Quickstart a website on App Engine

The Drikatruu Omega3 template is designed to allow you to get a small website with static content hosted on Google App Engine in the shortest time possible. DO3 does not require you to install any libraries not already available in App Engine. All you need is included in the template package.

Is DO3 for you?

Let's turn this around and I tell you why I use App Engine. It's free. It has high availability and I don't need to worry about traffic spikes. I also like that App Engine is maintained by the Google guys and I don't need to worry about upgrading Linux, Apache, PHP and a database. This is particularly nice for little websites which do not need regular changes. So, these are a few pretty good reason to go for App Engine. Now, why DO3? Well, for one, there ain't much else out there that I could find. Sure, there is the Django framework and I am sure that is the way to go if you want to develop a sophisticated database driven site. The price you pay is complexity. Unless you have some prior experience with the architectural pattern called MVC or MTV, as Django likes to call it, you might be in for quite a ride. For very simple 'static' sites it is overkill and I propose you try DO3.

What do you need to get started?

Get a Google App Engine account. Download the Software Development Kit (SDK) for App Engine. Install Python version 2.5. You don't need to know how to program in Python unless you want to add functionality. Download this template. Customize five files as explained in the documentation, which was written to be understood also by people who are not programmers. Upload. Done.

You need to know basic HTML. Cascading style sheets (CSS) are conceptually a great idea and DO3 makes use of them - they allow you to separate content and style. Unfortunately getting the CSS right often takes longer than developing all the content of a site. Here this template shines: you will find the CSS file very well documented and changing colors or the size of a font for example is easy as. Of course, if you want to change the layout or develop different layout options for different pages you will need to dive a little deeper into CSS - as you would have to with any other template. Still, DO3 will give you a head start, because the default style sheet it comes with is easier to understand than any other you have every seen. You don't believe me? Check it out.

Anything else I should know about DO3?

This site is using the DO3 template and you will get this site as you see it now when you download the template and upload as is. Did I mention that the HTML the template engine creates validates?

How can I get help if I get stuck? Good question. I will set up a Google Group and link to it from here once I start getting questions. Until then you will have to drop me a mail at th.natter[at]gmail.com. Consider yourself a pioneer. If you find bugs or ways to improve DO3 without making it more complex I would like to hear from you too.

Now go and check out the documentation!