bxmaximum CMS Basics
Baseline: main 23.0+. Features newer than baseline are marked Since.
Site management layer above the framework — sites, templates, menus, content areas. Landing sites / Sites24: skill bitrix-landing.
Sites (Multisite)
ORM tablet: \Bitrix\Main\SiteTable → table b_lang (main/lib/SiteTable.php). Legacy: CSite.
Key fields: LID (primary, e.g. s1), NAME, DIR, DOC_ROOT, SERVER_NAME, SITE_NAME, LANGUAGE_ID, CULTURE_ID, ACTIVE, DEF.
$site = \Bitrix\Main\SiteTable::getRow([
'filter' => ['=LID' => SITE_ID],
'select' => ['LID', 'DIR', 'SERVER_NAME', 'DOC_ROOT', 'LANGUAGE_ID'],
]);
$docRoot = \Bitrix\Main\SiteTable::getDocumentRoot(SITE_ID);
SITE_ID / SITE_DIR are available after kernel init. Resolve site by host/path: SiteTable::getByDomain($host, $directory).
Site Templates
Location: /local/templates/<template_id>/
/local/templates/mytemplate/
├── header.php
├── footer.php
├── description.php # Template meta ($arTemplate), incl. EDITOR_STYLES
├── styles.css # Content styles — also loaded by the visual editor
├── template_styles.css # Template frame styles (header/footer/grid)
├── .styles.php # Visual editor style list entries
├── components/ # Template-level component overrides
├── page_templates/ # Page layout templates
└── lang/
#WORK_AREA# — required placeholder in the site template (often a single-file template or between header.php / footer.php flow). The kernel injects the page body at #WORK_AREA#. Missing marker → admin error “set the #WORK_AREA# separator”.
Template selected per site in Admin → Sites → Edit. Prefer /local/templates/, not /bitrix/templates/.
Styles (CSS)
Store CSS next to the owner of the markup:
| Owner of markup | Where CSS lives |
|---|---|
Site frame (header.php / footer.php, grid, background) |
template_styles.css of the site template |
| Page content that must be styleable in the visual editor | styles.css + .styles.php of the site template |
Component template markup (template.php) |
style.css next to the component template |
JS-extension UI loaded via Extension::load() |
CSS inside the extension (config.php css key) — skill bitrix-extensions |
| One-off page CSS | Asset::getInstance()->addCss() / classic SetAdditionalCSS() |
styles.css vs template_styles.css: the visual editor renders content in an iframe and injects styles.css into its <head> — never put site-frame rules there, or they distort the editor; keep them in template_styles.css. Both files are editable in Admin → Settings → Product settings → Sites → Site templates (tabs "Site styles" / "Template styles").
Visual editor style list — .styles.php in the template returns entries (CSS rule itself goes to styles.css):
return [
'example' => [ // array key = CSS class name
'tag' => 'p', // tag(s) the style applies to; comma-separated list allowed
'title' => 'Test style', // name shown in the editor
'html' => '<span style="...">Preview</span>', // optional styled preview
// optional 'section' => groups entries in the editor's style dropdown
],
];
Editor-only CSS files — EDITOR_STYLES in the template's description.php ($arTemplate): 'EDITOR_STYLES' => ['/bitrix/css/main/bootstrap.css', ...]. Loaded only in the visual editor; include them separately for the public site if needed.
Include APIs:
$APPLICATION->ShowCSS(); // classic, in header.php <head>: outputs page + template CSS set
$APPLICATION->SetAdditionalCSS('/local/templates/demo/additional.css'); // classic add to that set
\Bitrix\Main\Page\Asset::getInstance()->addCss(SITE_TEMPLATE_PATH . '/styles/page.css');
// 2nd param $additional=true → file goes to the template set, after styles.css / template_styles.css
\Bitrix\Main\UI\Extension::load('demo.product-card'); // extension JS+CSS from its config.php
Prefer Asset::addCss() (D7) or Extension::load() for new code; ShowCSS() / SetAdditionalCSS() belong to classic site templates.
Optimization (Admin → Settings → Product settings → Module settings → Main module): merge CSS files (main option optimize_css_files), use existing .min versions, gzip copies (compres_css_js_files, requires zlib). Merge applies only to Asset-registered CSS, is skipped in the admin section and Ajax mode, and can be disabled via disableOptimizeCss(). Merged files live in /bitrix/cache/css/<SITE_ID>/<template>/ (kernel / template_<hash> / page_<hash> sets) — after editing CSS clear the Bitrix cache (and browser cache) if the old look persists.
Section and Access Files
.section.php
Per-directory file (walked from current path up to site root). Typical contents:
<?php
$sSectionName = 'News';
$arDirProperties = [
'TITLE' => 'News section',
'keywords' => 'news, updates',
'description' => 'Company news',
];
$sSectionName— used for breadcrumbs (GetNavChain).$arDirProperties— directory properties; read via$APPLICATION->GetDirProperty()/ merged into$APPLICATION->GetProperty().
.access.php
Per-directory file permissions (PERM[...]). Managed by $APPLICATION->SetFileAccessPermission() / admin UI. Do not hand-edit unless you know the format; kernel includes it when resolving file rights.
Page Properties
$APPLICATION->SetPageProperty('title', 'About');
$APPLICATION->SetPageProperty('description', 'About the company');
$APPLICATION->SetPageProperty('keywords', 'about');
$title = $APPLICATION->GetPageProperty('title', 'Default');
// GetProperty: page first, then directory (.section.php), then default
$desc = $APPLICATION->GetProperty('description');
SetPageProperty/GetPageProperty— current page only.SetDirProperty/GetDirProperty— directory props (often from.section.php).GetProperty— page → dir → default.
Common keys: title, description, keywords, plus custom uppercase IDs.
Menus
- Menu types per site (
top,left, …). - Files:
/.top.menu.php,/.left.menu.phpin site root or section. - Component:
bitrix:menu.
Page Templates
/local/templates/<id>/page_templates/ — reusable layouts for the visual editor.
Include Areas
bitrix:main.include — editable content blocks:
$APPLICATION->IncludeComponent('bitrix:main.include', '', [
'AREA_FILE_SHOW' => 'file',
'PATH' => '/include/phone.php',
]);
Files typically under /include/ or /local/include/.
Breadcrumbs
- Auto from
$sSectionNamein.section.phpalong the path. - Manual:
$APPLICATION->AddChainItem('Title', '/path/'). - Component:
bitrix:breadcrumb.
Users and Groups
CUser,\Bitrix\Main\UserTable— users.- Groups control permissions via
\CMain::GetUserRight()and group IDs. - User fields (UF) —
CUserTypeEntity,\Bitrix\Main\UserFieldTable; register in moduleDoInstall; access viaUSER.UF_*in ORM or user fields API.
Admin Panel
/bitrix/admin/ — admin scripts. Custom pages via module install admin files, or modern UI (bitrix-ui). Legacy lists: CAdminList / CAdminForm.
Checklist
- Site-specific code checks
SITE_ID/SITE_DIR. - Template has
#WORK_AREA#; overrides in/local/templates/. - Site-frame CSS in
template_styles.css; editor-visible content CSS instyles.css(+.styles.php); component CSS in the template'sstyle.css; new code usesAsset::addCss()/Extension::load(). - Section meta/breadcrumbs via
.section.php; rights via.access.php/ API. - Page meta via
SetPageProperty/GetProperty. - Menus via
.menu.phpor Admin UI; includes for editable fragments. - Landings / composite sites →
bitrix-landingwhen applicable.