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Building a site like this one |
Introduction
When learning a thing, it's alot easier if somebody shows you step by step the path they had previously followed in order to do it. We have decided to tell you how we managed to create this site.
Basic needs
- a little bit of knowledge about HTML, CSS and PHP (and we do mean LITTLE !) - quality tutorials may be found at W3 Schools
- 50 megs of hdd space if you want to build the site locally (which, by the way, is recommended at the beginning)
- a domain and web hosting on a server with PHP and MySQL support
- time to explore this great free tool - Mambo
A superb open-source tool
Mambo is a Content Management System (CMS), which means that it allows you to manage pieces of content (text portions, pictures etc.) and place them on your site. It also comes with many modules like: login and user management, search ability, blogs management - all these can be included with only a few clicks (in fact, they ARE included in the sample that comes with Mambo's installation).
Before installing mambo, you may want to see what it is capable of. You'll find a demo website and you'll have the ability to see how you can administrate it here. Needless to say that this site has also been created using Mambo.
Mambo needs to be hosted on a webserver with PHP and MySQL support. If you want to work with it locally, the best solution is to download and install Mambo Stand Alone Server - MSAS (search for it above the middle of the provided page). If you have a domain and your hosting provider gives you support for the Fantastico! package, you can install Mambo without any effort. If not then you'll have to read the installation manual.
After you manage to install it (wherever may that be), explore the provided sample in order to see what you
can do with this tool. What you'll want to do then is read Anna's Mambo tips.
Briefly, she talks about:
- Templates - elements that determine the look of your site. This is where you need that little bit of HTML, CSS and PHP knowledge (supposing you want to create your own templates). If you don't know that, it's allright - there are many places where you can find free templates to download.
- Modules - already implemented common functionalities. A menu (e.g. with links to content items, web pages), a blogs manager, a links manager - they're all modules. The search module, for example, "knows" how to scan your text content parts and provide the searching user with the needed information.
- Content items - Mambo has an integrated WYSIWYG editor, so you can create content pages without knowing HTML (of course you may want to learn a bit... Anna tells you why).
Play with the administration panel, modifying the things behind the sample site (hide and position modules, write down content items and link them to menus, try some new templates and modules...). If you think that you need some serious information, try the official administration manual.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 15 January 2006 )
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Easy way site building