Files, folders and customization
PHP Bid is written in plain, readable PHP without a framework, so a web developer can change any part of it. This chapter shows where everything lives.
The main folders
| Folder / file | Content |
|---|---|
config.php | Database details, domain, security salt and debug mode. |
index.php | The entry point of the website. Every page of the front end goes through it. |
extensions/ | The pages of the website: home.php, auctions.php (search), auction.php (auction page), categories.php, sell.php, login.php, register.php, news.php (blog), faq.php, contact.php, seller.php (seller profile). Files ending in _tag.php are small widgets used inside the templates. |
templates/ | The 8 website templates (Modern, Atelier, Bazaar, Boutique, Gallery, Heritage, Midnight, Pulse). Each has its HTML layout, CSS and JavaScript. |
USERS/ | The members area: buying (bids/), selling (selling/), messages, billing, profile. |
ADMIN/ | The admin panel, one sub-folder per menu (auctions/, sales/, members/, site_management/, settings/, user_groups/). |
include/ | The core classes: Auction.class.php (search, bidding, sales), Payments.class.php (invoices, Stripe, PayPal), Offers, Messages, CategoryFields, CsvImport, AIClient, the AJAX handlers and cron.php. |
languages/ | The texts of the website and the members area, one file per language (en.php, es.php...). The texts of the admin panel are in ADMIN/en.php. |
uploaded_images/, thumbnails/ | Uploaded photos and their small versions. Must be writable. |
database/ | install.sql for a new installation. Do not leave SQL files on the live server longer than needed (the included .htaccess blocks them anyway). |
Changing the design without code
Most design changes need no programming: choose another template, change the colours, upload a logo and a hero image, and edit any text of the interface in Website › Interface Texts. See Templates, logo and interface texts.
Changing the HTML of a template
In Website › Templates each template has an Edit HTML button that opens its layout in a code editor. Place tags such as the menu, the language switcher or an advertisement zone where you want them. Make a copy of the template folder before big changes, so you can always go back.
Adding your own page types
A page in Website › Pages can show normal text, or it can be linked to a PHP file of the extensions folder. A developer can add a new PHP file there (for example a "Consign with us" form) and connect it to a page without touching the core.