Dreamweaver template vs ssi

[violet]

I was wondering if you all thought -

would I be better off using ssi to include my menu on every page, rather than using a custom dreamweaver template .

I know that the template way takes ages to go through every single page and make even the smallest change and then upload it all again...

But are shtml pages acceptable by all browsers etc??

Or would I be better off just biting the bullet and learning how to build a whole site in php with mySql rather than just bits of pages...

Feedback is greatfully appreciated
http://www.spikefiles.com/shtml - the shtml link is the new layout i'm wondering about

[ChrisRC]

browsers and search engines generally don't care what extension you use. back in ... 98? 99? when I last used .shtml pages I never had trouble. I doubt things have become worse.

If you're serious about web development, I strongly recommend learning some server-side scripting language - and I'm a big fan of PHP myself. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't go to the SSI for now, and just switch over to a PHP include() of the same content later, followed by a complete database driven template system (which isn't always the best solution anyway) eventually.

[JoeSurfer]

If you want to avoid using the .shtml extension, you can put the following lines in your .htaccess file, it will cause the server to parse ssi with the html extension.

AddType text/html .shtml .html
AddHandler server-parsed .shtml .html

I'm assuming an apache setup :)

[swstyles]

With dreamweaver templates:
If you change the menu in anyway, you have to upload every page to the server that is affected by the template change. If you use ssi, you make the change to the one file and the whole site changes with that one file change.

The technology doesn't matter, ssi, php, asp, cold fusion, its all the same principle.

anytime you can change one file only without having to upload many files is very resourceful.

[violet]

Joe Surfer - That very small snippet of code could prove to be incredibly helpful - and more than likely answered my next question which was to be can I include php and ssi in the same page...

ChrisRC - I too am a huge fan of php, and am doing my best to learn all about it. I've implemented a couple of scripts that other people have written, and then followed a tutorial on how to set up my own blogging system with php.

I've gone through the tutorial at www.w3schools.com which has given me a very limited and not too crash hot knowledge of the principal of php.

I guess now I just have to find a good tutorial to take me through how to build my whole site with php and using mySql database.

Whilst I'm learning how to do the php thing, I think I'll stick with ssi...

Here I was thinking I was finally getting with the times and using ssi(just got a great new host that actually gives me features!!)and you haven't used it since tha late 90's... boy If you had seen what I was building in the 90's.. arghh..

Thanks again guys for your feedback it has been incredibly helpful

[cyanide]

I would lean towards learning php.
I found Dreamweaver Templates to be a pain.
By the way, just because you use php for your pages, doesn't mean you need to have MySQL...

Maybe you knew already, but it sounded like you equated php with needing MySQL... not necessairly so

[violet]

Thanks Cyanide.. Ive got the basics of php down, How it works etc..

I know I can have php without mySql, Ive just read and been told that combining the two is the best way to go - I think one book called it a powerful combination..

But thanks for the heads up! Greatly appreciated