I would like to create a site in php that works the same way that https://www.bitcoins.lc/ does, in terms of it having the same layout on each page but the content would change as you change links/pages, how do I set this up in php with layout.php and index.php and header.php ect?
I was told to read about MVC frameworks but I don't really understand it all.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Jason
The simplest approach is the one described by Sjoerd. If your page only contains some few elements, there is noting wrong with a switch or if statement.
index.php:
<html>
<body>
<!-- Wrapper div -->
<div id="wrapper>
<!-- Header div -->
<div id="header">
<?php
include('header.php'); // File containing header code
?>
</div>
<!-- Content div -->
<div id="content">
<!-- Left Colon div -->
<div id="leftCol">
<?php
include('leftMenu.php'); // File containing the menu
?>
</div>
<!-- Center colon -->
<div id="centerCol">
<?php
$page = $_GET['page']; // To get the page
if($page == null) {
$page = 'index'; // Set page to index, if not set
}
switch ($page) {
case 'index':
include('frontPage.php');
break;
case 'about':
include('about.php');
break;
case 'contact':
include('contact.php');
break;
}
?>
</div>
</div>
<!-- Footer div -->
<div id="footer">
<?php
include('footer.php'); // File containing the footer
?>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
header.php:
<?php
echo "This is header";
?>
leftMenu.php:
<?php
echo "<a href='index.php/?page=index'>Front Page</a>"; // set page to index
echo "<a href='index.php/?page=about'>About</a>"; // page = about
echo "<a href='index.php/?page=contact'>Contact</a>"; // page = contact
?>
and so on
You could include a header and a footer in each page:
<?php
include('header.php');
?>
Welcome to my page
<?php
include('footer.php');
?>
Put the header and navigation in header.php, and the footer in footer.php.
Hope you are worried about MVC as you are reading complex documentations about that. I would suggest you to go through a documentation which helps you to easily understand and create an MVC Framework. It will not be good if you move forward with your project without understanding its basics. Please have a look at the following article and let me know if it helps. Feel free to contact if you need any support.
http://www.henriquebarroso.com/how-to-create-a-simple-mvc-framework-in-php/
Here's the approach I generally take to this:
FILES:
layout.php:
<html>
<head>
<title><?php echo $title; ?></title>
</head>
<body>
<?php include($childView); ?>
</body>
</html>
_index.php:
<section>
Some page content
</section>
index.php:
<?php
$title = 'Home';
$childView = 'views/_index.php';
include('layout.php');
?>
Basically, the page itself tells the layout what view to inject into the content area. It's similar to how you would use ASP.NET ContentPlaceholder elements.