PDA

View Full Version : What type of web coding?



Russ in Vancouver
05-28-2013, 03:37 AM
Can anyone help me to familiarize myself with what type of coding would be required to build a site that allows users to create their own profile, join the community that offers forum participation, post reviews , posting of images, administrate banners and ads, have automated content in iframes or whatever it is they use nowadays.

The site must be secure and have options for tight management.

Is this CMS joomla?
XML?
Drupal?

nealrm
05-28-2013, 09:22 AM
Joomla or Drupal would work. I don't think that XML would be the best choice. PHP and asp would also be choices. In addition, there are many, many templates that will do exactly what you want. I have seen template for wordpress, php and asp.

Harold Mansfield
05-28-2013, 10:39 AM
Can anyone help me to familiarize myself with what type of coding would be required to build a site that allows users to create their own profile, join the community that offers forum participation, post reviews , posting of images...

What type of coding? Probably a little bit of everything from HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and CSS.
But what you are describing can be done with WordPress, using BuddyPress and BBPress, and a few plug ins with little custom configuration.



have automated content in iframes or whatever it is they use nowadays.

We use RSS feeds now.



The site must be secure and have options for tight management.

WordPress already has a very nice Admin area from which you control the website, and for security you just need a SSL certificate.



administrate banners and ads

There are plenty of ad management plug ins out there.


I'm sure there are simular solutions in Joomla and maybe even Drupal, but I wouldn't recommend either of them to a novice.

Russ in Vancouver
05-29-2013, 03:20 AM
Hey thanks guys,

I have never used wp, is it hard to figure out from the admin seat? How about ease of use for trades type entrepreneurs. Im looking for something where a regular Joe can post a blurb about their biz and post some pics etc. to snaz up their profile page.
I dont have any recent knowledge other than some html, ps cs5 and dreamweaver. Oh!!! typing this just reminded me I have just wasted $50 at lynda lol, I have not been there in ages.

What platform would you say is the least likely to be targeted to hack or spam?

Thanks again

Brian Altenhofel
05-29-2013, 03:55 AM
All of that is very straightforward in Drupal without touching code (with the possibility of the exception being the theme).

Harold Mansfield
05-29-2013, 08:45 AM
I have never used wp, is it hard to figure out from the admin seat? How about ease of use for trades type entrepreneurs. Im looking for something where a regular Joe can post a blurb about their biz and post some pics etc. to snaz up their profile page.

NOTHING, comes out of the box with the options that you need. The site has to be built to do those things.

Yes, WordPress is the easiest out of what is out there, and it is flexible enough to do the things that you are asking for, but you still need to learn how to use it and you need to learn about running your own website. Everything that sounds cool, isn't practical and there's a reason other people don't do it.



I dont have any recent knowledge other than some html, ps cs5 and dreamweaver.
A little HTML and CSS can take you a long way. However you may need help if you need custom functions.



What platform would you say is the least likely to be targeted to hack or spam?

There is no platform that is "least likely". Everything has one vulnerability or another. You have to learn what they are (based on what you are using), and take the appropriate precautions. Even The Department of Defense gets hacked.



All of that is very straightforward in Drupal without touching code (with the possibility of the exception being the theme).

Would you really recommend Drupal to a novice?

Brian Altenhofel
05-29-2013, 12:36 PM
Would you really recommend Drupal to a novice?

Depending on the circumstances and what they are looking for, yes.

Most of what he's asked for is prepackaged (http://drupal.org/project/commons). So he gets 90% or more of the way there with one download, one extraction, and one run of install.php, if I've read his posts correctly.

Now, if there wasn't a distribution available for this use case, then I'd say no unless they were willing to get out a whiteboard and draw out the types of relationships and workflows they need. Once you draw out your relationships and workflows, Drupal becomes relatively easy.

MarketingSolutions
06-26-2013, 12:36 PM
Why not check out VBulletin? It's very good option for what you need it for. If you link it to your main site it will definitely help your seo rank as well. It's also going to A LOT more user friendly for designing/editing/moderating.

Just a thought.

jimr451
06-27-2013, 07:03 AM
Russ,

It sounds like your grasp on the latest technologies is a little rusty. If you are building a serious business, it would be best to hire a technology specialist to set up the site, while you focus on sales and marketing. All of the technologies mentioned routinely release "security and stability" updates which address newly discovered vulnerabilities, or add new features. You'll need to keep on top of these AND make sure all installed plugins / code will work after the upgrade. And despite the ease with which these programs install, if you need changes to the functionality, you could spend hours trying to accomplish seemingly simple changes.

Also despite all of these solutions having "wysiwyg" editors, I've found that to maintain a professsional looking site, you need someone on staff with good design skills to keep the pages looking crisp and consistent.

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I've seen a lot of time wasted (and wasted my share!) on websites over the years - just wanted to give you a few things to consider.

-Jim

ajointventure
01-25-2014, 04:34 PM
Hey Russ

I was in the same boat as you a year ago. It took me a long time to figure out which CMS would work for me. After much anguish, trial and error, and a lot of wasted money I settled with Social Engine. However, success of your site will depend a lot on what you are willing to spend and how much time you are prepared to put into your website. I don't have enough posts to PM yet but if you want to PM or email me, I have a working demo site you can look at. It appears to have most of the features you are looking for. Hope this helps.

Gabe
01-26-2014, 12:09 AM
I agree with Harold, BuddyPress (built on WordPress) is probably your best bet. The hardest thing is choosing a CMS out of the many that are available. At the rate they rise and fall, WordPress is the only one I scan assure you will still be here in 10 years. It's also the most widely supported, so chances are whatever you need already exists for free or for a small fee.

FlyPizzaGuy
01-31-2014, 06:17 PM
If your thinking about running a web forum yourself, I would definitely look into vBulletin. It was built from the ground up and it is very safe. Not free though.

Russ in Vancouver
02-16-2014, 02:00 AM
Hello all I have been away from sbf for a while and it feels good to be back!!
Thank you so much for the detailed information.
Cash poor is a sad thing, but come this Sept both my kids will be in real school and then I can concentrate on more steady work flow. Honestly if I could afford it I would get a pro to build some of my sites but I really like to tinker with my start ups... soon Ill be back on my feet.

billbenson
02-16-2014, 06:35 AM
Best of luck to you and good to see you back.

DennisChang
02-17-2014, 05:40 AM
Hello all I have been away from sbf for a while and it feels good to be back!!
Thank you so much for the detailed information.
Cash poor is a sad thing, but come this Sept both my kids will be in real school and then I can concentrate on more steady work flow. Honestly if I could afford it I would get a pro to build some of my sites but I really like to tinker with my start ups... soon Ill be back on my feet.

So is your website completed?

Russ in Vancouver
02-18-2014, 12:39 PM
Thanks Bill


Hi Dennis, no it is not. lol, I have 140 domain names all with some kind of wacky idea.......