When using AnQiCMS to build a website, ensuring the normal display of the website's front-end page, avoiding annoying garbled characters, is an important detail that every operator needs to pay attention to.Among them, the character encoding of the template file is a key point.If the encoding setting of the template file is incorrect, even if the content of the website itself is not problematic, the page displayed to the user may still be a bunch of unrecognizable characters.

Deep understanding of garbled character issues

When discussing website garbled text, it usually refers to the browser's inability to correctly identify and display the text content of web pages.This is often due to the actual encoding of the file not matching the expected encoding of the browser or server.Imagine you wrote a letter in Mandarin, but the recipient reads it according to the Cantonese pronunciation rules, which would naturally result in a mismatch.In the digital world, character encoding is this kind of 'phonetic rules'.Currently, UTF-8 is a globally used character encoding that can accommodate the characters of the vast majority of languages in the world, and is therefore widely recommended and used.

For the Anqi CMS, its template files explicitly require the use of UTF-8 encoding.According to the system agreement, if the template file uses other encoding formats, the front-end page will display garbled characters and cannot be displayed normally.This means that, whether you write the template yourself or modify an existing template, you must strictly adhere to this coding standard.

English CMS template and UTF-8 encoding

The template files of Anqi CMS are usually stored in:/templatedirectory, and named with.htmlEnglish.These files include the page structure, style references, and content display logic.When the server reads these template files and sends them to the browser, if the encoding of the file itself (such as, you may have used a default text editor saved in GBK encoding under Windows environment) does not match the system's expected UTF-8 encoding, the browser will encounter an error while parsing, resulting in the page text displaying as garbage.

Here are some common situations and suggestions to help you ensure the UTF-8 encoding of the English CMS template:

  1. Use a professional code editor:Avoid using simple text editors such as Notepad that come with Windows, as they may save files in non-UTF-8 encoding by default.Recommend using professional code editors such as VS Code, Sublime Text, Notepad++.These editors usually support selection and save as UTF-8 encoding by default, and many of them support 'UTF-8 without BOM', which is cleaner and more compatible in some environments.When saving files, be sure to check the encoding options of the editor and confirm that it is UTF-8.
  2. Maintain file transfer and encoding:When you upload the modified template file to the server using FTP or SFTP tools, some client software may change the file encoding during the transfer process.To avoid this situation, confirm the file encoding locally before uploading, and after uploading, if there are any issues, you can try to recheck on the server or transfer using a secure method (such as SCP or ensure that the FTP client is set to binary mode).
  3. Regularly check and verify:After modifying the template file or launching a new template, it is recommended to check a few pages even if the page displays normally. Use the browser developer tools (usually F12 key) to view the page's 'character set' or 'encoding' information to ensure it is displayed as UTF-8.

Actual operation and inspection

If you find that the front-end page has garbled text, you can follow the following steps to troubleshoot and correct it:

  1. Determine the source of the garbled text:First, try to modify a short piece of text in the AnQi CMS backend (such as the website name or the title of an article), and see if the front-end displays normally.If the content modified on the back end is normal, and the static text in the template appears as garbled characters, the problem is likely to be in the template file itself.
  2. Check the encoding of the template file:Open a template file with garbled text (such asindex.htmlordetail.html)，in your code editor, check the current encoding format. Most modern editors will display the current file's encoding in the status bar at the bottom.
  3. Save as UTF-8 again:If the encoding is not UTF-8, please select "Save As" or "Re-encodeSave the file and then upload the new file to the server to overwrite the old file.
  4. Clear cache:Upload the template file again and make sure to log in to the Anqi CMS backend, click the 'Update Cache' feature, and clear the system cache.Also, it is recommended to clear the cache and cookies in your browser to ensure that the browser is loading the latest version of the page.

Through these detailed operations, you can effectively avoid garbled characters caused by coding problems on the front page of the security CMS, providing visitors with a smooth and professional browsing experience.

Common Questions (FAQ)

  1. Why is there still garbled text on the front end even though my template file has been saved as UTF-8?This may be due to several reasons: First, please confirm that you have saved it in the format 'UTF-8 without BOM' (without Byte Order Mark).Some editors may save UTF-8 files with BOM, which may cause problems in some environments.Next, check whether the system cache of the security CMS and the local cache of the browser have been cleared.Sometimes, old cache files may continue to be loaded.最后，如果问题依然存在，可能是服务器配置或安全CMS其他部分（如数据库连接、内容输出环节）的字符集设置与UTF-8不完全兼容，需要进一步排查。

  2. In addition to the template file, what else should I pay attention to in terms of encoding in AQ CMS?In addition to the template files, the Anqi CMS content management system needs to ensure coding consistency at multiple stages. The most important thing isthe character set of the databaseis usually recommended to be set asutf8mb4(MySQL) to support a wider range of characters (including Emoji expressions).In addition, when inputting and editing content in the background, also ensure that the encoding of the browser and the background interface is UTF-8.The server environment (such as the default character set configuration of Nginx or Apache) should also be kept as UTF-8 to ensure the correct character set declaration in the HTTP response header.

  3. I am using Windows operating system, how can I ensure that the editor saves files with correct UTF-8 encoding?On Windows, it is recommended to use a professional code editor instead of Notepad. For example:

    • Notepad++：Select “Encoding”->“Convert to UTF-8 without BOM” from the menu bar and then save the file.You can also set the default encoding to 'UTF-8 without BOM' in 'Settings' -> 'Preferences' -> 'New Document/Default Directory'.
    • VS Code:It is usually saved in UTF-8 by default.If you need to confirm or change, click on the encoding name (usually "UTF-8If you need to set the default, search for 'files.encoding' in the settings and set it to 'utf8'.