No, I'm not hiring—I do need help though. I've been tasked to create a Web site featuring a rather large photo and media collection. Obviously I would like to do it using some kind of back-end database solution, rather than coding a ton of static HTML, but I have very little experience in these matters.
What are some possibilities for setting up this site?

Thanks for any suggestions.

If you are using a Windows 2000 Based Server I would use an ASP based site. you can create the Database in Microsoft Access and use Front Page to code the page so that you don't have to use an OBDC connection. if you have access to create an OBDC connection you can use Macromedia Ultradev to create a Really cool site that runs off an Access / SQL Server database.

If you are using a linux driven server you can look up a preconfigured PHP website at sourceforge.net (PHPWEBSITE) that will let you create photoalbums by uploading pictures through the website. It does need MYSQL or some other database system installed on the server but you should aready have that. I did it for a 4Wheeling site that I have. www.jeepinator.com unfortunatly I havn't had time to update it for a few weeks.

just a few sugestions.

Joel

First of all, what kind of traffic are you expecting for your site? If it is going to be fairly low-traffic, then an ASP/Access or PHP/MySQL solution like Joel suggested would probably be good choices. A Perl CGI might also work, although the coding tends to be more difficult there. The downside is that none of those solutions are exceptionally scalable or high-performance.

If you need something that is higher-performance, then you probably want to look at a Java and/or JSP solution. For the database backend, you could go with MySQL for a fairly low-budget solution or possibly move up to MS SQL Server or Oracle for a higher-performance (and higher cost) solution.

Another obvious question that comes to mind is to ask what technical expertise you have at your disposal. Do you know any of the above languages already or have someone else involved with the project that does? If not, you would probably find that learning ASP would be pretty straightforward for anyone proficient with Visual Basic while Java and JSP are fairly easy to learn for anyone with C/C++ experience.

Of course, you could also look into packaged Content Management Systems as well. There are many on the market at a pretty wide variation of pricing structures. Most would likely still need a fair amount of customization for a particular application, but would still be less work to implement than building a new application from scratch.

-Jeff

You could use something like PHP-Nuke (http://www.phpnuke.org) as a full fledged website then add on a Gallery Module (they have some at the offical site and at NukeCops (www.nukecops.com)) It runs off PHP and basically any config you can think of. Its really easy to set up and I use it for all my websites. Plus, there are thousands of themes and looks that can be applied to it :)

Thanks to everyone who replied for your help and suggestions. I'll follow up later this evening.

Out of curiosity, where did you learn how to do all this? Do all of you have some experience in the industry, or is this just something you learned on your own?

I only know basic web development, which I learned on the job with a web developer (I handled marketing for them). I always wanted to work on more advanced sites, but I didn't know where to start. Any recommendations?

I have very limited experience with Macromedia Dreamweaver and Adobe Illustrator. That's it.

Originally posted by Dlandmom
Out of curiosity, where did you learn how to do all this? Do all of you have some experience in the industry, or is this just something you learned on your own?

I only know basic web development, which I learned on the job with a web developer (I handled marketing for them). I always wanted to work on more advanced sites, but I didn't know where to start. Any recommendations?

I have very limited experience with Macromedia Dreamweaver and Adobe Illustrator. That's it.

Well, I taught myself HTML and PHP. Probably the best thing to do is to get rid of any WYSIWYG editors (Dreamweaver, Frontpage, etc) and use notepad insted. I got a few For Dummies books (PHP and HTML for dummies), and found this (http://www.lissaexplains.com) site to show me how to program HTML. About a year ago, I found out about PHP-Nuke (http://www.phpnuke.org), which is a PHP/MySQL based CMS (Content Management System). I fell in love with it, and now use it on all my sites. After about 6 months of using it, and getting to know the programming, I opened my own site, Access Denied Nuke (http://accessdenied.filetap.com), which has now gained nearly 1 million hits (unfortunantly, my counter does not show that :( ). I released a few modules and blocks (they are what make up PHP-Nuke). One was a HTML inserter and another was a Live365 Intergration. I offered free nuke installations and forums and such. Sadly, school has consumed all of my programming life, so the site is now temporially not updated (though I plan to have a new look for July).

So basically, I suggest searching the web for webmaster sites. If you want to learn anything like PHP or ASP, I suggest you go over to Hotscripts (http://www.hotscripts.com) and look at the source code of a few apps. Many are commented, with comments explaing what each piece of code does. Very handy.

After you have learned HTML, and maybe PHP or something, develop a few scripts or something. Make a site to host it (lots of free servers out there), and distribute it among the net. Then try and become a programmer for a small site (offering to do it for free could be a good idea).


Thats about it :)

Originally posted by Dlandmom
Out of curiosity, where did you learn how to do all this? Do all of you have some experience in the industry, or is this just something you learned on your own?

I have a degree in Computer Engineering and have spent the majority of my career working in some capacity in the online/internet industry, with the exception of a nearly 4 year detour to try my hand at computer game development...

Currently, I manage the engineering team for a fairly major web site (I prefer not to specify publicly which one).

-Jeff

Well Lets See. For the last 3 years I have been the ISC (Information Systems Chief) for my Marine Corps. Squadron. Basicly that means I'm the person that runs around a fixes the Officers computers for them and is expected to be the Resident Expert on anything and everything having to do with computers, Telephones, comunications, Etc... Sometimes it's a real drag, but it lets me work on computers. Anyway, I was tasked to create a Web Based Database app for our pilots qualifications. Working on my own ( I am the only one in the shop) it took me three months but it's up and running and has been for 2.5 years. In order to learn the code behind the database connection I bought a book called ASP Bible and read it. Then found Macromedia Interdev and used it to code the site. worked great. After three years of Trouble shoting the code base I can recognise minor defects instantly and major crashes after a little bit. I can also Troubleshoot HTML code, and PHP Code.

Basicly I'm a Jack of all Trades and Master of None

My Advise is talk to people who are really good at what you want to do and learn all you can from them. then find someone else and do it all over again.

Have Fun
Joel