I'm looking to build a site similar to riocar.org or www.chrismyden.com ... I've done tons of html stuff, but I'm not sure how to build a site like those... is there some sort of site that could get me up to speed? Any software I should learn? What cost is involved?

Riocar.org runs on PHPNuke, which is a server-side scripting language.

At the bottom of each of the Riocar pages are three icons which link you to the necessary software. In this case, Apache (the web server), PHP (the scripting language), and PHPNuke (the site-builder software based on PHP).

This allows you to mix HTML with the convenient server-side coding of PHP.

Chrismyden.com also looks like a PHPNuke site, only his icons at the bottom of the page don't seem to contain a link to PHPNuke.

I really like his stylesheet, though, that's nice looking.

Thanks Tony. Yeah, I like his site too... very well done.

So I'm assumeing I'm going to have to contact my hosting company to see if they support PHP at a decent rate? Anyone have any hosting options they suggest if my company doesnt?

I've heard that PHP is actually included with most non-microsoft web servers these days, so your existing hosting company (if you have one) might already support it.

Hmm, someone e-mail me about this today as well. And I'll say the same thing here:

First suggestion, dump PHPNuke and go with PostNuke. PostNuke overall is
better, and unfortunatly I discovered it after setting up PHPNuke. There are
numerous reasons I say this, including several hundred lines of code in
RioCar.org to fix some "issues".

Both PHPNuke and PostNuke are free, and work on all free software. They both require a database, and may require a specific one like MySQL.

Play with PostNuke on a test machine that you have control of before trying to move it to a host. It takes a bit of work to get perfect, and PHP knowledge is definitly needed for any heavy changes.

Although I've had limited experience of either, I'll second PostNuke too. Some of the code behind PHPNuke is so bad that it made me feel better about my coding skills

I know that everyone hates microsoft , but Dreamweaver MX includes a very good build engine using ASP that will get you the same results. It is what I primarily use (since my servers are IIS) and is a good way to go if you plan on hosting on a MS server.

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but there has recnetly been a PostNuke installation tutorial for beginners posted. It says set aside 2.5 hours, so I would imagine it's very complete.

-Check out the article
-Go straight to the tutorial

Wow, thanks Rob. That's exactly what I need!

If someone could help, I'm looking for a resource site that can give me a good introduction to postnuke. Those look like great tutorials, but neither them nor www.postnuke.com have any introductory material.

Thanks!