Replicate Your WebSite

I got a telephone call the other day. She asked, "How much would you charge for a web site replicator? Just something simple, something my associates can use to create their own web page."

I had to think about it for a moment. Providing an estimate requires that I have some concept of how much programming time the project will require.

Then I realized we already have a software title that can do the job, Master Form V4, one of our best-selling titles.

So I said, "How does $79 sound?"

Turns out she already owns a license to Master Form V4. So I said I would write an article about how to use it as a web site replicator.

Master Form V4 is, of course, much more than a web site replicator. It may well be one of the most versatile web page form handlers available on the Internet. It's method of customizing database file names is what lets it be used as a web site replicator.

These instructions are for replicating a one-page site.

Multiple web page sites can be replicated by having templates for each web page and specifying the file names in the applicable hidden fields.(One of the ready-to-use examples included with Master Form V4 is a 3-Page (complete with contact page/form) Site Replication Form.)

Use these steps as a guide.

Step One

Create a web page like those that will be replicated. Use representative content for the places on the web page that your clients will specify what to publish. This will be your web page template.

Step Two

Create a form that will collect the content that will be published in the replicated web page.

(When the form is submitted, Master Form V4 will make a copy of the web page template, replace sections with information provided by the form, and then write the resulting web page to a file.)

Step Three

In your web page template, find all the content that will be replaced with information provided by the form. Each of those content spots needs to be replaced with a placeholder. Theplaceholder marks the spot where information provided by the form will be inserted.

Placeholders are form field names with double square brackets on each end. These are replaced with information provided via form fields with the same names.

For example, lets assume you have a form field name="url", and you want the URL provided on the form to be published on the replicated web page.

To do that, put the [[url]] placeholder into the web page template where you want that information to be inserted.

Where the form field name matches the placeholder name is where Master Form V4 will insert the content provided by that form field.

Step Four

At the top of your web page template, put this:

**OVERWRITE_FILE**

That will tell Master Form V4 to overwrite the file it creates with the template.

Step Five

Create a directory on your server to upload the web page template into, and upload it. An appropriate place might be a subdirectory of where Master Form V4 is installed.

Step Five

Put the location of the web page template into the form's hidden field name="filetemplate" value.

Step Six

Create a directory where the replicated web pages will be published in. When you first create the directory, your FTP program will probably give it 755 permissions.

If no web pages are published in that directory when you do your testing, and you're certain the directory paths are correctly specified in the hidden form fields, then try permissions 766 and 777, in that order.

Step Seven

Put the location where the replicated web pages will be published into the form's hidden field name="dbfile" value.

The location you specify in that hidden field must contain a file name. This web page file name can be customized on-the-fly, which lets the program be used as a web site replicator.

Customize web page file names by using information provided on the form as part of the file name itself. This is done by using placeholders like in the web page template.

For example, if you'll be using the client's first name and last name as a portion of the file name, then the file name section of the hidden field name="dbfile" value might be

[[FirstName]]_[[LastName]].html

If the first name is William and the last name is Bontrager, then the file name would be

William_Bontrager.html

Step Eight

Upload the form to your server.

Put the form's URL into your browser and test to make sure it works okay.

You are now ready for business.

This method of replicating a website is popular for small businesses who need a low-cost and reliable replication feature.

William Bontrager, programmer
The Master Series CGI Software