How do I make a main page without frames

Hi all. Newbie here. I would like to create a main page for a web site. Pretty typical layout: header across the top, button bar down left side, special news down the right side, and main content down middle. All content will be static except middle.

I have been told that frames are a bad thing and I can go along with that. I have also been told that there is a way to generate this in php. I have also been told that there are tricks to doing this well (speed it up when the information that isn't changnig doesn't have to be created each time)

I know this isn't a very well characterized question...not much better than "duh...how do I program a computer" but, that's pretty much where I'm at. I'm looking for a pointer to a good practical tutorial for this type of problem.

You can do that without using frames and just use tables which is basic html..... If I understand your question correctly. You can use software to create that (frontpage, dreamweaver...) or program it manually.

The methods to accomplish this are innumerable. You'll probably want to use some sort of portal system though.

Here is a nice PHP method...

http://www.devarticles.com/c/a/PHP/...dular-Web-Page/

And if you combine this with CSS, it makes a really nice dynamic layout really easy to manipulate and update...

Try this link to see it in action:

http://www.the-drop-ship-guide.com

The menu and header are included from a separate file... so I only have one location to change to update those for all my pages....

Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for!!

Carl