Jump to content

Advice needed on new web site


Steve Burke

Recommended Posts

oh btw, if in the future you decide to do a big overhaul think about a content management system such as "cms made simple"

 

The advantage here is that you will never be limited in what you can do or add. The only limitation is the hosting (how much space you have) and your database.

 

So long as you have access to FTP and a database (mysql) you don't have to rely on webstal to make changes and you can get anyone with a basic understanding of adding and installing programs on a website.

 

cms made simple is free and has user created 3rd party modules (think plugins)

 

coding knowledge isnt required to add modules to the cms but can help in some circumstances. a full tutorial on how to add these things are always available.

 

There is an eCommerce module for cms made simple that was created by another user and is not included as a standard module in cms made simple. But I reckon after the initial installation of cms made simple you would be able to figure this out for yourself quite easily.

 

if you dont want to do the checkout thing you can still benefit from the ecommerce module for adding, editing and removing products easily, just remove the checkout part of it.

Owner of Tacklesack.co.uk


Moderator at The-Pikers-Pit.co.uk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just having a look through the site and looking at the page source and at a guess the pages are simply static HTML, with the updates that are done via a form according to webstall which is simply editing text and storing a new page version on the server. The prices are written in as text and not differentiated from the surrounding content in any way. Indeed most of the page "layout" is simply done with line breaks <BR>. Some of the functionality appears to be from lotus notes files!

 

I doubt that anything other than a custom site from webstall (PHD Interactive Ltd) will allow you to stay with the current provider. Given that all their sites appear to be developed using a similar framework it may be more effective to look elsewhere.

 

There does not appear to be a great deal of complexity involved.

 

To allow for future expansion and to allow very easy maintenance I would strongly advise a new site, the look can be based on what you currently have, but the "content" "styling" and "functionality" should be separated.

 

Content stored in a database, CSS/HTML5 for styling and functionality using php/jscript

 

Correctly designed that is going to make you life far easier and ensure that any future changes can be made easily.

 

Updates would still be able to be made via a simple form interface.

Nick

 

 

...life

what's it all about...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe Webstall don't allow us to manually edit the files willy nilly.

 

We'll be deciding next month how we're going to expand, so almost certainly we'll be having a new web site then anyway.

What is it that you have to do in order to get your updated prices showing on the site then? Just trying to understand the mechanism to see if there's a more efficient way of doing what you currently do - though obviously if you are moving to a better system soon there is no need.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is it that you have to do in order to get your updated prices showing on the site then? Just trying to understand the mechanism to see if there's a more efficient way of doing what you currently do - though obviously if you are moving to a better system soon there is no need.

Calculate each price then type it in manually. Then onto the next price etc. The automatic constant facility on the calculator helps, but at present it still takes a couple of hours on both sites. I say both sites as the maximum pages on each Webstall site is 15 and we well over that already.

Wingham Specimen Coarse & Carp Syndicates www.winghamfisheries.co.uk Beautiful, peaceful, little fished gravel pit syndicates in Kent with very big fish. 2017 Forum Fish-In Sat May 6 to Mon May 8. Articles http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/steveburke.htm Index of all my articles on Angler's Net

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It definitely seems that now is the time to move away from Webstall.

 

However we've a number of questions.

 

1) Unfortunately we know nothing about how to construct a web site and would prefer to pay someone to make it for us rather than learn how to do so. There seems to be a huge variation in the prices I've seen though. Do you get a better product for paying more? Our needs seem relatively simple.

 

2) One very important point is that whoever we employ has got to talk English to us rather than "computerese".

 

We also need a site where it's very easy to enter the words and pictures, and to move them around. We've learnt a few very basic HTML commands that we're happy with, but can a site likes ours be set up to be more flexible than Webstall's but just as simple?

 

3) It's also important that we stay near the top of search engine rankings. It's no point having an all-singing, all-dancing site if nobody finds it. Should we be thinking of employing someone separate for this?

 

4) Am I right in thinking that the site can be hosted anywhere, not needing to be with whoever designs the site?

 

5) Certainly there's likely to be tweaking when the site first goes into action. But what about maintenance, in case anything goes wrong later? Any comments here, guys?

