Making A Website

[Lateral Line]

... and remember the board rules here about other forums.....

A very detailed site about a small group of fish will be far better then yet another attempt to be all things to everyone. There are thousands of sites around with the same brief info about dozens of common fish, much fewer good resources for people looking for depth and unusual species.

It should also be kept up to date. New species are coming along all the time, reclassification happens almost weekly in some groups. If people search for xidocious halitosis and your site is still calling it abrcadabra whodathortit they won't find your site, even though your material might otherwise be useful.

This thread is pretty off topic, and discussion of web authoring techniques is making it even more so, let's loose that.

I've not deleted it because discussing "what we want from a fish website" may be useful.

 

[smurfyy_2k3]

ok just downloaded mambo going to install it now

ok how do i install this thing my computure dosnt know what the files are

 

[seanc]

I'd personally use PHP to parse a simple MySQL database.. very easy to do, and doesn't take too long, and saves using products like dreamweaver that have limit fuctionality. A flash integrated user interface wouldn't go amiss either, though 2 site versions would save dialup users from high bandwidth requirements.

 

[PeterM]

It wont work if you install it directly onto your computer, you need to install it on a webserver that has access to a database of some sort...

If you want to set up your own computer as a webserver, thats not too difficult but will require server software and adequate security policies... this isnt so easy to do properly.

Your best bet is to find some web hosting. Its fairly cheap. You probably wont be able to find suitable hosting for a content management system from the free hosting sites (like the webspace provided by your ISP, or Geocities / Angelfire / Lycos etc.).

To get Mambo setup correctly you will need:

- Hosting that will support PHP
- A database server connected to your hosting, usually MySQL
- Sufficient web space (even a small ammount will do, Mambo doesnt take up much room)

With regard to Joomla... Mambo = Joomla right now. The story for the people not in the know is that the dev team at Mambo split and the best guys have started to make Joomla instead. However, Im noticing already that there are some version tracking issues with Joomla (v1.1 released before v1.0.5? thats going to cause confusion). Also, Mambo still has a far larger support community for addons / themes and templates, and Im not sure if the current level of compatability with Mambo and Joomla will remain the same. The reason for the split was because Mambo was controlled too much by its corporate sponsors. That said, I am not sure that the Joomla project (essentailly exactly the same as Mambo but with no corporate control) will survive because of legal issues. Imagine being paid to weire software that lots of people use and then deciding you would write something that does exactly the same but give it away completely for free. My guess is that the company employing you wont be best pleased, and I can see at least some legal confusion going on for Joomla in the near future, although I wish and hope Im wrong. I will agree that Joomla is the way to go, but for now I stil think that Mambo is the better choice for a beginner.

Also, I would prefer to stick to a single administration system. The combination of Joomla and SMF with Coppermine is a very well chosen combo indeed, but Im not sure of their interoperations. One of the best things about PHP Nuke and similar projects is that they combine literally everything into a single control panel. Security issues aside, this is a time saving and lovely feature that is well suited to beginners, and if properly modifed and secured can perfrom just as well as the more secure options (with the exception of SMF, which is frankly unbelievable).

If you want me to I can provide some hosting with database access and I can take you through installation of content management systems. Talk to me in PM about that Ive offered the same thing to another poster in this thread and hope to be able to share my knowledge and experience with those willing to learn

 

[BWBettas]

Yes Sean Is Right PHP IMO Would be the best way to go about it. Hey i could make a radio for you with stats and everything if some peeps chipped in just PM ME

 

[Puffer_freak]

I can help with graphics design etc if you want any help.