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!