Perch Video Tutorials

We try to make Perch as easy as possible to get started with, however video can be a real help for many people. So we also record video tutorials to help you to get started with Perch and learn some of the basics.

Our main Getting Started tutorial includes 14 short tutorials which cover topics including:

• Installing Perch
• Basic content editing using the provided templates
• Creating your own templates
• Creating Pages from a Master Page template
• Adding a contact form
• Working with perch_content_custom to reuse content from one part of the site using a different template elsewhere

Once you have followed this tutorial, you should find that pretty much anything in our documentation makes sense. We try and ensure that everything behaves in a familiar way in Perch. The things you learn about Perch templates for example, will be the same whether you are creating a template for regular content or for the Blog or Shop App. The perch_content_custom function uses the same options as _custom functions in our Add-ons.

On that note, we also have a follow on tutorial which moves on from our simple site to install the Blog App. As all of our Apps work in the same way, learning how to install and build your blog will demonstrate the techniques needed for any official Perch App. In this tutorial you will create Blog pages, and customize your templates to use the exact markup you want. You’ll also display two latest posts on the homepage of your site - and create an RSS feed.

Older video

The two tutorials detailed above were created for Perch 3, and so show the new UI and are up to date if you are downloading Perch today. The new tutorials also all have captions.

We also have a whole set of older tutorials recorded for Perch 2. The majority of these are still useful, as the template engine and basic functionality has not changed between versions. Once you have followed the Perch 3 Getting Started and Blog tutorials, have a look at the Technique Videos. While they may show an older UI, the techniques shown will still be helpful. Over time we will update these videos too.