I didn't find a forum titled Web Site Design; so I placed it under HTML because that is what more or less controls how a website will be ordered or structured. I trust the admins to put it where it belongs. Remember that I'm the Geezer Geek (81 yo) trying to keep the brain from disappearing.
My questions have to do with how to organize one's code. The website I'm working on will have 4 or 5 different sections (for lack of a better term; I don't mean HTML section tags). Each one will be styled differently. This suggests to me that the HTML should be organized to reflect the structure. By doing this I will know where to go in the code to make changes and tweaks. I've not read anything about using HTML elements to organize one's code. Can an index.html contain multiple HTML files? Have I missed it? If I have, please point me in the right direction.
Along the same lines, the CSS will be different for each part of the website. It seems that the code should be organized into different .css files that can be linked to from within the HTML that codes for each section. Of course, for CSS that is common to all areas, that can be placed in its own file, maybe named 'global-css.css'. I could use pointers on how best to do this.
Much of the website will be screens with the same CSS styling depicting individuals and data about them. I refer to this as Personal Data Screens. There will be many of these screens. I don't relish the thought of having to write a hundred or more groups of HTML code to make this happen. My gut tells me that this process of replicating the code to display data that varies within the same style constraints is something that can be automated. Although I've forgotten all I ever know about JavaScript (js); my gut tells me that this might be the way to go about the replication. I'm thinking that a MySQL database to contain the information, js to extract it and set up the HTML, and CSS to style the presentation will be parts of the solution. Again, I could use pointers on how to go about this. I'm pretty sure I can design a MySQL db that will hold all the text, but there will be a lot of images, too. Does MySQL have the ability to store images as well as text? I recall having read something about a BLOB data type in MySQL that allows that. That's something I'll have to explore but, if not, I could use pointers on how to organize and place images. So far, my images are placed in a folder named 'images' that is a sub-folder within my project just like the .css and .html files. This will do, but could use organization to facilitate access and changes.
I've attached a Word doc that shows the basic structure and a mockup of a personal data screen. I'd really appreciate comments and suggestions
My questions have to do with how to organize one's code. The website I'm working on will have 4 or 5 different sections (for lack of a better term; I don't mean HTML section tags). Each one will be styled differently. This suggests to me that the HTML should be organized to reflect the structure. By doing this I will know where to go in the code to make changes and tweaks. I've not read anything about using HTML elements to organize one's code. Can an index.html contain multiple HTML files? Have I missed it? If I have, please point me in the right direction.
Along the same lines, the CSS will be different for each part of the website. It seems that the code should be organized into different .css files that can be linked to from within the HTML that codes for each section. Of course, for CSS that is common to all areas, that can be placed in its own file, maybe named 'global-css.css'. I could use pointers on how best to do this.
Much of the website will be screens with the same CSS styling depicting individuals and data about them. I refer to this as Personal Data Screens. There will be many of these screens. I don't relish the thought of having to write a hundred or more groups of HTML code to make this happen. My gut tells me that this process of replicating the code to display data that varies within the same style constraints is something that can be automated. Although I've forgotten all I ever know about JavaScript (js); my gut tells me that this might be the way to go about the replication. I'm thinking that a MySQL database to contain the information, js to extract it and set up the HTML, and CSS to style the presentation will be parts of the solution. Again, I could use pointers on how to go about this. I'm pretty sure I can design a MySQL db that will hold all the text, but there will be a lot of images, too. Does MySQL have the ability to store images as well as text? I recall having read something about a BLOB data type in MySQL that allows that. That's something I'll have to explore but, if not, I could use pointers on how to organize and place images. So far, my images are placed in a folder named 'images' that is a sub-folder within my project just like the .css and .html files. This will do, but could use organization to facilitate access and changes.
I've attached a Word doc that shows the basic structure and a mockup of a personal data screen. I'd really appreciate comments and suggestions
