I am at the point where I need to think about how to deal with templates and layouts. First off the rank is getting my main layout templates included into multiple html files. What is the best way of doing this?
There are various ways to do this.You could use a CMS (of which there are many) or you could use simple PHP, as described here: http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?832399-PHP-include-menu-amp-class-active-CSS&p=5066262&viewfull=1#post5066262 .