 

Sorry for what may seem simple questions to those in the know, but to us it's all new.

Wingham Specimen Coarse & Carp Syndicates www.winghamfisheries.co.uk Beautiful, peaceful, little fished gravel pit syndicates in Kent with very big fish. 2017 Forum Fish-In Sat May 6 to Mon May 8. Articles http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/steveburke.htm Index of all my articles on Angler's Net

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Steve Burke, on 15 Aug 2013 - 18:01, said:

It definitely seems that now is the time to move away from Webstall.

 

However we've a number of questions.

 

1) Unfortunately we know nothing about how to construct a web site and would prefer to pay someone to make it for us rather than learn how to do so. There seems to be a huge variation in the prices I've seen though. Do you get a better product for paying more? Our needs seem relatively simple.

 

How long is a piece of string - Your needs are relatively straight forward, but all developers will have different views as to how to approach the task and what the exact needs are. You do not necessarily get a better product by paying more, just different.

 

2) One very important point is that whoever we employ has got to talk English to us rather than "computerese".

 

We also need a site where it's very easy to enter the words and pictures, and to move them around. We've learnt a few very basic HTML commands that we're happy with, but can a site likes ours be set up to be more flexible than Webstall's but just as simple?

 

Any decent development company should do just that - if not walk away.

 

Definitely

 

 

3) It's also important that we stay near the top of search engine rankings. It's no point having an all-singing, all-dancing site if nobody finds it. Should we be thinking of employing someone separate for this?

 

 

It's not rocket science despite what some say, again decent development companies should be able to assist with that, and there is much you can do yourself (non-technical stuff)

 

 

4) Am I right in thinking that the site can be hosted anywhere, not needing to be with whoever designs the site?

 

 

Yes, and I tend to think it is better to have seperate developersand hosts.

 

 

 

5) Certainly there's likely to be tweaking when the site first goes into action. But what about maintenance, in case anything goes wrong later? Any comments here, guys?

 

 

A properly developed site should be very easy to maintain and tweak, and should also be straight forward for someone else to work on if required.

 

 

Sorry for what may seem simple questions to those in the know, but to us it's all new.

 

I would advise not going down the route of an off the shelf CMS as advised by (I think) Andy as the security exploits for those are generally well known and makes life far easier for anyone with malicious intent.

 

I will have a good think about your best approach Steve and see if I can give you a better steer.

Edited by nick

Nick

 

 

...life

what's it all about...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

would advise not going down the route of an off the shelf CMS as advised by (I think) Andy as the security exploits for those are generally well known and makes life far easier for anyone with malicious intent.

 

I will have a good think about your best approach Steve and see if I can give you a better steer.

 

And alas a system that's not off the shelf will cost a hell of a lot more and will not guarantee security and will most likely not be as advanced or as user friendly as the offthe shelf ones that have hundreds of thousands of users banging out modules, plugins, templates and security fixes.

 

Another problem with bespoke content management systems will be that you wont be able to host it elsewhere as these companies want to keep the coding to themself so again steve will be tethered to the company unable to make changes or take the cms with him to another host.

 

CMS made simple is a great system and now comes with an update notifier/installer. the team is very active as is the community.

 

I wouldn't recommend it if I thought there would be problems.

Owner of Tacklesack.co.uk


Moderator at The-Pikers-Pit.co.uk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But Andy, Steve's needs are relatively straight forward, by writing custom code it can be kept simple, lightweight and avoid many of the vulnerabilities associated with off the shelf systems. The very fact of the amount of extra code available is one of the reasons that it is overkill for what Steve needs.

 

Yes, there is no such thing as a totally secure system, however the more widespread the use of a particular system is the more attacks may be made against the system.

 

It is rather analogous to the situation with viruses when they were a massive problem. Nearly every virus targeted windows OS's simply because there were many more people using them than any MAC, 'nix or other OS.

 

Well written custom code is very portable, and most certainly does not have to be tied to the developers hosting - many of the best developers do not offer hosting!

 

And no, of course I don't think you would make any suggestion that you believed to be insecure, or have other problems. Just offering my thoughts.

Nick

 

 

...life

what's it all about...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.