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CMS, start with one or add later?


JustRob

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Hey guys,

I'm building a website to practice HTML, CSS and javascript, and down the road I wanna learn PHP as well.

So on my website I eventually want to make it so people can register an account and log in, and submit stuff to the website. I also wanna make it so that I can submit stuff to the website that regular users can't (like news updates). For the latter part, years ago when I was making my first site I just edited the HTML whenever I wanted to add stuff. But most websites these days use a CMS so they can log into their website and have a frontend to submit stuff from. 

The thing is, I have my website laid out already, and I was wondering if it's possible or doable to later add a CMS to your website when you have your HTML pages including CSS and javascripts already. In the past I have dabbled with some CMS'es like WordPress and Drupal, but I always found difficulty making my website within the confines of those systems. 

But what is the best way to go about this? Choose a CMS and build your website within that, or make your website and add a CMS later (if that's possible)?

I'm still kind of a noob when it comes to this, and I really haven't kept up with the latest webdesign trends, so I would like some advice on this.

Edited by JustRob
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There's no easy way to just add a CMS to your existing site. You have to build the front end again using the theme and template system provided by the CMS, so you'll be doing a lot of work either way. You may be able to keep some of your CSS, but the HTML will probably have to be created from scratch.

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No, themes and templates are simply the part of the software that determines how the data will appear visually on your site. If you're good at it, you can build a drag and drop editor into your theme, it varies depending on which CMS you use.

As an example, Wordpress has a lot of documentation on how to build themes for it and there's a lot of code involved. Not just HTML and CSS, but also PHP. https://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Development

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I don't need a drag & drop editor in the literal sense of the word, I just want to have an admin panel where I can submit new stuff without having to open up the HTML files every time. 

Think I better start learning PHP

Edited by JustRob
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