scorpking Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I've created a PHP Website Builder and will be releasing it as Open Source (GPLv3) soon. It creates small static HTML websites at the moment but I plan to be adding to it in the future. This project was done while learning PHP (the only way I'd eventually learn it) so there is some cleanup to be done and maybe security risks and so on. I don't know OOP and will be learning that soon. Everything works but there are some issues with the invoicing functions. I'm not sure if I should fix this or just link it straight to WHMCS and remove the registration and invoice sections. Is there an interest in something like this? Please share your views. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuickOldCar Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Is always a need for people to create websites. Ever think of turning this into your own community or social site? It's hard to compete with the popular cms out there, they have been around many years and have lots of help. To be honest many want variety and lots of features, even ability to adapt it in certain ways to their likings. That's the main reason why wordpress,joomla,drupal,etc are the most popular. I could see a "php starter website" being of use, something they could then easily add and expand it into something of their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpking Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Thank you for the feedback. Website builders are hard to come by and I don't know of any open source ones that I can download and install on my local server to build websites with (maybe someone knows which are free). Website builders like Weebly, MoonFruit and DoodleKit can not be installed on your local server and thus the reason I've created SiteZilla. Website builders like Dreamweaver need some level of skill to produce a website and it is not free. SiteZilla is not a CMS like Joomla or Drupal but an online website builder that produces websites that you can upload to a hosting account. I'd like to keep the websites produced by SiteZilla simple and once I've converted it to OOP I will add other types of websites like small shopping sites, blog sites and a simple file based CMS sites. I mostly use SiteZilla to build Google Adsense websites and websites for companies that just need a website with max 5 pages. Some other uses for SiteZilla includes: [*]Small hosting companies wanting to offer their clients an easy to use website builder. [*]People building static HTML websites for clients. [*]People building Google Adsense websites. [*]And I'm sure many more uses... Last night I've created a SourceForge project page that will host SiteZilla and added some screenshots for those who want to see what it currently does. http://sourceforge.net/projects/sitezilla/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpking Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 The first version of SiteZilla is available for download at http://sourceforge.net/projects/sitezilla/. Any feedback would be welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 You're forgetting your actual competitor, Wordpress. It has all the same plus points that you've mentioned below, but also a huge user base. Good luck penetrating that market! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scootstah Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 You're forgetting your actual competitor, Wordpress. It has all the same plus points that you've mentioned below, but also a huge user base. Good luck penetrating that market! Except Wordpress is a huge pile of shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpking Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Installing a Wordpress website: Step 1: Download and Extract Step 2: Upload to hosting account Step 3: Create Database and a User Step 4: Set up wp-config.php Step 5: Run the Install Script Step 6: Log into Wordpress Step 7: Add content Step 8: Find theme Step 9: Done! Installing a SiteZilla produced website: Step 1: Download and Extract Step 2: Upload to hosting account Step 3: Done! Like I've mentioned before, SiteZilla is not a Content Management System, it is a website generator like DreamWeaver for example. I have no interest in the Wordpress market. Take a look at SiteWithUs, DoodleKit and HandzOn. The problem I have with them is that I can't download any of them and install it on my local server to provide the same service to my own clients. If I could get a copy of either SiteWithUs, DoodleKit, HandzOn or something similar I won't need SiteZilla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Except Wordpress is a huge pile of shit. Oh don't get me wrong, I totally agree. Unfortunately that doesn't change anything. Step 1: Download and Extract Step 2: Upload to hosting account Step 3: Create Database and a User Step 4: Set up wp-config.php Step 5: Run the Install Script Step 6: Log into Wordpress Step 7: Add content Step 8: Find theme Step 9: Done! Installing a SiteZilla produced website: Step 1: Download and Extract Step 2: Upload to hosting account Step 3: Done! Sorry, but what a load of crap. Logging into Wordpress? a) Is that really such a chore? and b) does your product not require a login? What if I left it installed on my web server, would anybody that stumbled across it be able to start creating websites directly onto my file system? Also do you not add themes and content to yours? I saw a couple of screen shots that looked strangely like adding themes and content. Lastly, where does your product store the page data? Flat files, or in a database? Once you've created the site, can you edit them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpking Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Sorry, but what a load of crap. Logging into Wordpress? a) Is that really such a chore? and b) does your product not require a login? What if I left it installed on my web server, would anybody that stumbled across it be able to start creating websites directly onto my file system? Also do you not add themes and content to yours? I saw a couple of screen shots that looked strangely like adding themes and content. Lastly, where does your product store the page data? Flat files, or in a database? Once you've created the site, can you edit them? I don't recommend installing it just yet on a life server (it has not been tested for security issues and I'm no PHP expert) Data is stored in a database. Once you've created a website you can edit it but will have to upload it again to your hosting account. Like any open source software you can either use it or move along. I am just sharing a few months worth of code and hope that someone will find it useful. This is one of my contributions to FOSS. If you do not create a lot of static 1-5 page HTML websites then I recommend that you look at some other software to better suite your web design needs. If you however do create a lot of small websites then please take a moment to test SiteZilla so we would be able to communicate constructively about topics that could be of some use to everyone. Thank you most kindly for post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I weren't trying to trample all over your effort I assure you. I just made a valid point, that Wordpress is going to be your biggest competitor. Whatever label or buzz word you give it, your product is still a system for managing content that you install on your web server, just like Wordpress. Anyway, moot point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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