Concrete Root Install Help
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Hi all, I am the current social media/marketing/SEO manager for a company using Concrete5 for web development and HostGator for hosting. Before my work began, we contracted the building of the website to a 3rd party web developer as that is not my area of expertise, and now I update the site and tweak SEO as needed. After working for a while, I've noticed that I am not able to do certain things I need to as I do not have the original Concrete root install for the site. I have downloaded Concrete onto my computer but am not sure how to "link" it to the website so I can edit the website's root files (such as robots.txt), that is the only way I can think to describe it. I am still learning my way around many features of Concrete so I hope that all makes sense! I have looked all over for a way to "associate" my Concrete download with the current website and cannot find a solution. The original web developer turned out to be a bit of a scumbag so I am not able to get any help from him. If there is any other info needed to help elaborate I am happy to provide what I can. Not being very familiar with web development has me at a disadvantage, I appreciate any help!
Hi, I appreciate your reply! I did not get a notification about it so I apologize for the delay. The issue that led me to seeking help was getting the "Eliminate render-blocking JavaScript and CSS in above-the-fold content" message when crawling the site using Google's Webmaster tools. Some sources cited ways to help this but they all involved having access to the root installation.
The only area I have access to is the /login URL which allows me into the website editor via my browser and use to edit content/the site as best I can with Concrete's web tools.
The only area I have access to is the /login URL which allows me into the website editor via my browser and use to edit content/the site as best I can with Concrete's web tools.
@lorryn90
In theory, eliminating render-blocking JavaScript and CSS is often a good practice. The problem is can be complex to implement and not always practical for some sites.
What version of concrete5 are you using?
If you are using 5.7 and a well designed theme, the only render blocking JavaScript should be jQuery. Loading jQuery in the head of your site is a necessary evil. Without it, many blocks will not work properly. The rest of the JavaScript should be added to the page before the end of the body tag, async, or defer.
All the CSS gets loaded into the head though, but it is combined and minified. For many sites this is not a huge problem and won't make a site drastically slower. Large sites with a lot of CSS will take a performance hit and can benefit from inlining critical above the fold CSS. Also if you are serving users in developing countries, you will want to look into aggressive optimization like this.
High Google PageSpeed Insights scores don't always mean a site is fast. Some describe it more as a measurement of optimization than speed.
If you want a great explanation of the topic, there is a great article to start with and a book for further reading.
https://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/performance-rwd.html...
http://abookapart.com/products/responsible-responsive-design...
In theory, eliminating render-blocking JavaScript and CSS is often a good practice. The problem is can be complex to implement and not always practical for some sites.
What version of concrete5 are you using?
If you are using 5.7 and a well designed theme, the only render blocking JavaScript should be jQuery. Loading jQuery in the head of your site is a necessary evil. Without it, many blocks will not work properly. The rest of the JavaScript should be added to the page before the end of the body tag, async, or defer.
All the CSS gets loaded into the head though, but it is combined and minified. For many sites this is not a huge problem and won't make a site drastically slower. Large sites with a lot of CSS will take a performance hit and can benefit from inlining critical above the fold CSS. Also if you are serving users in developing countries, you will want to look into aggressive optimization like this.
High Google PageSpeed Insights scores don't always mean a site is fast. Some describe it more as a measurement of optimization than speed.
If you want a great explanation of the topic, there is a great article to start with and a book for further reading.
https://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/performance-rwd.html...
http://abookapart.com/products/responsible-responsive-design...
"After working for a while, I've noticed that I am not able to do certain things I need to as I do not have the original Concrete root install for the site."
Can you be more specific about what tasks you are trying to accomplish.
Do you have access to the concrete5 files through FTP or host control panel file manager?