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PHP?

Discussion in 'Computers & Technology Forum' started by Don, Jan 27, 2006.

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  1. Don

    Don Well-Known Member
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    Been trying to work a website redesign. I host a small portal community, and it's finally grown to where I need to examine different methods of providing links to the different websites.

    Looked at PostNuke, PHPNuke, WordPress, and LucidCMS.

    Couldn't get LucidCMS to load correctly with MySQL, so I don't know if it would have worked or not. The others just don't quite fit what I'm trying for.

    Main page has alphabetized list of similar (like-minded) websites, currently arranged in multiple columns. I currently do it all manually using Notepad, because the requests to add links don't come all that frequently (advantage of being a targeted portal site). Currently I have about 5 pages for the main website; would like to streamline that down to 1 or 2. Links on the main page, with additional links for bible search, sermons & stories, etc.

    Oh, the other requirement is: Gotta be free software.

    Anyone heard of any content management systems out there that might fit the bill? Doesn't have to be PHP, just the fad I'm currently into.

    Thanks!
     
    #1 Don, Jan 27, 2006
  2. preacher

    preacher New Member

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    I don't know a thing about web design, but you might want to visit this site just to see if it could lead ya to what ya need..www.techsupportalert.com
     
    #2 preacher, Jan 27, 2006
  3. James_Newman

    James_Newman New Member

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    I would suggest you take a look at Joomla (formerly Mambo). I think it is a pretty good CMS.

    http://www.joomla.org/

    You can see it in action on my site,

    http://jnewman.christservant.com

    there is not a lot of content there, I mainly use it for testing things. That is actually an older version of Mambo, so it has been updated a little since I installed this one, but the functionality is basically the same. I don't have a lot of modules installed, but there is quite a support base for it.
     
    #3 James_Newman, Jan 27, 2006
  4. James_Newman

    James_Newman New Member

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    and it is PHP, which is a good thing.
     
    #4 James_Newman, Jan 27, 2006
  5. JamieinNH

    JamieinNH New Member

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    I also agree that Joomla is the way to go. Active community, Active developers, and Free. [​IMG]


    I currently run it on a few sites I run, IMHO, it has a learning curve, but once you get over that, it's very easy to maintain.

    Jamie
     
    #5 JamieinNH, Jan 27, 2006
  6. Don

    Don Well-Known Member
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    Joomla seems to be working; still have some fiddling to do with the main message displays before I give it the thumbs up.

    Also figured out what I was doing wrong with LucidCMS, so I re-loaded it; turns out, it's not for the casual user at all. You have to create what tables you're going to want to use, which means you have to have a good working knowledge of MySQL.

    Neither PHPNuke or PostNuke had the flexibility I'm finding in Joomla; or maybe I just got tired of trying to figure out how to make them as flexible.

    Thanks for the suggestions!
     
    #6 Don, Jan 29, 2006
  7. Don

    Don Well-Known Member
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    James, Jamie - I figured it out. Had to create a new mainmenu item, and classify it as a "component-table: weblink category." Point it to the weblink category that holds the majority of the links, save it, then push it to the top of the list, and unpublish the "Home" content.

    Now, if I can figure out how to make it publish two or more columns of weblinks...but first, I need to finish populating the existing links, sermons & stories, the "Thoughts."
     
    #7 Don, Jan 30, 2006
  8. JamieinNH

    JamieinNH New Member

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    I do like Joomla, but it does have a learning curve. However, after you learn it, you will be amazed at the power of it.

    AS far as publishing two or more columns, that is in the template design. There are plenty of free templates that will get you started, and then you can tweak them from there to get the site looking the way you want it.

    For anyone else who hasn't used Joomla, and you're thinking about it, the best way to learn it to install the sample data when you install it, this will give you an idea of the flow of the application.


    Jamie
     
    #8 JamieinNH, Jan 30, 2006
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