I'm convinced that frames are a bad idea but loosing them is a case of two steps forward and one step back. Each page now contains a top banner, navigation side bars, common footer etc. with the obvious difficulties that arise if you need to make any changes to these elements.

Frames *are* a bad idea. "Deprecated" as we like to say around here. Why don't you consider HTML::Template's INCLUDEs. I use them for the header and nav bars, and then for address footers. The nice thing is that they can contain <tmpl_var >'s that get values from your Perl first.

Have you looked at CGI::Application? I heard a lot about it around the Monastery, and finally couldn't stand the guilt. The learning curve was about a week, but I'm a convert now. I recommend you look hard and long at it.

One question is where to keep the content (articles) - in the db or as HTML files without the common elements? And jpegs/gifs? I'm leaning towards files.

I keep all my plaintext content in the database and serve it up in <tmpl_var >'s. All my images and uploaded PDFs, etc., go in directories in the public area. I have discovered that the general wisdom is not to store images in the DB.

I envisage a setup where the CGI script would add all the necessary elements to each cut down page before serving it up.

Are talking about some type of content manager? That's what we have done. If you are storing the content in the DB I don't think the loathsome FrontPage will help (another way to update static content is with Macromedia's Contribute).

Good luck.

Oh boy. Yes, this is my previous line of work- and I loved it.

What I ended up doin was having a wysiwyggish interface like mini mce and tied it to a backend- and let users create stuff..

This is a last site that I made with a lot of what you're talking about Dolan Geiman- this is an artist's website- they need to put new news up like mad, and articles, and press, and this and that etc etc etc. Check out the press section. I haven't needed to do much work on this aftwards.

Make sure you GIVE power and RESPONSIBILITY to the client for content- otherwise you will be in hell, my friend. I advice against letting them upload actual html like i advise against chewing on razorblades as a sleeping aid.

I've got experience with that too.. on this site: gootees.com - but.. all of this other stuff : http://gootees.com/used.html is done via flat files.

If you like the dolan geiman site i'll send you the code. the interface is neat. all of it is on css. the site and backend are sepparattish.. you may be able to use some of it.

In regards to allowing the owners to post their own material, FrontPage is not the only way to go.

One of the best resources I have found when creating a system like this is the HTMLArea, from dynarch. It is free and VERY simple for users to understand.

This allows them to create the HTML they want, which is then submitted to your cgi like any other form input. You can then do whatever you want with it. For example, in your case, output the data to a flat file or store it in your DB and then include it as part of your template.

And yes, this means I would also agree with the others in regards to setting up your site using something like HTML::Template, as you already seem to be started on, to structure the site you are working with. It makes site wide updates much easier on you by allowing you to break things down into an MVC (model-view-control) structure.

Good luck!

I would certainly take a close look at using Template Toolkit as your template engine. It enables (encourages) the use of modular templates. So, you can have a "sidebar" template, a "navbar" template, and a "body" template; the first two would be "included" on every page while the third would vary based on what content you were serving.

Capitalizing on the template engine allows you to make changes to the presentation (even drastic changes) without changing any underlying data. Storing HTML as your "content" has a significant downside. If you ever want to change the content, which the client is probably making available as something other than HTML, you have to regenerate the content that goes to the site. With a templating solution, the content is stored in a raw form and just plugged into the template appropriately.

I would also agree with the first poster that CGI::Application is a good stepping-off point for developing such a site. I would add that I have found Catalyst useful in this regard as well. The two accomplish the same task, but take very different approaches. There are other web frameworks out there, as well.

Sean