html and css in mysql

I am having trouble designing a solution to a complex problem. I am building a site that creates html templates including both the css files and html files. Users will be able to create multiple templates/sites.

In an attempt to create a normalized database I have a user table (id, name, email, password, etc.), a site list table (user_id, site_id, site_name, description), and the rest I am having trouble figuring out.

I am trying to develop a way to break down both the html files and css files into a database that can be used to reproduce the designed template. Constant editing and adding to the database will take place when creating/editing a template. Basically, an extremely simplified dreamweaver. Flat files may be an option as wel开发者_开发知识库l.

Any input or suggestions on how to go about such site would be greatly appreciated such as how to break down the html and css into mysql tables/records. Im not so much looking for code, but the fundamental concepts/workings of such a site. Thanks in advance.

First of all, are you sure you even want to store that content in the database? That's going to place a heavy burden on your servers over generating them as files onto the filesystem inside the DocumentRoot and directly servable by the web server. I can see storing the configuration options (color choices, image names, etc) in the database, but not the files themselves.

Can these websites have any content the customer wants, or are they variations on a theme? If it's the former, then you really can't automate it much. You can store the content in a database instead of a file, but it won't really be advantageous.

Your best bet, I think, is to look how CMS programs like WordPress/Joomla break up a page into separate include files (header, footer, left menus, right menus, etc) and use that as a model. The customer picks a template, and each template has defined sections that can be laid out separately with different content.

You could store the templates in text files then store settings (such as CSS attributes or images they may want) in the database. That way, you just load the template with the applied settings.