This is my first post to this group. I've been trying to figure this
out on my own, but I keep running into complications, so I've decided
to get some help. Much thanks for any help!
I've been writing php server application for a couple of years, but now
I'm turning my attention to re-building our company's aging website.
This is a big project and is going to require a solid foundation.
At the crux of this post is the following question: How do you develop
a very robust, dynamic web-site, but also allow non-technical people to
contribute? There must be an easier way.
Here are my working assumptions and my strategy. Please help me if I'm
thinking down the wrong path.
Assumptions:
1) Non-technical people in the company need to be able to build pages,
and they should be able to post their pages without bothering me. We
have a tech-support person who will be able to help them, but she has
zero programming knowledge and only a superficial understanding of
HTML.
2) Every page needs to reside within he "shell" of the web site. This
includes
header(the top-level menu)
left-side menu (a dynamic, context-specific menu)
content (this is what the non-technical people will produce)
footer (your standard fare text-based links)
3) I don't want to use frames, and I don't want to use Dreamweaver
templates.
Strategy: Currently, I am working on the following model:
There is a top-level index.php page. This is the target of EVERY
page on the site.
The page that gets loaded in depends on the parameters of
query-string. It's very simple, if the query string reads
"?target=products/gsp", then my php will look for a site-relative
document such as "products/gsp.htm" OR "products/gsp/index.hml". Then,
this document will get "included" as the content in my "shell".
Well, this works to a degree, but it requires that people use
"site-relative" paths for all of their graphics and links, which is
way, way to much to ask. After all, people are using WYSIWIG editors
such as Dreamweaver and even Word to build their pages. Typically,
site-relative paths don't work in these environments. They shouldn't
need to upload their document to preview it.
It also requires that they put their page within a 550 pixel wide
-td- tag. I'd love to drop that requirement.
So, now I considering the following: A parser that will convert any
content into "includable" form. Relative paths will be translated to
the site-root, etc. I'm a bit stuck here.
There's got to be a better way.
Thanks.
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