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Gloria Gianokopolous
94 PointsSelling hand coded sites
My goal is to hand code my sites so there is no third party scripts in them. I am wanting to do it this way as I intend to sell at least three of them in a few years.
I just started, (well resumed) in learning code an on level one here for HTML and CSS.
These sites I will create from scratch may have any of the following: blog, directory, (business and/or social network) free and paid memberships and eCommerce.
I already know it is a huge task but I have some experience in Joomla and WordPress.
I want to make it so I do not ever have to "worry" about some third party script causing problems and if I intend to sell the sites down the road after I get them popular enough, I want to be able to say with confidence to the buyer that they will not face any security issues because there is some code in there that I did not write. etc.
I am using a popular site builder/host for my sites now and just want the freedom of knowing it is all mine as far as the code. They have not really been marketed yet so no worries about the existing traffic.
Now I have questions about PHP. I am just starting out learning code and many of you will be thinking I have a long way to go before being able to construct the functions in these sites, but I have to "line up" my ideas and strategies as this is how I "look forward" to things on the horizon and keep myself motivated.
PHP is elusive to me. I am having trouble understanding why the PHP site says you can download a script. Isn't that just like say, downloading Joomla? Again my goal is to not have any scripts in there that can be hacked cause the author knows how to get in somehow.
Also I want to make sure of what I am learning is the correct and most efficient route. Would learning PHP satisfy the functions of blog, directory, (business and/or social network) free and paid memberships and eCommerce, or should I be considering learning other languages for those?
The third question is about timing. If I worked at it say, 4 hours a day, how long would it take for me to be able to build one site with all those functions?
Thanks!
Glo
2 Answers
Kevin Korte
28,149 PointsPHP is like any other language, it has to be installed on the server it's being used on to work. Most hosts have already done this for you. That's why you can download PHP from the site, in case you need to install it yourself on a server.
PHP can do everything you're looking for. So can Ruby, Python, etc.
If you're not using Wordpress, popular frameworks are Rails for Ruby, Laravel for PHP, and Django for Python.
I'd honestly recommend using a framework of some sort unless you have a great reason not too. If your client needs to hire a developer to do things to their site they bought from you an d you used a framework, that developer will have an easier time making changes to the site with the framework documentation, then figuring out your custom code.
It's hard to say, but I'd guess it may take as long as a year or more to write really high quality websites for sell. That's just my guess.
I'll also challenge you. Is your custom code really more secure and bug proof than a well documented, and well curated 3rd party plugin that has had multiple authors fix bugs and have had thousands of users reporting bugs and fixes? Maybe, maybe not.
Gloria Gianokopolous
94 PointsOh my gosh Kevin thank you so much for the awesome answer.
I will tell you what got me spooked about the security. I am a member of one of those popular affiliate marketing sites and they had their forum hacked. They went on and on about how it was a third party script that they used for all this time and now got around to creating it themselves. I don't "mind" as I know this happens all the time-hackers are smart just like criminals. I do however have a way of just getting my hopes up for stuff (lots of different things through this lifetime, unfortunately) and then somehow my plans get thwarted. So I know nothing about security but just want the control. I just want to be as smart as I know I am and plan ahead so I don't waste time with this endeavor.
I am sure you are right. So you think it is ok and safe to use pre-made scripts and then sell the sites? I do not mean like for $500 or $2000 to sell a freshly created site for a client to use as their own. I mean a site with thousands of members or an affiliate marketing niche site that is very established for $100.000. Someone would surely be mad at me if I sold them a site for this amount and suddenly something went wrong.
I have to say that your answer is so relieving in a way, as it seems like I can get there much faster this way, but how can I be sure that someone selling or giving away a script does not have intentions of getting in through some "back door" or "trapdoor" installed on purpose, to access my data years down the road to steal my members' info?