still no match, default route handler is invoked
5. Content is retrieved based on resolved route
6. Response is generated with the appropriate template

Custom Segment Provider

For custom URL structure handling:

namespace App\Services;

use SolutionForest\InspireCms\Content\SegmentProviderInterface;

class CustomSegmentProvider implements SegmentProviderInterface
{
    public function getSegments(string $uri): array
    {
        // Custom logic to extract segments from URI
        return [/* your segments */];
    }
}

Register in configuration:

// config/inspirecms.php
'frontend' => [
    'segment_provider' => \App\Services\CustomSegmentProvider::class,
],

Managing Content Redirects

• Edit the content item in the admin panel
• Navigate to the "SEO" tab
• Scroll down to the "Redirect" section
• Set the destination URL and redirect type (301 permanent, 302 temporary)
• Save the content