does anyone know how i can create a site that can be updated?

[homestead]

hello
i'm in the process of doing a website in which the client wants to be able to update without my intervention, can this be done and how do i do it?
hope you can help

[homestead]

and forgot to mention that i'm using dreamweaver.
tar muchly

[pellepiano]

If you mean that he should be able to update it himself without Dreamwaver, and online, you will need to use a serverside script or a database to store what should be on the site.

That means you can create a administration interface he can go to and change things to his liking. ( I do this in Flash and cgi so the clients can update all texts on their sites ).

This can be real tricky if you are new to serverside scripts or databases.

[homestead]

yeah that's what i mean
how is this tricky to do and how does this stop other people from changing the text?

[pellepiano]

You would have a password protected administration page.

First you have to decide what he is going to be able to change on the page. Just text? If so, change colors, sizes, typefaces too...and so on ? To change images you might want to make a upload section so he can upload images without FTP? In that case, does he know how to edit images, or should some scripts correct the sizes so they fit into the page? Should he be able to make new pages? I that case new button and links must be created too.

There are a lot of things to consider. Thats why it can be tricky.

[homestead]

OK, what do i need to do so he can access what needs to be edited and what type of serverside do i need?

[pellepiano]

The site has to be built with the update thing in mind.

It also will depend on what serverside scripting your server supports. PHP and ASP are two common languages to write these things in.

If you have lots of info to store you might considering a databse like mySQL

To build a fully customizable site from scratch is not done overnight, it takes a lot of time. And if you have no previous experience in scripting or working with dynamic data I would advice you to not make your first attempts on it with a client in mind. Its better to start and for instance make your own site fully updatable and working, so you get the knowledge and experience that is required.

[homestead]

hello pellopiano
i was wondering if you can get me on the first rung of the ladder, best to start now so i know what to do where do i start?
thanks for giving me some background info
cheers

[pellepiano]

I only work with Flash and cgi scripts ( flatfile database ) so Im no good with serverside scripting or real databases ( I hire help when I need to ). So my own experience is just with Flash, which is quite different fro using html based sites.

The most used languages are php and asp. They make the connection between the site and the textfiles/database.

www.php.net is the official site for php and there are a lot of other support sites and forums for php( check google ).

[mxgen]

tell me... do you have ANY background on ANY programming language?

next.. just to repeat.. using server side scripting, you will be able to edit content... and that may be wonderful, but as pelle has said... tsk, tsk.. be careful, coz you'll have to be patient with coding serverside..

now, most ppl will probably suggest php, so if you get to decide which language to use, let us know...

i do asp.. a lot... but i will not try to influence you because i have to admit, php is cool too.

cheers.

oh! where to start? what kind of site are you supposed to build for your client? just a portfolio site? or an online store?

[homestead]

"tell me... do you have ANY background on ANY programming language?"
no, but you have to start somewhere.

"now, most ppl will probably suggest php, so if you get to decide which language to use, let us know..."
if i knew this i wouldn't be asking.

and it looks as if the client now doesn't want to update the site and is asking me to do it instead so this whole conversation is a waste of time, thanks anyway

[theallan]

Hi,

It sounds like what you are looking for is a content management system. Do a google search - but be warned - they can be horribly expensive.

Also - If you have no programming knowledge, a full CMS on your own (or indeed many of the commercially available ones) can be a very long haul.

I know this is plugging my own software (apologies I know its not really the done thing on Flashkit) but I have developed a CMS solution called SpryPanel which retails at $99 (free upgrades for a year). It is completely design independent - you can break down your content into what ever you want - and keep your own design - it won't force you to use predefined templates. And its really easy to integrate into a site even without previous programming knowledge. SpryPanel will guide you through that.

If you are interested I can set up a demo for you: email me - allan.jardine {no-spamm} AT sprypanel.com

Good luck - one way or another

Allan

[EVPohovich]

PHP makes this extrememly easy IF you only want to edit the text. Create a text document (I used weeklymessage.txt) and then you can update it using a similar code to this:

<?php

if ($submit) {
$fp = fopen("weeklymessage.txt", "w");
fwrite($fp, stripslashes($newdata));
fclose($fp);
}

$fp = fopen("weeklymessage.txt", "r");
while (!feof($fp)) {
$data .= fgets($fp, 4096);
}
fclose($fp);

?>

<html>
<head>
<title>Untitled</title>
</head>

<body>
<form action="<? print $PHP_SELF; ?>" method="post">
<textarea name="newdata" rows="10" cols="40">
<?
print $data;
?>
</textarea>

<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

</body>
</html>

Obviously I would password the access to this page as it can ruin a good day fast .

[theallan]

At the moment you are simply printing every element in each row in the array that MySQL is passing back. This bit is a little confusing (or might be ). When you send your query to MySQL is returns an array of data, with one array for each row of data. Each row then contains the data columns from MySQl that you asked for.

Try print_r($row); to see the structure of each row array.

The row array is an associative one. What this means is that the columns you asked for from MySQL are also the names of array elements in your row array. So if you wanted the data from column picturer1 you would do echo $row['picturer1'];

Then you can format any way you want:

<tr>
    <td><?php $row['picturer1']; ?></td>
    <td><?php $row['picturer2']; ?></td>
</tr>
<tr>
    <td><?php $row['wordr1']; ?></td>
    <td><?php $row['wordr2']; ?></td>
</tr>

Or what ever you want Hope this helps

Allan

[argonauta]

hey, theallan

at sprypanel.com it says

You can order SpryPanel 24 hours a day, 356 days a year from our secure online store.

356 days a year? what happens the other 9 days?

[PCRIDE]

[QUOTE]PHP makes this extrememly easy IF you only want to edit the text. Create a text document (I used weeklymessage.txt) and then you can update it using a similar code to this:






I see how that would work, I used an Include weekly messages.txt
thanks for that, it works with HTML, that just made my day, I was looking on how to do this not too long ago.

[EVPohovich]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PCRIDE

I see how that would work, I used an Include weekly messages.txt
thanks for that, it works with HTML, that just made my day, I was looking on how to do this not too long ago.

Cool....glad I could help. Nice little block of code, the way all code should be.

[theallan]

Hi,

Originally posted by argonauta
at sprypanel.com it says
356 days a year? what happens the other 9 days?

Uuuu... They disappeared in to the quasi-temporal vortex between by fingers and keyboard... Thanks for pointing that out

The sprypanel.com site is still being put together at the moment (still a few bugs and typos to fix...) content to add etc.

Allan

[homestead]

lorddrago
could you start your own thread, the emails that i'm getting in reponse to your question is going to the wrong person. I just thought that this would make your life easier.
thanx

[JerryScript]

Originally posted by homestead
lorddrago
could you start your own thread, the emails that i'm getting in reponse to your question is going to the wrong person. I just thought that this would make your life easier.
thanx

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