Extending the built-in content types

Aloia CMS models are simple PHP classes that extend the AloiaCms\Models\Model class. The fact that the models are all just normal PHP classes, means you can easily extend the built-in content types:

• Page: AloiaCms\Models\Page
• Article: AloiaCms\Models\Article
• ContentBlock: AloiaCms\Models\ContentBlock
• MetaTag: AloiaCms\Models\MetaTag
• User: AloiaCms\Auth\User

You can create your own implementation of the built-in model by extending it:

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Support\Collection;

class Page extends \AloiaCms\Models\Page
{
    // Let's return an optional field: an array that's called tags
    public function tags(): Collection
    {
        if ($this->has('tags')) {
            return Collection::make($this->get('tags'));
        }
    
        return new Collection();
    }
}

Now you’ll need to reference your own implementation of the Page content type, rather than the built-in version:

use AloiaCms\Models\Page;

becomes:

use App\Models\Page;

Because the new Page model extends the built-in Page model, it still has all the features you’re used to using, but you’ve added extra features that are useful for your own website.