HELP! i'm trying to add a blog feed to a website...

minkidesign

New Member
I am a fairly new web designer with only two and a half sites under my belt and I'm desperately trying to add a blog feed to my website, but to no avail.

I initially thought about using an iframe, however all i really want is the feed, not the whole page. I'm also trying to enter the information in a design frame - to show what I'm TRYING to explain I've put the page link below:

http://www.andreadonovan.com/news.html

I literally have been pulling my hair out so ANY help would be so welcome. Also must mention I'm adding a blogger blog (I know you can adjust the ftp settings on the preferences there, but I presume that's to show the whole page in your site, not just the feed?) Oh and I'm designing with Dreamweaver. Think that covers it.

I've actually been trying to teach myself web design so my knowledge and jargon is limited and you'll have to bear with me.

Thanks so much in advance everyone.

Blondie
 
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Hi Blondie.... Did you have any luck in the end? I see you're using the iFrame solution.

to embed a feed into your page or pull it in from an external source, you will need to change your page to a php rather than an HTML. This will allow you to do some server side processing - pulling the data in and dishing it out. Let me know if you still need help or if you're happy with your solution. Not saying I'll be able to get you doing what you need, but I'll try ;)
 
hi doug - i ended up just linking to the blog page as i couldn't work it out! i am however working on another site now where i need to enter the blog feed - if you could let me know what i have to do i would be eternally grateful!

i know it's something to do with getting the rss feed from the blog and that's about where my knowledge stops!
also i'm not using blogger for this - i'm using something called vox blog?

thanks for responding :icon_cheers:

blondie
 
OK, no problem , I'll check it out and get back to you ASAP.

Just in the meantime, have you considered an installation of WordPress on your server to cater for the blog and your static pages? Since you're creating a new site, it may be a good time to look into it.

/Doug
 
Well unfortunately both blogs that I have worked with are blogs already owned by the clients so I couldn't use wordpress. If I create another from scratch I will use it definitely!

The website I'm adding the blog to is:

If You Dare

although I will say now that it is a work in progress!

thanks :)
 
i've just been told that i can set up another blog if it's easier - would you recommend wordpress and then i can just change the template to match the site?
 
Hi :) Sorry I couldn't get back to you over the weeked.

In that case, I would highly recommend WordPress, yes!

It allows you to keep everything managed on your own server, handles pages as well as the blog and has a very user friendly back-end interface. It also has a wealth of plug-ins available to make your life easier :)

Happy to help if you need it...

/Doug
 
Do i need to download it? i've created an account online, but i'm not too sure where my next step would take me. i was going to change the template, however it doesn't seem as straightforward as the previous blog i changed. i could kind of understand the CSS on the other but this seems a little more complex!

Would I be better just to get the blog feed and insert it into my premade page?

SORRY - I warned you I was a little blonde when it came to this :)
 
Don't worry, when you call yourself blondie, it's to be expected :p

WordPress.org will let you download the package. However, you will need to be able to create a database and install the package on your/their server. Alternatives are using wordpress.com, which will host the site for you and cut out any complex installations, or some hosts (including myself) provide tools to automatically install the software onto your server via a control panel. Now, I'm not sure what level your at... so I'll leave that there until you respond...

The templates/themes that are available vary in complexity and ease of customisation. As anyone can build one, they come from a variety of sources and this means there is no 'standard' as such.

Would I be better just to get the blog feed and insert it into my premade page?

Would it be better? No. Easier? Yes :)

Let me know where you stand and I can help you with how you'd like to proceed with links to tutorials or helpful code snippets!

/Doug
 
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hmmm, easier sounds good :)

to be honest, im not sure how to change the template - i've had a look and it doesn't make a HUGE amount of sense to me. I think it may be a little out of my comfort zone. not sure if you had a chance to look at the site i'm putting it onto, but you can see i've pretty much created it all in photoshop so i've probably made things even more difficult for myself.

here's the website to show what i'm talking about:

If You Dare

if you could give me any pointers adding the feed to a ready made page that would be fantastic! :)

living up to my hair description as ever...
 
Sorry for delay - Yup, had a look before :)

Well, if you're not looking at using wordpress, you can either use an iframe like you have previously, or you can use server side processing to get it dynamically entered into the page using PHP.

First though, do you know if the server you're using supports PHP?

(if you decide to look further into wordpress, I'm always willing to help - and wordpress.tv is a great resource for tutorial videos)
 
well i've signed up to an online wordpress account - does that count?

not sure if the server supports PHP, for this site they signed up with freeola - not one i'm particularly familiar with to be honest.

so with that in mind, i'm really open to either option of changing the template or adding feed. whichever is going to take less explaining i guess so you don't have to put up with all my questions!

thanks doug, you've been so helpful so far!
 
Righty, after a little look around, I've found these instructions on how to embed an RSS feed on an HTML page. Not knowing if you can use PHP and not wanting to host the blog on the same server, this may be your only hope. This is assuming there is an RSS feed on a Vox blog?

... though I've not used the solution before, so that's as far as I can help with I'm afraid -sorry.

If you want help in the WordPress direction, I that's something I can do... but to know if a WordPress installation is possible on the server, you will have to ask freeola or find out what package they are one and whether it supports it.

As you have a wordpress.com account, you could consider simply hosting the site there? Not sure how the .com site handles templates though, sorry.

/Doug
 
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