A large project!

@freeze_frogOct 01.2006

Hi there, I have a 6-8 month time-frame (sooner if possible) to develop an extensive community based website. It will need a forum, a live chat feature, member profiles, a voting / ranking system for the members, and a system that allows the forums to be regulated by the members (i.e. ban threads were people stray too far from the original subject by talking about politics for example.).

I am reasonably new to dabbling in web development (2 months), but I come from a graphic design background. I have embraced html and css (flash too, but I have decided against it for this project (for navigation at least) due to implications for SEO and the benefits of css for SEO), but I am yet to get started with java, php, or mysql which I think I will need for this project. I am confident that I could more or less style the site at this point, but I don’t think I could do anything with the backend.

What I am looking for is a mentor to help me through this project. I don’t want to be spoon fed, because I won’t learn anything, and I wouldn’t expect anybody to do my work for me. I just need somebody to point me in the right direction when the choices come along based on their experience, and make sure my efforts are targeted. Somebody to help me break down the steps into a workflow I can follow.

Any questions? Hope somebody can help.

Thanks for reading,
Grant

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6 Comments(s) _↴

@ray326Oct 01.2006 — #My strongest recommendation is that you don't do it from scratch. Survey the CMS systems at http://opensourcecms.com first and you may find one that fits your needs.

@freeze_frogauthorOct 01.2006 — #What do you mean 'from scratch'? I dont get it. Are all websites not made from code which has to be originaly written for the site?

Thanks for the link by the way. Not sure exactly what it is or what I am looking for on this site, but thanks anyway. CMS?

Cheers, Ray

@Stephen_PhilbinOct 02.2006 — #CMS stands for Content Management System. It's a system that manages the content of your website. It's like a pre built site that you can chuck on yer web host and have up and running with a few teaks here and there.

It saves you having to build one from scratch. I'm building one from scratch, but it's just as much about learning as it is using, for me. I can't imagine there's many people would want to use what I'm building, when it's finished. Using a pre built CMS would allow you to have your site up and running very quickly and then let you get on with getting to grips with the basics and starting to build your skills up.

@freeze_frogauthorOct 02.2006 — #Thanks Stephen, I understand what you are saying about CMS now. Its kind of a bolt-on system for websites. Is it kosher to use the systems from the site on your website? Is there no intelectual property situation to using the CMS code from that site?

Also I am not all to sure how use the CMS for my site. What software do I run it through? I read a vague post on here last week that was talking about PHP being used in conjunction with software called XAMPP Apache, which I have downloaded, but I have no idea what it is for in truth. Anyone care to enlighten?

As for the time saving associated with CMS, time isn't a real motivating factor with this project. Sure, it would be good to have the site running soon, but in this case I would value quality results over time saving shortcuts. That being said, if CMS delivers on quality and it saves time, GREAT! So, what do people think of the results achievable with CMS, and how easy is it in practice to taylor for the needs of a site?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, but this is my first look into the backend of websites and I am totally naive about the whole thing. I really appreciate the input guys. This is just the kind of help I am looking for.

Grant

@ray326Oct 02.2006 — #Most big community sites (e.g. the AOL properties) are driven by a CMS. Each of the systems on the opensource site state infrastructure requirements, often PHP and MySQL. AFAIK all of the systems demoed on that site are free of license fees.

@freeze_frogauthorOct 06.2006 — #Ok, it seems CMS is the way to go. I took a look at opensourcecms and tried to make sense of it all. Remembering that I didnt even know what CMS was prior to this thread, and that I dont know zip about backend systems, it was pretty tough to comprehend any of it. So could anyone help me with the following questions, because they are not immediatly apparent to me:

1. What exactly do I do with CMS? As far as I can tell, I pick one to suit my needs, download it.......err........ upload to a server as a control panel? Sorry, I just dont get it.

2. Styling (HTML, CSS, Flash etc.) is what I can do. Do I style my site first and then add CMS to make it tick or sort out the CMS and then style the site? What is the first aspect to look at?

3. I suppose, for the criteria I gave in the first post, I will need a portal (not 100% on exactly what a portal is. Does it deal with site members and databases etc.), image gallery, wiki, phpchat and forum. My question is (and Ive gota feeling it may be a stupid question) can I use multiple CMS systems for one site? You must be able to as sites do do this, but what is the deal with this?

Basically I know these are real real novice questions in this area of web development and if they are too tedious for anybody to answer directly, does anybody know of a link that will explain it? CMS for dummies if you like! I have tried looking myself, but I havent been able to find anything that helps me out.

I am pretty confused.

Thanks for reading guys.

Grant