Flask Blog Application

Overview

This project is a simple blog application built using the Flask framework. It provides functionality for viewing blog posts, as well as an admin dashboard for managing posts, uploading files, and handling user contact forms. The application uses SQLAlchemy for database management and Flask-Mail for sending email notifications.

Features

• Home Page: Displays a paginated list of blog posts.
• Blog Post Page: View the content of a specific blog post.
• About Page: Static page with information about the blog.
• Admin Dashboard: Manage blog posts, including adding, editing, and deleting posts.
• File Upload: Upload files to the server.
• Contact Form: Send messages to the admin via email.
• User Authentication: Secure admin access with a username and password.

Setup and Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• Virtual Environment (recommended)
• SQLite (default, included with Python)
• Flask-Mail Configuration (Gmail account)

Backend Setup

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/flask-blog-app.git
   cd flask-blog-app

2. Create and Activate a Virtual Environment

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use `venv\Scripts\activate`

3. Install Dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Set Up Configuration

   • Open the config.json file and update the following fields with your own information:
     • local_uri: Local database URI (e.g., sqlite:///site.db).
     • prod_uri: Production database URI (optional).
     • upload_location: Path where uploaded files will be stored.
     • gmail-user: Your Gmail username for sending emails.
     • gmail-password: Your Gmail password.
     • admin_user: Admin username for accessing the dashboard.
     • admin_password: Admin password for accessing the dashboard.

5. Run the Application

   python app.py

   The application will run in debug mode and can be accessed at http://127.0.0.1:5000/.

Usage

1. Access the Application

   Open your browser and navigate to http://127.0.0.1:5000.

2. Admin Dashboard

   • Navigate to /dashboard to log in as an admin.
   • Use the credentials specified in config.json.
   • From the dashboard, you can add, edit, or delete blog posts.

3. File Uploads

   • Navigate to /uploader as an admin to upload files. Files will be saved in the directory specified in config.json under upload_location.

4. Contact Form

   • Navigate to /contact to send a message to the admin. The message will be emailed to the admin's Gmail account.

Screenshots

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request if you have any suggestions, bug fixes, or improvements.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.