interactive websites

[dasc]

As a amateur in the world of web design i have a limited nowledge of web design. However i wish to study a degree course in Computing as i really enjoy the subject. I am currently reading as much information and books to help me prepare for the degree. My main point really is this, i know Chris webmaster of both this site and barracudas-sc.org.gg uses an interactive style web site, which may i add is extremely professional. This is the style i wish to add to my swimming site for darlington, i understand the is a great deal of work involved, however the main beauty i think is that you can upadte it anywhere you want and has a distinct format. I believe this to use php? which i ain't to familiar, but i want to understand how it works to go in to my degree with a good knowledge base. So the question is this, is php or what ever it is too hard to understand and learn?

The main reason i want to develop a interactive web site is when i go to uni i can still keep that professional look and allow other users to update it for me from dasc hq.

So you IT gurus aka chris, daveC, steve what are your thougths is it too much for an amateur like me, any info would be most appreciated.

Thanks guys!

Matt:idea:

[BigFish]

To use PHP/ASP/Cold Fusion/etc effectively you really need to learn a bit about programming; but if you're serious about doing a computing degree, you're going to need to learn about that anyway.

PHP is actually one of the easier ones, and being a web thingy there's loads of tutorials, etc out there for you to learn from. Many of them aimed squarely at the beginner. Becoming an expert in this stuff takes time though.

Just remember, we all had to start somewhere! Many all nighters sat in front of a keyboard just trying to get the simplest thing to work -- but that's half the fun, right?

[dasc]

thanks Dave, i don't suppose you could suggest any good websites, or books?

i am serious about doing my degree in computing, hopefully at Sheffield Hallam, as that sounds like the ourse that best suits my needs. So the more i learn now the better i will cope at uni.

thanks again matt

[Steve]

I agree with DaveC that ultimately you will want tot learn to program in PHP or perl or even ASP, but in the immediate have you considered using a pre-written script to run your site?

For example you could have a look at greymatter - it's a free web logging script library very widely used (i use it for the pullbuoy log - see http://noahgrey.com/greysoft/) but is very flexible, you could probably configure it to do what you want pretty easily and set up the templates to suit your site layout. It would allow different people to edit articles etc. and because it is template based, you can easily change the look of the site at any time.

Alternatively there are also loads of (mainly free) content management scripts here: http://www.hotscripts.com/Perl/Scripts_and_Programs/Content_Management/ and I think Chris uses phpNuke for the barracudas site, although this isn't free IIRC

Like I say, it's a good idea to learn the skills, but why reinvent the wheel

[dasc]

thanks Steve, i much appreciate your words of wisdom...

much appreciated

matt
computing/web design L :eek:

[dasc]

sorry that i keep going on about this subject but i value your opinions.

as well as running d-asc.co.uk i also run sheffield university rugby league website, and i have developed a forum for it using ikonboard. I am sure many of you guys will of heard of this well, my point is can i use ikonboard to achive the smae layout and design as ikonboard skins (http://ibskins.ikonboard.com/).

or does this use different software to the ikoboard? any ideas guys?

oh i think i have mastere how to use upload php, but i need MySql so i am going to wait till august when i need to pay for my hosting, however i will not be using easyspace after finding out how much cheaper it is using other companys such as 34sp etc.

i think thats all for now, i do realise that this is a swimming club forum but i thought it be best posting this for all IT gurus to read and post replys if they r not too busy, rahter than email individuals. i will be acknowledging all contributers when i eventually re launch d-asc.co.uk.

Matt

[BigFish]

Sorry Mat I'm not too familiar with IkonBoard. Having had a quick glance though, I'm guessing it's just a matter of replacing the graphics with new ones and using a different style sheet; piece of cake.

Of course (if it's open source -- php can't really be anything else) there's nothing to stop you messing with the actual PHP layout code to make it look the way you want. That's also a good way of learning how to use PHP.

Don't worry about asking about this stuff on here, if the others can talk about football, and those pesky yanks can tell us how I country is composed, they can't complain about this :p

[dasc]

thanks DaveC and Steve i have now managed to get the desired site i was looking for, all be it a bit on the empty side and a few finishing touches needed here and there. however i would like to thankyou both for your comments/suggestions. You are more than welcome to visit the site [http://www.d-asc.co.uk] to take a look at what i have done.

:D

my task now is to fill the site and get dasc members to add stuff and join! hopefully the use of nukephp will allow me to keep on top of things [i hope]

anways thanks again!

not quite a pro site like yours steve, chirs, dave but it will do for now.


oh chris may i also appologise for any similarity in design to your barracudas site, this is by no means deliberate, its just i needed a pro theme with white background this was all i could find. if you want me to make any changes just ask - no hard feelings???

[Chris]

Matt: Why you little ...... :rocket:

Of course I don't mind. I'm surprised more people don't Nuke their sites as it makes updating everything very very simple. I've still got loads to do to the Barracudas site, but I just don't get the time at the moment.