PolyCMS Installation & Activation Guide

Before You Start

Make sure your environment meets these requirements:

If you're not sure about your PHP version, check Setup → System Info in Perfex CRM.

Step 1: Download the Module

Purchase and download the polycms.zip package from CodeCanyon. The ZIP file contains everything needed — no additional downloads required.

Step 2: Upload & Activate

There are two ways to install PolyCMS:

Option A: Via Perfex CRM Admin Panel (Recommended)

1. Log in to Perfex CRM as an Administrator.
2. Navigate to Setup → Modules.
3. Click Upload Module and select the polycms.zip file.
4. After upload, click Activate next to PolyCMS.

Option B: Manual Upload via FTP/File Manager

1. Extract polycms.zip on your local machine.
2. Upload the polycms/ folder to your-perfex-crm/modules/.
3. Go to Setup → Modules in Perfex CRM and click Activate.

What Happens on Activation

When PolyCMS activates for the first time, it automatically:

• Creates 16 database tables (all prefixed with blog_) for posts, pages, categories, tags, comments, menus, widgets, plugins, themes, and settings.
• Installs the default Head Random theme.
• Registers 5 bundled plugins: XML Sitemap, Google Analytics, Maintenance Mode, Banner Slider, and MTOptimize.
• Injects the Blog menu item into the Perfex CRM sidebar.
• Configures default permalink settings with /blog as the URL prefix.

Step 3: Configure Staff Permissions

By default, only Administrators have full PolyCMS access. To grant access to other staff members:

1. Go to Setup → Staff → [Staff Member] → Permissions.
2. Find the PolyCMS capability section.
3. Enable the appropriate permission levels:

Step 4: Post-Installation Configuration

After activation, configure these essential settings:

Permalink Settings

Navigate to Blog → Settings → Permalinks to configure:

• Blog Prefix — The base URL for your blog (default: /blog). Change to /news, /articles, or any custom prefix.
• Category Base — URL segment for categories (default: category).
• Tag Base — URL segment for tags (default: tag).

For complete permalink options, see the Permalink & URL Settings guide.

Activate Theme

Go to Blog → Themes and verify that Head Random (or your preferred theme) is active. For theme customization, see the Theme Management guide.

Activate Plugins

Navigate to Blog → Plugins and activate the plugins you need:

• XML Sitemap — Generates sitemap.xml for search engines. Learn more.
• Google Analytics — Injects your GA4 tracking code. Learn more.
• Maintenance Mode — Shows an "Under Maintenance" page to visitors. Learn more.

For full plugin management details, see the Plugin Management guide.

Build Your Menu

Go to Blog → Menus and create your navigation menu. Add links to pages, categories, or custom URLs. See the Menu Builder guide for step-by-step instructions.

Step 5: Verify Installation

After setup, verify everything works:

• ✓ Blog → Dashboard shows the CMS overview with statistics widgets.
• ✓ Blog → Posts → New Post opens the rich-text editor.
• ✓ Your frontend blog is accessible at https://your-domain.com/blog (or your configured prefix).
• ✓ The Frontend Admin Bar appears when you visit the blog while logged in.

Data Safety on Deactivation

If you deactivate PolyCMS, all your content data is preserved:

• Database tables remain intact.
• Posts, pages, categories, media, and settings are kept.
• You can re-activate the module at any time and everything will be exactly as you left it.

This follows the Perfex CRM best practice of non-destructive module deactivation.

Next Steps

Your PolyCMS installation is complete. Continue with:

• Quick Start: Your First Blog Post — Create your first category, write a post, and publish it.
• SEO Configuration — Set up meta tags, Open Graph, and Google Search Preview.
• Media Library Guide — Learn how to upload and manage images for your posts.

Troubleshooting

For more solutions, see the Troubleshooting guide.