I'm trying to make a layout for my website for the areas that aren't occupied by Wordpress, and I want to use PHP includes to do it.

So far, I know how to use <?php include ... ?> tags, like this:



This is okay, but I want to be able to include everything in one "container" file. Kind of like this:

For every HTML file that I include:


This is so that the HTML files I originally made stay HTML files except for the PHP sidebar I add, and I won't need any permalinks.

How would I go about doing this?

In order to have your 'html' pages parsed as PHP, you will need to create an .htaccess file and change the list of file extensions which should be parsed as php.
This is done by adding the htm and html file extensions to the php application handler.

There have been several Tutorials about how to do this. Here is one of them that is quite well explained.

http://www.trap17.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=46392

Sorry, I misphrased myself. I meant, I want my HTML files to stay the way they were, except for being renamed to PHP and having the sidebar added in as a "header".

I don't really feel like editing the .htaccess file.

If you want a 'common' snippet of php code added into all of your site pages, the system needs to know that the php is in there and that it needs to send the file to the php parser.

Two ways to do that:

1. rename the files with a php extension. ( you don't want to do that)
2. Add the above to your htaccess file. (you will need to do this)

Without the file extension, or the application/type redirect in your .Htaccess file, the php code will be treated as text and display on your page as raw code, possibly displaying stuff you don't want public, like Database Information.

You need to do one or the other.

Well, actually I do want to rename the files. I just want to know how I can build the site AROUND the pure code that exists as my HTML page. I just don't want to have to put the "table" stuff in every page, and would rather have all the table containers and stuff in one php file that I can put a <?php include "frame.php" ?> for in the page. That's my only problem.

Are you basically saying you want a "header", a "footer" and a "content" file to be included all in one page as to act as a template to use as your main structure for your site? I'm having a bit of trouble understanding you, too.

The easiest way would be to have the content already inside the frame you are trying to include. if it is called content.php....

on the content.php page you can simply echo an iframe, and in the iframe use <?php include("page1.html") ?> or something of the sort. that way, once loaded, the content is already in the middle iframe. You can simple target iframes to change the content in the middle through links

You can also perform PRINT or ECHO to spit out HTML codes, such that:



You don't have to do any modification to your code and simply save this page as filen_name.php
Notice the usage of single quote verses double quote.

Well, sort of. I want to be able to include the frame in one file, and reference it as a "header" file in the page content.

To [John], I don't want to use iframes, because that would defeat the purpose of using PHP for it.

I want to be able to include a top bar and a sidebar inside the include frame. Currently, the page layout I want looks like this: