New PHP Project

Currently I am researching into a new project I have planned. The project will involve providing websites to users.

These sites wil be generated by the user by signing up for an account. Once signed up they will have a url where they can visit there new site.

I would like the url to be kinda unique and I think the best bet is to create a subdomain, something like www.theresite.mysite.com.

Upon registering they will be able to select a template with the layout and colours they wish to use. I plan to create the content using modules wich are then included into the template.

The idea being that I create a number dynamic modules and then insert them into each of the templates in different ways to give a different layout. Each template will then call in a different css for style and also some different graphics etc..

I'm not sure quite how to structure this layout. I have come up with a few ideas but nothing can replace the wisdom of those who have been here before.

With regard to the domain side of things I have been looking at a perl DNS tool to allow modification of the named.boot file but this seems a little extreme.

I have also seen some hosts that provide the htdocs folder and allow creation of directories which act as sub domians and looks very promising. If I go down this road do I then create a directory and duplicate the template site each time into the new directory.

I'm sure some of you have been involved or done something similar. I really want to keep intervention by myself and the user to an absolute minimum. Any suggestions on the logic I should apply and how I can go about implementing this structure would be greatly received.

I do not need help with code (yet) just help on the strucure and logic.

Thanks for your time if you can help with any suggestions.

As with most things in the development world, there's more than one way to do it. You are essentially proposing a content management system (CMS), which is a fairly common application.

So you might first consider going to sites like sourceforge.net or freshmeat.net to have a look at what has already been done.

There's no need to reinvent the wheel unless you're looking for something specialized. Or you might just want to build it all yourself so you can learn how it's done. That's great too!

I've built a CMS from scratch and it is no small undertaking to do it well. If you can find some open source code to start with -- or at least look at -- you'll be able to expand upon your ideas and begin to formulate a plan of attack.

Handling DNS properly is a whole other topic of discussion.

best wishes...

Thanks Boogiemin,

Some very valid points there. I will take the time to look at the sites you have mentioned.

I agree on the work invoved, the CRM suite we are developing here at work to integrate into our exiting software is taking some serious resource so this may be quite a project.

I'm caught between two worlds, one where I develop the project myself and greatly improve my skills ending with a bespoke solution which appeals very much or the world where I use another already made platform that I can customize. The latter would be speedier but perhap not quite the right end product?

I guess I'll have to play devils advocate with myself for a while before I make any desicions. I'm sure the more thought and planning I do now will result in better satisfaction in the end product.

Thanks again

Anyone else with further contributions still very welcome.