How to customize a landing page layout so that a client can manage it?

Question

How can I customize several landing pages so the client can easily add/remove new categories without having to figure out the layout update bit.

Basically I have 2 types of landing pages, the default landing and a page for products that belong to an exploded view. In the exploded view product category I've added this to the layout update:

<reference name="content">
        <reference name="category.products">
            <action method="setTemplate"><file>catalog/category/exploded-view-landing.phtml</file></action>
        </reference>
</reference>

<reference name="root">
        <remove name="home.landing.catalog.product.new" />
</reference>

Which is fine, it works and allows me to setup a custom layout without issues.

HOWEVER

The client will need to add these "exploded view" pages on their own. Finding, copying & pasting some XML from another resource isn't going to make them happy, I know it's pretty simple - but these are clients not developers.

Is there a way to achieve the same goal by using the local.xml and just having to train the client to "pick the right" layout/template from Page Layout drop down?

Answer 1

You can whip up a quick extension (How do I add a new template in magento?) to add new templates to the page layout drop down options for your client to easily select from.