General question about setting up a site...

ewomack · 11-02-2006, 10:51 AM

Hello,

First of all, I have web experience with HTML, JavaScript, XML, CSS, Flash, and ASP. However, I am totally new to blog templates and blog technology in general.

Basically, I want to set up a blog site but I want full control of the code (i.e., I don't want to use a service such as blog.com - unless someone tells me I should). I want the ability to leave comments for blog entries, and the control to post whatever links on the sidebars and whatever graphics on the header that I want.

Does the average out of the box blog program allow this kind of control? If so, can anyone recommend a good program to start with? Or would building from scratch give me the most control? The big technical loop for me is the comments functionality - does this usually have JavaScript or PhP as a backbone?

Thanks!

jasonpoteet · 11-03-2006, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewomack

Hello,

First of all, I have web experience with HTML, JavaScript, XML, CSS, Flash, and ASP. However, I am totally new to blog templates and blog technology in general.

Basically, I want to set up a blog site but I want full control of the code (i.e., I don't want to use a service such as blog.com - unless someone tells me I should). I want the ability to leave comments for blog entries, and the control to post whatever links on the sidebars and whatever graphics on the header that I want.

Does the average out of the box blog program allow this kind of control? If so, can anyone recommend a good program to start with? Or would building from scratch give me the most control? The big technical loop for me is the comments functionality - does this usually have JavaScript or PhP as a backbone?

Thanks!

I use Wordpress and you can customize it really any way you want. It is written in PHP and running on an Apache server. The comments are all php and the blog connects to a MYSQL database.

**Cricket** · 11-03-2006, 07:06 AM

You want to go to wordpress.org NOT wordpress.com

They are different services all together.

vangogh · 11-03-2006, 12:57 PM

I use WordPress too. I installed it on my own site and have complete control over all the code. Knowing PHP and MySQL will probably be helpful since that's what it's coded in, but you don't need to know either to change how your blog will look and WordPress has many things built in to allow you to alter the functionality of things without needing to understand PHP.

There's also a very active community of developers building plugins for WordPress so there's a good chance if you do want to add some functionality someone else has already written the code.

Oh and the installation really is 5 minutes or less.

ewomack · 11-03-2006, 09:23 PM

Thanks for the leads, that helps me out mucho.

I'm off to check out WordPress.

Keep the advice coming...

GrahamJames · 11-05-2006, 02:56 PM

As a fellow programmer I wholeheartedly endorse the use of wordpress. Its easy to use, actually has an interface that makes sense, and has a plugin or extension for pretty much anything you can think of. Oh yeah, and its FREE!