How to Create a Website With a User Login Application
Websites are created and maintained using content management systems. These CMSes provide a clean user interface to create pages, manage user accounts, and modify your site design without having to look "under the hood" at all the code. Many open source (free) CMSes exist, such as Joomla! and WordPress, and one in particular, Drupal, is known for being great at handling community-based sites that require user accounts and a user login form. Using Drupal, creating a website with a user login application is a straightforward and surmountable task.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
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Steps
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1
Register a domain name and get a hosting plan that includes at least one MySQL database. Reputable hosting companies include BlueHost and QualityHostOnline (see Resources.)
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2
Login to your website's control panel provided by your web host. Locate the "databases" or "MySQL" section and select the option to create a new database. Make note of the database's name, username, and password.
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3
Download and unzip the latest version of Drupal (see Resources.)
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4
Open the Drupal folder, open the "sites" folder, and then open the "default" folder. Change the name of "default.settings.php" to "settings.php".
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5
Upload everything in the main Drupal folder to the public root folder of your website, keeping the folder hierarchy intact.
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6
Open your web browser and navigate to your website. The Drupal installation screen should appear. Follow the directions, inputting the name, username, and password of your MySQL database when prompted. If you get stuck, consult the Drupal installation documentation (see Resources.)
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7
Navigate to your website again. A list of administrative options should now appear. In the sidebar, select "Administer". In the screen that appears, under the "Site Building" heading, select "Blocks."
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8
Examine the list of "blocks" that appear. Blocks provide functionality on your site's sidebars and footers and are sometimes called widgets. One such block is called "User login" and provides the user login application that you need. By default, it will appear in the left sidebar; click and drag it to place it anywhere you want, and select "configure" to configure its options.
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9
Select "User management" in the sidebar. In this section, you can create rules for who can register for your site, and how much content registered users can access versus non-registered users and site administrators.
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10
Select "Site Building" in the sidebar. From here, your basic functionality exists; you've created a website with a user login application. Now it's up to you to actually build the site to your liking using Drupal's tools. In the Site Building section, you can add menus, modules, and designs for your site. To actually create written content and pages for your site, select the "Create Content" option in the sidebar.
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