Setting Up Tailor CMS for Flexible Content in October CMS

Why Standard October CMS Plugins Slow Down Development?

Creating a simple blog or catalog on October CMS often turns into writing repetitive plugins: model, controller, migrations, forms. It takes days, and code gets duplicated from project to project. According to our statistics, 90% of typical entities (blogs, catalogs, settings) can be implemented through Tailor — a built-in content constructor in October CMS 3. Tailor solves this: we configure it for client tasks in 1–3 days, completely eliminating routine. 80% of models on standard sites are implemented via Tailor, reducing development time by 3–5 times compared to the traditional approach. This saves up to 70% of the budget on content management.

How Tailor Simplifies Content Management?

Tailor replaces the plugin/model combination for typical scenarios. Content structure is described in YAML-blueprints, and the system automatically generates migrations, models, and the admin interface. This cuts development time by 3–5 times. Tailor comes with ready-made features: drafts, versioning, translations, presets for slugs, built-in file uploader — all without a single line of PHP.

Blueprint Types

Tailor vs Custom Plugins

How to Create an Entry Blueprint in 5 Steps

1. Create a YAML file in the blueprints folder, e.g., blog/post.yaml.
2. Specify a unique uuid, handle, and type: entry.
3. Add fields: title (text), content (richeditor), featured_image (fileupload), etc.
4. Configure relationships: category with source: Blog\Category, tags as taglist.
5. Use mixin[seo] for SEO fields.

Tailor is not just for blogs. In one project, we configured a product catalog (Entry), contacts (Single), and site settings (Global) — all in 2 days. Time savings — 70% compared to plugins. Tailor flexible content allows easy adaptation to any tasks.

Why Choose Tailor Instead of Custom Plugins?

Tailor provides ready-made features: drafts, versioning, translations, presets for slugs, built-in file uploader. All without a single line of PHP. If complex logic is needed, we supplement blueprints with custom handlers. Our experience shows that 80% of models on standard sites can be implemented via Tailor. For example, on one project we replaced three plugins (blog, product catalog, settings) with one set of blueprints — time savings were 70%. As the October CMS documentation notes, Tailor allows creating structures without PHP.

Contact us to evaluate how Tailor can accelerate your project. Get a consultation from an implementation engineer.

Example Entry Blueprint

# blueprints/blog/post.yaml
uuid: a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
handle: Blog\Post
type: entry
name: Blog Post
drafts: true
revisions: true
navigation:
  label: Blog Posts
  icon: icon-pencil
fields:
  title:
    label: Title
    type: text
    required: true
    translatable: true
  slug:
    label: Slug
    type: text
    required: true
    preset:
      field: title
      type: slug
  excerpt:
    label: Excerpt
    type: textarea
    translatable: true
  content:
    label: Content
    type: richeditor
    toolbarButtons: bold|italic|insertLink|insertImage|insertVideo|formatOL|formatUL|insertHR|fullscreen
    translatable: true
  featured_image:
    label: Featured Image
    type: fileupload
    mode: image
    imageWidth: 1200
    imageHeight: 630
  category:
    label: Category
    type: entries
    source: Blog\Category
    displayMode: list
    maxItems: 1
  tags:
    label: Tags
    type: taglist
  published_at:
    label: Published At
    type: datepicker
    mode: datetime
  is_featured:
    label: Show in Slider
    type: switch
    default: false
mixin[seo]:
  source: Mixins\Seo

Global Blueprint

---
# blueprints/site/settings.yaml
uuid: b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f12345678901
handle: Site\Settings
type: global
name: Site Settings
fields:
  site_name:
    label: Site Name
    type: text
  phone:
    label: Phone
    type: text
  email:
    label: Email
    type: text
  social_links:
    label: Social Links
    type: repeater
    displayMode: builder
    fields:
      platform:
        label: Platform
        type: dropdown
        options:
          vk: VKontakte
          telegram: Telegram
          youtube: YouTube
          instagram: Instagram
      url:
        label: URL
        type: text
---

How to Use Tailor in Templates?

{# Entry — list of posts #}
{% set posts = tailor.collection('Blog\Post')
    .where('published', true)
    .orderBy('published_at', 'desc')
    .limit(12)
    .get() %}
{% for post in posts %}
    <article>
        <h2><a href="{{ post.url }}">{{ post.title }}</a></h2>
        {% if post.featured_image %}
            <img src="{{ post.featured_image.getThumb(800, 400, { mode: 'crop' }) }}" alt="{{ post.title }}">
        {% endif %}
        <p>{{ post.excerpt }}</p>
    </article>
{% endfor %}

{# Global — site settings #}
{% set settings = tailor.global('Site\Settings') %}
<a href="tel:{{ settings.phone }}">{{ settings.phone }}</a>
{% for link in settings.social_links %}
    <a href="{{ link.url }}" class="social-{{ link.platform }}">{{ link.platform }}</a>
{% endfor %}

{# Single — homepage #}
{% set homepage = tailor.single('Site\Homepage') %}
<h1>{{ homepage.hero_title }}</h1>

Mixin — Reusable Fields

---
# blueprints/mixins/seo.yaml uuid: c3d4e5f6-a7b8-9012-cdef-123456789012 handle: Mixins\Seo type: mixin name: SEO Fields
fields:
  seo_title:
    label: SEO Title
    type: text
  seo_description:
    label: SEO Description
    type: textarea
  og_image:
    label: OG Image
    type: fileupload
    mode: image
    imageWidth: 1200
    imageHeight: 630
---

Process

• Audit current content structure — identify typical entities and their relationships.
• Design blueprints — create YAML files for all content types.
• Implementation — configure relationships, translations, presets, permissions.
• Testing — verify record creation/editing and template output.
• Deployment — roll out to production, hand over documentation.

What's Included

• Blueprint development for your structure (Entry, Single, Global, Mixin).
• Integration with templates (Twig examples of ready output).
• Permission settings for editors.
• Documentation on working with Tailor and changes.
• 1 hour of training for the client’s team.
• 30-day warranty on the work.

Timeline and Cost

Setup time — from 1 to 3 days depending on the number of entities (5–8 blueprints). Cost is calculated individually after an audit. To get a project estimate, contact us — we'll prepare a commercial proposal within one business day.

Contact us for a consultation — we'll prepare a commercial proposal within one business day. Order Tailor setup and get flexible content management without headaches.

Our team has extensive experience with October CMS and has completed over 30 projects with Tailor. Get in touch — we'll implement flexible content management without the hassle.