Newbie to forum: Question

Member area blog

[fleetline]

I'm a newbie here, still reading all the forums.

I want to install an internal blog in my member area. Or a image post page with a comment area below it. Someplace members can interact with each other.
Can this be done without a member have to log in twice, since they are already logged in? Or how can this be done.
Is it a good idea to do this..?
Some members have requested it. And it creates 'stickiness' for the site.

Thank you!

[mack]

Welcome to the forums fleetline. This can certainly be done using one login but it depends on what kind of login system you are currently using.

When you have an existing system to manage a members area it is key that you only build or create new "stuff" that will work with your existing system. Are you intending on creating the new upload and comment tools or are you using one that someone else has already built? The latter can cause problems if it was built by a different developer to your existing member's system. Very often people who write scripts will create them with their own login scripts. It can sometimes be a challenge to get a script to interact with a member's system.

What kind of login system do you currently use? This may help us provide you with better answers moving forward.

Mack.

[fleetline]

Hi. Thanks Mack.
I wouldn't be writing the code. I would be using, or buying a script for it.

Can I post a link to my host intro page? It explains what their system is.
Not sure if that is considered spam here.

[fleetline]

My host features:
FreeBSD
NYIIX, LINX, LoNAP, and others
Apache web server
Very light and yet featureful SQL database engine that allows webmaster to create dynamic websites.

PHP is a HTML embedded scripting language that allows webmasters to create complex
database driven dynamic web pages with ease.

[not2easy]

Hi fleetline and welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com]

Sorry, but we don't share our sites here. That welcome link above offers tips on using the forums' features and settings. It explains and links to policies so you aren't left wondering what's OK here. We generally try to avoid discussing specific sites so that discussions are useful to everyone.

If you are interested, we have a Review My Site forum [https://www.webmasterworld.com/review/] in the paid Supporters area [webmasterworld.com...] where members can help with each others' sites. I hope that helps.

[fleetline]

I wasn't sharing my site, Mack asked me what kind of login system I am using.

Mack, it's a username/password to the member area.

[fleetline]

Anyway, thank you for your help Mack.

[mack]

Hi again fleetline. Regarding your member's system. Do you have a folder that requires users to log in to view the content? You can get systems that just protect access to a specific folder. You also get systems that can protect specific areas of a website. If your system is folder based then anything you place within that folder will only be viewable by people with a username and password. The folder protection is generally handled by the web server (.htaccess file based) and unfortunately doesn't provide an easy way to let users register.

What I think you need is a proper membership system that lets users register and store their account information in the database. You then need to have a method of only allowing access to logged-in users to certain aspects of your website such as uploading or commenting. Do you already have such a membership system in place?

Mack.