Here We Go
Here We Go
Okay, the lessons learned in all my PHP hacking are about to go into an actual launch.
The full-scale portal isn't going up, mind you.
My main blog is getting more and more traffic, and is also getting more and more cumbersome to maintain and, to a degree, to load. There's way too much javascript going on, there. Too much is being handled from the Blogger template. The archives menu keeps breaking (both a javascript and a Blogger problem). Many things (the archive menu, the essays menu, the book promotions, etc.) are getting a bit big.
So I've now got the URL glennfrazier.com set up and ready to receive. This is what I'm going to do:
First, I'm going to build some PHP rotation scripts for banners, buttons, textads, news headlines, and book promotions. These will be very simple. Basically, there will be a directory ("topbanners") for instance, with a bunch of html snippets in it. The script will randomly choose one and shlorp it into the main page. Weighting of the snippets will, for now, be handled merely by duplicating scripts so there are more copies of the ones I want to show up more often. For what I want, this actually makes more sense than a MySQL solution, although in time I'll want to cut over to that. There will be a subdirectory in each dir for holding "non-circulating" snippets for future use.
Then, I'm going to build a PHP page that contains all the nav elements and the rotator scripts and shlorps up the blog postings from html files. This will mean my blogger template will become extremely slimmer, just pushing out the html of the posts and archive posts, and little more. Probably Blogger will publish html snippets to a "posts" directory, from which the main PHP pages will shlorp.
The archive menu I'm not entirely certain about and have to think a little more on. Basically, I want the menu to be mostly static, and get updated only as needed. One thought was to just phpinclude an html snippet that is the menu, and have a seperate phpscript that generates the menu; this generator script will only be called explicitly by me when I see the need to do so (like when a new week of posting begins).
The main PHP page will involve some changes to the layout, include a top nav system, throw some other static bits, and generally make using the site a little easier while at the same time increasing the behavior I want from users (hopefully).
Having done all this, I'll then test the mother out of it. (Each step also includes unit testing, but the next step is a doozy, in a sense, and shouldn't be leapt into until everything preceding it is working just right.)
Then, I'll cut my main blog預s far as Blogger is concerned熔ver to glennfrazier.com. Test the snot out of it again.
If all is good, I then do some fancy-dancy .htaccess RewriteEngine magic over at mac.thefraziers.org so old links to my site and to specific old blog posts will be gracefully handed over to the appropriate places under the new URL.
If all goes well, I'll then begin phasing in additional items.
For instance, launch one of glennfrazier.com will add menu items for Home & Contact and move some of the other junk around. Launch two will add in menu items for FAQ, Links, Archives, Tips, Swag, and "Copyright & Disclaimer". In third and later launches I'll bring in nav links for items that will take some effort to build in themselves, such as RSS, Deadpool, Forum, and Subscribe. Also in these 3G+ launches (or maybe sooner) I'll be replacing the pollhost.com poll (it throws occasional popunders, which I despise) with a php doohickey, as an interim step toward creating my International Deadpool (a fun concept that I'm excited about but not quite ready to code). During the 3G+ launches I'll also be making major mods to the Swag section. In the 2G launch, this will just be a page of Amazon Assoc. items傭asically a bookstore to make up for the fact that I'll only have one book on the main page at a time, now. Later on I'll be incorporating a book store, a news stand, a swag shop (fun CafePress.com tchochkies (sp?) and possibly some ebay-related stuff.
There are other plans, but rather than write them down, I'll just get going on what I know for certain needs to be done.
--------
Okay, the lessons learned in all my PHP hacking are about to go into an actual launch.
The full-scale portal isn't going up, mind you.
My main blog is getting more and more traffic, and is also getting more and more cumbersome to maintain and, to a degree, to load. There's way too much javascript going on, there. Too much is being handled from the Blogger template. The archives menu keeps breaking (both a javascript and a Blogger problem). Many things (the archive menu, the essays menu, the book promotions, etc.) are getting a bit big.
So I've now got the URL glennfrazier.com set up and ready to receive. This is what I'm going to do:
First, I'm going to build some PHP rotation scripts for banners, buttons, textads, news headlines, and book promotions. These will be very simple. Basically, there will be a directory ("topbanners") for instance, with a bunch of html snippets in it. The script will randomly choose one and shlorp it into the main page. Weighting of the snippets will, for now, be handled merely by duplicating scripts so there are more copies of the ones I want to show up more often. For what I want, this actually makes more sense than a MySQL solution, although in time I'll want to cut over to that. There will be a subdirectory in each dir for holding "non-circulating" snippets for future use.
Then, I'm going to build a PHP page that contains all the nav elements and the rotator scripts and shlorps up the blog postings from html files. This will mean my blogger template will become extremely slimmer, just pushing out the html of the posts and archive posts, and little more. Probably Blogger will publish html snippets to a "posts" directory, from which the main PHP pages will shlorp.
The archive menu I'm not entirely certain about and have to think a little more on. Basically, I want the menu to be mostly static, and get updated only as needed. One thought was to just phpinclude an html snippet that is the menu, and have a seperate phpscript that generates the menu; this generator script will only be called explicitly by me when I see the need to do so (like when a new week of posting begins).
The main PHP page will involve some changes to the layout, include a top nav system, throw some other static bits, and generally make using the site a little easier while at the same time increasing the behavior I want from users (hopefully).
Having done all this, I'll then test the mother out of it. (Each step also includes unit testing, but the next step is a doozy, in a sense, and shouldn't be leapt into until everything preceding it is working just right.)
Then, I'll cut my main blog預s far as Blogger is concerned熔ver to glennfrazier.com. Test the snot out of it again.
If all is good, I then do some fancy-dancy .htaccess RewriteEngine magic over at mac.thefraziers.org so old links to my site and to specific old blog posts will be gracefully handed over to the appropriate places under the new URL.
If all goes well, I'll then begin phasing in additional items.
For instance, launch one of glennfrazier.com will add menu items for Home & Contact and move some of the other junk around. Launch two will add in menu items for FAQ, Links, Archives, Tips, Swag, and "Copyright & Disclaimer". In third and later launches I'll bring in nav links for items that will take some effort to build in themselves, such as RSS, Deadpool, Forum, and Subscribe. Also in these 3G+ launches (or maybe sooner) I'll be replacing the pollhost.com poll (it throws occasional popunders, which I despise) with a php doohickey, as an interim step toward creating my International Deadpool (a fun concept that I'm excited about but not quite ready to code). During the 3G+ launches I'll also be making major mods to the Swag section. In the 2G launch, this will just be a page of Amazon Assoc. items傭asically a bookstore to make up for the fact that I'll only have one book on the main page at a time, now. Later on I'll be incorporating a book store, a news stand, a swag shop (fun CafePress.com tchochkies (sp?) and possibly some ebay-related stuff.
There are other plans, but rather than write them down, I'll just get going on what I know for certain needs to be done.
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