How can users dynamically create new web pages?

[byrned@umich.ed]

Is there a way (or a script) where users could fill out some information in a form, and have that dynamically create a website, with its own web address? Basically I'm trying to create a part of my site where musicians could promote themselves. So, they would fill out a little info about themselves, and then they could use that web address to give out if they don't have a website already. For example after filling out the info for the band "MindSkunk" there would be a webaddress like, "www.mymusicpages.com/MindSkunk.html or .php or .asp? I don't even really care if the address was something like "www.mymusicpages.com/%ses.34.tu88%sdfds.php" or whatever garbeldyguck you sometimes see int the browser, as long as it's got a home on my server somewhere and people can link to it. And I want the users to create the pages, not me. :)

(sorry if this is a newbie question)

Thanks a lot!

Byrned

[engadven]

Online database solutions like Joomla or client side solutions like www.straight2web.net both allow people to enter content into form to populate the website.
Put a copy of joomla in each subdirectories for them or let them ftp to the subdirectories with the client side CMS. Then link to these from your home page. Crude but simple.

[byrned@umich.ed]

Will Joomla create a web page though? Something with it's own unique web address after the user has submitted the form?

thanks so much engadven!

Byrned

[yitzle]

You mean like:
www.site.com/[user selects this]/
? That can be done.
Or like:
www.[user selects this].com/
? Which I'm not sure can be accomplished.

[byrned@umich.ed]

The first example would work fine (www.site.com/[user selects this]/) but how do you do it?

thanks!

Byrned

[engadven]

your [user selects this]
is just another sub-directory name. Put an index.htm page in a sub directory and it becomes a new website on it's own.
I'm not a Joomla expert but there must be CMS solutions that will allow extensions e.g. index.asp?myclient=12 which could do similar and also change the design a little. Or you could possibly stick Joomla in ever subdirectory.
There are loads of ways it could be done and it's just a case of how much time and knowledge you and your users have, and how you want it to work.

[byrned@umich.ed]

Thanks engadven. I think I may not have been clear though. I was looking for a way for users to dynamically create a new page. I don't want to have to spend time adding pages to my directory. I was hoping there was a way that the users could do the work ;) It looks like in Joomla, you need to register the users as "publishers" to allow them to edit and publish content i.e. new pages. Again, that means having to do something myself in order to get the page up... How do MySpace and Blogger do it? It's all scripted isn't it? Nobody's actually setting up the new pages users make, right?

thanks again!

Byrned

[engadven]

They use their own server based parsing engines.
You can look at www.straight2web.net to see how a PC based db to html parsing engine works. This allows users to type content into a database via a form then when they build the site it parses this data via a template into lots of real pages. You get control of all of the little bits of code that make up the final web pages but the user enters their own content.
Blogs wikis are server based version of this db to html parsing technology, only being web based they are expensive bits of kit and I don't think you can buy your own.
You're probably stuck with getting your users to use a blogging host like Wordpress pointed at your ftp or letting them use a PC based parsing engine uploading to your ftp.
Although you'd loose some control this way you can get re-branded versions of straight2web so that it looks like your own product and forces everything to your own site.

[ray326]

I'd consider using a wiki for this. You could have a catalog page the musician would edit to put a reference to his page. Clicking that reference in the saved catalog page would then create the page and put him in the editor for it. Check out Twiki.

http://twiki.org

[byrned@umich.ed]

Thanks guys!

I'll check out twiki? Is it open source, or do you guys know of an good open source wiki?

Byrned

[yaksich]

Hi - have you tried this one yet?
http://www.ravenswoodit.co.uk
Hope that's what you've been looking for.
Cheers