Converting html pages into dynamic pages

[lili000]

Hello,

 

I don't know anything about php so I'm sorry if my question sounds stupid:

I built a website in html, using Dreamweaver. I need to have a database built within these pages and the person who is going to do it told me that they will have to convert all my html pages into dynamic pages (php).

 

Is it complicated to do this or do I just have to save my pages in php instead of html in Dreamweaver ?

 

Many thanks in advance for your help.

 

[obsidian]

The simple answer to your question is yes, you can simply change the extension to .php and begin including dynamic content; however, there are many, many things to consider here. First of all, if you are working with a well established site, keep in mind that changing the naming scheme of your pages will alter your traffic since your search engines will no longer be pointing to legitimate pages.  With this in mind, you may want to consider altering your Apache configuration to parse .html pages as PHP instead. This will allow you to include dynamic content within your HTML pages, and your server will still parse them as PHP.

 

There are definitely pros and cons to just about any configuration you can come up with. If you care to post more details about the site, I'm sure we can help you come up with some valid solution ideas.

[lili000]

Thank you very much for your help. The website is still under construction so it's ok; but it's good to know!

 

I would like to integrate a questionnaire in one of the pages; I know how to do the questionnaire in Dreamweaver but how do I validate it? how can it be sent to my email address when clicking on submit without using Outlook Express ?

 

The simple answer to your question is yes, you can simply change the extension to .php and begin including dynamic content; however, there are many, many things to consider here. First of all, if you are working with a well established site, keep in mind that changing the naming scheme of your pages will alter your traffic since your search engines will no longer be pointing to legitimate pages.  With this in mind, you may want to consider altering your Apache configuration to parse .html pages as PHP instead. This will allow you to include dynamic content within your HTML pages, and your server will still parse them as PHP.

 

There are definitely pros and cons to just about any configuration you can come up with. If you care to post more details about the site, I'm sure we can help you come up with some valid solution ideas.

[obsidian]

Thank you very much for your help. The website is still under construction so it's ok; but it's good to know!

 

I would like to integrate a questionnaire in one of the pages; I know how to do the questionnaire in Dreamweaver but how do I validate it? how can it be sent to my email address when clicking on submit without using Outlook Express ?

 

Each of these questions is a good one, and they can all be answered more thoroughly by reading some of the previous threads in the forum than I can take the time to do now. Do some searches for basic form handling and email forms to get the overview of how to handle POST and GET variables as well as methods of emailing. Once you have the basic idea and you come up with specific questions or problems, let us know, and we'll help you work through them the best we can.