Sitelok
Sitelok ratings
This page shows the many advanced features provided by Sitelok.To see a more general overview or try a demo go to the Sitelok home page.
As well as providing password protected pages Sitelok includes many powerful features including access logging, sending email to selected users, insertion of user data in members page etc. Because of the flexible structure of Sitelok it is also ideal as a basis for developers creating complex web applications.
Features
For further details about any feature click it to expand the feature list.Easy to install and maintain
Installing Sitelok is easy using our install.php script. Future upgrades are just as easy too.
Uses PHP and MySQL available on most servers
Sitelok only requires PHP 5 and one MySQL database. It can even share a database with an existing application if your hosting provider only allows one database.
Doesn't use or require .htaccess files
Pages are protected using PHP sessions so .htaccess is not required or used. This has many advantages and allows for a more flexible system. The disadvantage normally using sessions is that only the pages themselves are protected and not other files in the server folders. However Sitelok use our Linklok technology to secure any images or download files that you also need to secure.
Fully supports SSL (https) sites
Sitelok can work on both normal and secured https sites equally well.
Protects access to PHP and HTML pages
Sitelok can protect both PHP and HTML pages. Just rename HTML pages with the extension .php which will not affect the layout or any other content of your page. Some servers can be set to handle HTML pages as PHP automatically using an .htaccess file.
Unlimited users and secure areas (user groups)
Sitelok allows an unlimited number of usergroups. Users can be members of one or more of these groups.
Membership of each group can be set to expire individually for each user
Optional expiry dates on each users membership of each group allows for total flexibility. Of course users can be members of any group for an unlimited time as well if required.
Fully customizable registration form allows new users to register themselves
Sitelok has completely customizable registration forms that are ideal if your site allows users to register themselves. The forms can be added easily to any page. You can decide for each form whether you want users to choose their own usernames and passwords or whether you prefer to have Sitelok allocate and email the password to the user for security. A CAPTCHA (turing) option also helps prevent abuse of registration forms.
Sell membership using Paypal's Buy Now and Subscription buttons
Our Paypal Plugin (free of charge) can be used to sell membership using Paypal's Buy Now and Subscription buttons. This plugin allows Sitelok to automatically create and update Sitelok accounts for your members. Use of this module requires Sitelok V3.0 or above and is available for download from the support area.
Template based email can be automatically sent to new users upon registration
A template based email can be sent to new users when they register. This email can be just a welcome or can be used to to allocated random passwords or ask for confirmation. Powerful template variables allow user specific data, downloads or other functions to be built in to the template.
User profile forms are fully customizable
You can allow users to change some or all of their registered data using simple forms on your pages. Sitelok's 50 custom fields are useful for storing user data but can also be used to hold information that users cannot see or modify. If required you can allow users to upload files (one file per custom field).
Message and error pages are completely customizable
Everything that a user sees in Sitelok including error pages and messages can be customized to suit your needs. For example Sitelok has specific pages that users can be sent to to display errors, upon logout, when expired or when attempting to access a page of a group that he has no access to.
Login forms are completely customizable
Sitelok has two types of login form. The first is the form that is displayed if a user tries to directly access page that requires login. This is called a login template. The second type is a login form that you can place on your pages where users can login when they wish. Both types of login can use any design you wish so that they fit seamlessly into your site.
Optional 'remember me' and 'auto login' features
Sitelok login forms can be set to remember users login details and to insert the username and password into the fields automatically. You can also set Sitelok to auto login users so that they need no be aware of the login form at all. This last option is great for support areas of your website.
Optional 'forgotten password' for login forms
You can optionally include a 'forgot my password) link on login forms. This requests that the user enters their username or registered email address so that their password can be sent to them using a template based email.
User data variables can be insterted anywhere in your pages
Sitelok can insert any user data into your pages using PHP tags. Such data includes usernames, groups, expiry dates and custom data. This is a great way to welcome clients by name for example. The variables can also be easily used to control the page so that some users or groups can see different data. This flexibility allows for very complex web application to be built.
CAPTCHA (turing) codes can be required for login or registration
Optional CAPTCHA codes can be required for user registration and/or login to help stop abuse.
Option to have passwords stored in database using MD5
Normally passwords are stored in the database in plain text which allows users to retrieve their passwords if forgotten. For some applications you may choose to have passwords stored as MD5 hashes instead. This means that even if the database is hacked no passwords can be retrieved.
Pages can be controlled by usergroup or username
Pages secured by Sitelok are normally assigned usergroups that have access. However you can also create pages that can be accessed only by specific usernames as well. This is great for sites that have pages for each user and saves you having to setup a different usergroup for each user!
