I have 1,000 pages worth of content but am unsure how to present it. Is there a template or script to make universal changes to 1,000 pages? Most importantly, how can I manage ADS from CJ or Adbrite universally? rock on!
Thanks to CSS and Joomla, you can change the aspect of one million pages if you want by changing one file. If you do not want to have to learn CSS code to do this, use a CMS ( Content Management System ) like Joomla or Wordpress. The code for the advertising goes into the code of the page or CMS you are using.
Frankenfine, What format do you have things in now? You could use an off the shelf CMS such as Drupal, but you could also build a nice css site that could be a bit more lean. Is this content going to continue to come in or will it be static once posted? You could go simple and old school and have a Dreamweaver template that updates all 1000 pages. Clunky, but it would work. You could combine a Dreamweaver template with the proper CSS so that your updates only require a single file change an a single file upload (not 1000 files for each change).
The content will not change very often at all. My goals are these: 1. Adopt a system that is easy to create 1,000 pages 2. Allows me to make universal changes regarding: - Ads (commission junction html code) - peripheral content: quote of the day, news feed, etc. If I can do this with CCS I will learn it.
You need a content management system (CMS) like the ones mentioned above. Install the software on your website and you can add in your content with the system. Ads and other universal changes can be done by changing the template from the CMS.
another option is to make a basic page format using php (header, footer, side panel etc) and have all pages include these elements. Then when you edit say the "header" page --all the pages will edit automatically. I use this method a lot for both large and small sites
Php sounds simple enough for this site - Assuming I can update a sidebar with ads and have all 1,000 pages updated. Kewl Thanks all for the input
You do not need a full CMS for this website, it could actually make it harder. I have created 300 page websites from scratch, just using PHP Includes. On a large website it is always good to do the following includes: one in the <head> tag (so you can add javascript files to every page if you want, etc). An include for the top of the template, a sidebar include and a footer include. PHP Include reference: us.php.net/manual/en/function.include.php
Whether or not you need a CMS is totally up to the plans you have in the future for your site. If you have big plans, it sure is nice to be able to control the whole site using a database. ( PHP + MySql ) That is why bigger sites use databases. You already have an army of people working on plugins that you can use for free with Joomla. ( extensions.joomla.org ) You mentioned that you have 1000 pages and that you want to use advertising. You can do that with regular PHP pages and CSS for your 1000 pages. A CMS is a " Content Management System " . Wordpress is not a true CMS because it was designed around a blogging platform. Joomla is a true CMS. So is Drupal. You can "manage" your content with a " Content Management System " easily because that is the very thing it is designed for. I have designed regular static sites, have used Wordpress, but I am stuck on Joomla because it is what it says it is and I can add so much stuff later when a good idea hits me. Good luck !
I made a small PHP script that allow you to make only one template page for all content, if you want to change, just change that template page. The content is html pages. You can see my code here : http://www.nganhtuan.com/2009/09/small-php-script-to-make-micro-niche-sites-quickly/ Hope this help
I'd use a server side language (for example PHP or Coldfusion) along with a database (for example MYSQL or MSSQL). Basically your database holds all the information you want on your site and the PHP gives it a template to output that information onto.
I agree with above - although that is how wordpress does it anyway. Basically a php page calls the data from the database - therefore you do not need to edit the pages directly - they are all the same or theoretically only one page. The difference is in the parameters. What you do need to make sure you think about if you are following this method is to use permalinks - if you are familiar with wordpress you should know all about these.
For easy managing of such lot of content try "blosxom" - open source cms system that is very simple to use and present. It works like this #Title #Content in a text file. It reads all titles and makes them page titles and H1s. Content goes in the body. Super simple to use and modify even for non technical professionals. If you are using ad code then it goes in the content (content can include other content). You should be using include files for such ad content include javascript files anyway.