PHP Blog Website

A complete blog website with user registration, authentication for blog management. Built with PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Features

• User Registration & Authentication

  • Secure password hashing
  • User login/logout functionality
  • Session management

• Blog Management (CRUD Operations)

  • Create new blog posts
  • Edit existing blogs
  • Delete blogs
  • View all blogs

• User Roles

  • Authors can manage their own blogs
  • Public users can view published blogs
  • Draft and published status for blogs

Setup Instructions for XAMPP

Prerequisites

• XAMPP installed on your system

Installation Steps

1. Copy Project Files

   • Copy the php-blog-website folder to your XAMPP htdocs directory
   • Path: C:\xampp\htdocs\ (Windows) or /Applications/XAMPP/htdocs/ (Mac)

2. Start XAMPP Services

   • Open XAMPP Control Panel
   • Start Apache server
   • Start MySQL server

3. Create Database

   • Open your browser and go to: http://localhost/phpmyadmin
   • Click on "Import" tab
   • Click "Choose File" and select the database.sql file from the project folder
   • Click "Go" to import the database

   OR manually create:

   • Click "New" in phpMyAdmin
   • Create database named: blog_website
   • Go to SQL tab and paste the contents of database.sql file
   • Click "Go"

4. Configure Database Connection (Optional - already configured for XAMPP defaults)

   • Open includes/config.php
   • Verify these settings match your XAMPP MySQL configuration:

     define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
     define('DB_USER', 'root');
     define('DB_PASS', '');  // Empty for default XAMPP
     define('DB_NAME', 'blog_website');

5. Set Permissions

   • Ensure the uploads folder has write permissions
   • Windows: Right-click folder → Properties → Security → Edit → Add write permissions
   • Mac/Linux: chmod 755 uploads

6. Access the Website

   • Open your browser
   • Go to: http://localhost/php-blog-website/

Project Structure

php-blog-website/
│
├── includes/
│   ├── config.php          # Database configuration
│   └── auth.php            # Authentication functions
│
├── css/
│   └── style.css           # Stylesheet
│
├── js/
│   └── script.js           # JavaScript functionality
│
├── uploads/                # Directory for uploaded images
│
├── database.sql            # Database schema
├── index.php              # Homepage (view all published blogs)
├── register.php           # User registration
├── login.php              # User login
├── logout.php             # User logout
├── dashboard.php          # User dashboard (view own blogs)
├── create_blog.php        # Create new blog
├── edit_blog.php          # Edit existing blog
├── delete_blog.php        # Delete blog
├── view_blog.php          # View single blog
└── README.md              # This file

Database Schema

Users Table

• id - Primary key
• username - Unique username
• email - Unique email address
• password - Hashed password
• full_name - User's full name
• bio - User biography (optional)
• created_at - Registration timestamp

Blogs Table

• id - Primary key
• user_id - Foreign key to users table
• title - Blog title
• content - Blog content
• image - Path to featured image
• status - draft or published
• created_at - Creation timestamp
• updated_at - Last update timestamp

Usage Guide

For Users/Authors:

1. Register an Account

   • Go to the registration page
   • Fill in username, email, full name, and password
   • Optionally add a bio
   • Click "Register"

2. Login

   • Use your username or email
   • Enter your password
   • Click "Login"

3. Create a Blog

   • After login, click "New Blog" or go to Dashboard
   • Fill in blog title and content
   • Optionally upload a featured image
   • Choose status (Draft or Published)
   • Click "Create Blog"

4. Edit a Blog

   • Go to your Dashboard
   • Click "Edit" on any blog
   • Make your changes
   • Click "Update Blog"

5. Delete a Blog

   • Go to your Dashboard
   • Click "Delete" on any blog
   • Confirm deletion

For Visitors:

1. View Blogs
   • Visit the homepage to see all published blogs
   • Click "Read More" to view full blog content

Security Features

• Password hashing using PHP's password_hash() function
• SQL injection prevention using prepared statements
• XSS protection with htmlspecialchars()
• Session management for authentication
• File upload validation (type and size)
• User authorization checks (users can only edit/delete their own blogs)

Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

1. "Connection failed" error

   • Make sure MySQL is running in XAMPP
   • Verify database credentials in includes/config.php
   • Ensure database blog_website exists

2. Images not uploading

   • Check that uploads folder exists
   • Verify folder has write permissions
   • Ensure image file size is under 5MB

3. "Page not found" error

   • Ensure Apache is running in XAMPP
   • Verify the project folder is in htdocs
   • Check the URL: http://localhost/php-blog-website/

4. Session errors

   • Clear browser cookies and cache
   • Restart Apache server in XAMPP

Technologies Used

• Backend: PHP
• Database: MySQL
• Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Server: Apache Server (via XAMPP)

License

This project is open-source and available for educational purposes.

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