Pages can be defined as public allowing non logged in users access to all or parts of a page
This is a powerful feature that allows Sitelok to control pages that public users can access. You can create blocks of HTML that are visible to everyone, public users only, logged in users only or in fact just about any combination you wish. This is a great way to allow parts of your site to appear differently for your existing clients. You could for example display different pricing and buy buttons for existing clients using this method.
Option to allow search engine access to protected pages
Sitelok can optionally allow search engines such as Google to access and index secure members only pages while still blocking visitor access. Sitelok uses advanced techniques to ensure that only search engines can get access and we don't simply check the user agent string like other systems as this is easy for someone to fake. You can define which user group(s) the search engine will have access to. This feature can dramatically improve SEO for some sites.
Sitelok can store up to 50 custom fields for each user
Sitelok stores the creation date, username, password, enabled state, name, usergroups and expiry dates for each user. In addition up to 50 fields of custom data can be stored. This data can be displayed (or used by PHP) in members pages, modified by the user (if you allow this) or just used internally in your business.
Powerful control panel makes user management easy
The Sitelok control panel allows the adding of new users, editing of existing users, deleting users, importing users, exporting users and emailing users. You can also temporarily block users access.
Powerful searching and filtering of users based on multiple criteria
The user database can be searched and filtered using upto 4 levels of parameters. Once filtered you can then perform operations only on the matching users. This is a great way to perform a selective mailing for example.
Can send template based personalized email to criteria selected users
The template based email system allows variable to be used to personalize emails. There are also special variables that can be used to create secure download links (that don't show the location of files on your server), password activation links and other functions within the email. The ability to selectively email users based on multiple criteria is a powerful feature that rivals many standalone mailing scripts. In fact we have a growing user base that use Sitelok as a mailing system.
Full html email editor (wysiwyg) and email resource manager included
We have integrated the powerful wysiwyg html editor from Innova Studio making email design a snap. You can save, load and edit email templates and upload graphics and other resources to make your email campaigns a success. The editor is cross browser compatible and works with IE 5.5+ on Windows or recent versions of Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape or Safari browsers on Windows or Mac's.
Secure Linklok style links can be included in pages and email templates
Links to downloads in pages and emails can use secure Linklok style link. These links use our Linkok system to ensure that the actual location of the file on the server is never known. Links in pages will only work for the user that is logged in and links in emails allow you to set an expiry time. Each link is unique having the users username encoded within it allowing you to see which users have downloaded which files in Sitelok activity log. Files for download can be stored locally on the server or on a remote server. Amazon S3 is also supported using secure signed download links.
Logging of user access
Sitelok keeps a mysql table log (and / or optional text log) of all user access including logins and logout's, failed login attempts, downloads of protected files, emails sent and other details including the users IP address and session id. The log can be viewed or exported with date and username filters. There is also an icon next to each user in the main control panel which when clicked will directly will show that users recent activity.
For advanced users a direct SQL query can be executed
For advanced users the Sitelok control panel allows direct SQL queries to be performed.
Integrates seamlessly with Linklok Paypal, Linklok 2CO and Linklok Mals-e
Our Linklok scripts enable the secure delivery of downloadable products after payment has been received. We have versions for a number of payment processors and also for the popular Mals-e shopping cart. Linklok Paypal, Linklok 2CO and Linklok Mals can easily create a Sitelok user account for your clients when they purchase a product or membership from you. The username and password can be seamlessly inserted into the custom Linklok email template.
The Sitelok API allows other PHP systems to create and edit Sitelok users
The Sitelok API provides an interface allowing other PHP scripts to add, delete and update Sitelok user accounts. For example we use the API in our Linklok products to allow the automatic creation of user accounts when certain products are purchased.
Built in MySQL backup feature
Although most hosting control panels provide a way to backup MySQL databases we decided to add an easy to use backup system to the Sitelok control panel. Backups are important for all sites so making this as easy as possible will hopefully make backing up less of a chore and therefore more frequent. The backup file is a standard SQL file (can be compressed) that can be imported into most mysql control panels (such as phpmyadmin) to completely recreate the tables and data.
Can pass username details to web analytic services
Some web analytic such as Clicky and Visistat allow you to provide user id information to tag entries in the analytics. Sitelok can provide this information so you can see who is viewing what on your site. This is in addition to the logging that Sitelok does itself of course. For further details about this see our blog entry Using Sitelok with web analytics.
Plugin system allows for many new features and enhancements
Sitelok is already packed with the features that most users need but the plugin system added in V3.0 allows us to create new enhancements that do more specific tasks. Many plugins will be free while others will be paid add ons. To see our currently released plugins visit the Sitelok Plugin page.
Download the manual to find out more?
Want to know more? Why not download the manual so that you can see what Sitelok can do for you. We provide extensive documentation in PDF format for our products and not just a quick readme text file.Download Now
You can also download the manual for the Paypal Plugin if this is of interest.
