System to generate websites with "one click"

[chuckcintron]

Newbie question.

I want to learn how to build a system that generates websites for my clients. For example:

1. User registers and signs on to a secure session.

2. User picks a base design template (which is really the same HTML static pages, but varying CSS files depending on which template he selects).

3. User clicks "go" and my code instantiates the file structure, subdomain pointer and email accounts.

4. After DNS propagation, he can surf directly to www. foo.com (or foo.parentsite.com) and see the result of his efforts.

For step #3 should I be learning how to use the cPanel APIs to get that done? Am I at least even a little bit on the right track, or am I staring into an abyss?

Thanks...

[morissette]

All things are possible with the power of Perl.

1. => WHMCS
2. => Custom Module for WHMCS
3. => Hook for wwwacct that takes arguments for template.

[chuckcintron]

Thanks...I was hoping for something that didn't require root access...but maybe what I am imagining is not possible without it.

So given an existing cPanel instance there is no way to create subdomains via a PHP call to an API?

I don't want to create new hosting accounts...just new subdomains under an existing account, then populate the directory structure under public_html from a source template directory.

[brianoz]

I would have thought you could do this with a reseller account. WHMCS can use a reseller account so you should be able to craft something together as a non-root user.