Easily Editable Websites AKA PHP help!!

[Super Cameraman]

Well, here's the deal:

I made a website for a kids' gym for a guy named Steve (www.RascalsGym.com if you want to see it) and it works great and it's been getting a lot of hits, but whenever it needs to be edited, I need to do it.

Is there a way to make this easier so Steve can edit it without me?

Like embedding a txt file into the html so you just edit the text in the txt and not the html? There has to be some way, right? I know it's possible to embed XML text in Flash, but I don't really want to use Flash if I don't have to. Apparently people don't have it, and it takes a long time to load. (I've never had any problems with it though)

SCM

[Skyone]

PHP and SQL fool.

[Super Cameraman]

I have no idea how any of that works!!!

[gannon]

I think the *easiest* way would be to contain the content in a text file, then put that into a styled iframe

[bicostp]

I think the easiest solution is to put the text in a separate HTML file, then use PHP include to stitch it back into the page when necessary. He could use Notepad, or (*cringe*) Word or FrontPage to edit the content.

[Super Cameraman]

Bicostp, could you go into that in detail? I've never done PHP in my life... Only HTML. And a little CSS...

[bicostp]

Well, PHP include is basically a not-crappy way to include pages inside pages. (Frames and iFrames, by contrast, are crappy and should only be used when necessary.) I-Mockery.com uses it for the header on all their pages, and I'm slowly overhauling my site to use it too.

Here's a good tutorial:
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/tutorial/include

As for Word and FrontPage, they fail at making web pages. No real standards support, and the code they churn out isn't the most streamlined. Nothing compares to coding a website by hand.

[CronoTriggerfan]

You could always just set it up using WordPress, that's easy!

CTFan

[THON]

Learn CSS,

Make a style sheet (styles.css) and an index.html page

Make an updates.html page (for easy editing)

Incorporate both to the index

Teach him basic HTML and CSS

[Super Cameraman]

Well, PHP include is basically a not-crappy way to include pages inside pages. (Frames and iFrames, by contrast, are crappy and should only be used when necessary.) I-Mockery.com uses it for the header on all their pages, and I'm slowly overhauling my site to use it too.

Here's a good tutorial:
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/tutorial/include

As for Word and FrontPage, they fail at making web pages. No real standards support, and the code they churn out isn't the most streamlined. Nothing compares to coding a website by hand.

I can actually understand the tutorial, but as soon as I paste the code into the html, the whole layout of the website gets totally messed up...

I actually found something using iFrames, and it worked and did what I needed, but I could only get one iFrame to work on a single page. I need at least two...

EDIT: Actually, that worked perfectly!! The problem was that MS word messes everything up... Is there a free way to easily edit the contents of the PHP file?

EDIT 2: No I won't use Notepad!!

[gannon]

Use word, just save as plain text document

[Super Cameraman]

It won't let me. It's not an option in the save as menu.

EDIT: As soon as I open it in Word, it adds head and body tags, and a whole lot of other stuff to the code, and with all that stuff, it screws up the page I embed it in.. As soon as I delete that code and resave it, it works perfectly. Is there a way to turn of... auto-script-messing-up in Word?

[THON]

It won't let me. It's not an option in the save as menu.

EDIT: As soon as I open it in Word, it adds head and body tags, and a whole lot of other stuff to the code, and with all that stuff, it screws up the page I embed it in.. As soon as I delete that code and resave it, it works perfectly. Is there a way to turn of... auto-script-messing-up in Word?

Right click the file and choose open with... text edit. Should be standard on any XP (or Vista... I think?), and much cleaner and friendlier than Notepad.

Which I use and love. Most of the time.

Glad the iframes worked for you, I love them--but unfortunately the iPhone doesn't

[Super Cameraman]

I don't have text edit.

I really wanted to do a visual thing. As in, I don't want to teach Steve any HTML. I just want him to be able to change a few words around once in a while.

[vb_master]

Joomla or WordPress.