Ordering system for my computer business site... What do you reccomend?

[aphex]

I finally have the time to get the ordering system for my website in place...

What way do you reccomend i do it? I want to have the ability to customize parts and have the price change in respect to the items they choose....(i.e. Dell/Gateway)

 

[amdskip]

Don't you have to use java or something to get it to work?

 

[Rallispec]

Dell, definetly.





edit. inserted gratutitous wink type smiley.

 

[Viper GTS]

<< Dell, definetly. >>



Did you actually read the post?

Viper GTS

 

[amdskip]

he wants to program his site similar to dell's ordering system

 

[aphex]

<<

<< Dell, definetly. >>



Did you actually read the post?

Viper GTS >>



Hahaha.. That actually made me laugh out loud...

I want something with an easy learning curve as well... I know html, but beyond that i would need to teach myself (im a quick learner though with computer related things)

 

[Chooco]

you mean what do we recommend for the puter/internet or do you mean the layout? let me answer my own questions so i don't have to post while i'm eating my eggs.

1. simple computer with WinXP Pro or Win2k will do, 1ghz Duron would be plenty fast, don't need Linux because it won't be THAT high load of a website (unless you are very quaint with Linux yourself)
2. just a plain 512kb and faster upload speed DSL connection will do fine
3. have a layout similar to this site HERE in terms of seeing price listing (but more organized), notice how the labels like 'CPU' and 'RAM' are very easily noticable at the top *throw in a picture that say RAM to make it pretty*. pricing/buying have it like DELL but in that it tells you the full prices of the components instead of just being +$100 or whatever. pull down menus to select the components are always cool

 

[aphex]

<< you mean what do we recommend for the puter/internet or do you mean the layout? >>



Sorry, neither

I mean more along the language used to set it up... Php, mysql, html, i dunno..... Stuff like that

 

[aphex]

nudge.

 

[Rallispec]

<<

<< Dell, definetly. >>



Did you actually read the post?

Viper GTS >>




yep, i read it. "What way do you reccomend i do it? " he wants to know how to set up his ordering page on his website. I understood it completely. Unfortunetly i couldnt offer any help becuase I dont really know enough about that to be helpful.

so instead i thought i'd insert a little bit of humor and see if i could get a laugh out of somebody. Its nearly 2am, i'm tired, and its been a long day. Being like this is what gets me through my day.

 

[Viper GTS]

<<

<<

<< Dell, definetly. >>



Did you actually read the post?

Viper GTS >>




yep, i read it. "What way do you reccomend i do it? " he wants to know how to set up his ordering page on his website. I understood it completely. Unfortunetly i couldnt offer any help becuase I dont really know enough about that to be helpful.

so instead i thought i'd insert a little bit of humor and see if i could get a laugh out of somebody. Its nearly 2am, i'm tired, and its been a long day. Being like this is what gets me through my day. >>



Nice save there.



Viper GTS

 

[notfred]

I could write one in perl/cgi, but you probably dont want that cause CGI isn't trendy at the moment, you want PHP or AS cause they're easier to writ.... I mean "better"

Anyway, It'd be expensive and take a long time, so you probably don't want me to write one anyway

 

[Chooco]

let me explain what each of them DOES so that you get an idea incase you don't know what they actually do:
HTML - just a basic website, we got information posted and you want that information, simply read it
DHTML - like HTML but will have special effects when you do certain things such as put the mouse over a certain spot and something will pop up, very useful in cases of explanation such as if you hold the mouse button over the 'RAM' picture it will pop up "RAM is where information is stored while a process is being used, RAM is faster than a hard drive so a shortage of RAM will greatly slow down speed"
Perl - setup parameters, declarations and such. perl is useful for areas where you have to login or if the website is subject to change based on who is viewing it.
PHP - like Perl mixed with HTML, PHP, just like Perl, can integrate into databases to store information given to the site such as an answer to a poll or forums. PHP, like Perl, can also be used in times where the person viewing determines what it displayed.
SQL - databases! you won't need a database unless you expect feedback in some way be it a forum or if you have a large libarary of information a viewer can access. when you put in a search at google, it searched through database of whether it has anything related to what you are asking for......to integrate with SQL you either run Perl or PHP
Java - Java is integrated into HTML or DHTML and is programmed to do a specific thing such as search an external source's database to see if they have what you are looking for. those 'google search' things on non google websites are run by Java.

the big question is, are you making it for them to simply read and lookup the information or are you expecting them to give feedback in some way? i think a plain old HTML page with Java would do quite nicely, no need for PHP or Perl since it wouldn't really relly on anything as to what it seen on the site, no need for SQL since it would just be a small directory where they can easily look for what they want within the page.

 

[Beau]

<< I mean more along the language used to set it up... Php, mysql, html, i dunno..... Stuff like that >>



Are you familiar with any language, or are you just starting?

 

[joohang]

ASP.NET, of course.

 

[Rallispec]

<<
Nice save there.

Viper GTS
>>





thanks.

 

[aphex]

<< let me explain what each of them DOES so that you get an idea incase you don't know what they actually do:
HTML - just a basic website, we got information posted and you want that information, simply read it
DHTML - like HTML but will have special effects when you do certain things such as put the mouse over a certain spot and something will pop up, very useful in cases of explanation such as if you hold the mouse button over the 'RAM' picture it will pop up "RAM is where information is stored while a process is being used, RAM is faster than a hard drive so a shortage of RAM will greatly slow down speed"
Perl - setup parameters, declarations and such. perl is useful for areas where you have to login or if the website is subject to change based on who is viewing it.
PHP - like Perl mixed with HTML, PHP, just like Perl, can integrate into databases to store information given to the site such as an answer to a poll or forums. PHP, like Perl, can also be used in times where the person viewing determines what it displayed.
SQL - databases! you won't need a database unless you expect feedback in some way be it a forum or if you have a large libarary of information a viewer can access. when you put in a search at google, it searched through database of whether it has anything related to what you are asking for......to integrate with SQL you either run Perl or PHP
Java - Java is integrated into HTML or DHTML and is programmed to do a specific thing such as search an external source's database to see if they have what you are looking for. those 'google search' things on non google websites are run by Java.

the big question is, are you making it for them to simply read and lookup the information or are you expecting them to give feedback in some way? i think a plain old HTML page with Java would do quite nicely, no need for PHP or Perl since it wouldn't really relly on anything as to what it seen on the site, no need for SQL since it would just be a small directory where they can easily look for what they want within the page. >>



Wow, very informative, thank you...

Basically i want something simular to what dell & gateway have for ordering systems... Like basic options to begin with, then drop down (or radio buttons) people select to add things to the computer. At the end, i would like to have an Update price feature so they know the final total. Then i would like the final total to be able to be added to a payment system (which ill work out after i get this all set up).

 

[aphex]

<<

<< I mean more along the language used to set it up... Php, mysql, html, i dunno..... Stuff like that >>



Are you familiar with any language, or are you just starting? >>



Just starting. I'm well versed with the hardware aspects of computers, and not as well with programming.

 

[Chooco]

you can do radio buttons and drop down menus in HTML very easily actually.....as long as you understand how to do it.....the part i don't know how to do is to have it post what you selected in some sort of board instead of mailing it AND how to make it add up all the sums.
check out my form, it was done entirely on HTML, test it out if you want just don't send like 10 forms because it goes into my PERSONAL email account so please dont' screw me!
http://shawnserver.dhs.org/free_forum.html

 

[Chooco]

sorry it gave me error 100 so i thought it never sent it. my bad

 

[notfred]

What you want is something kinda like this, but better, right? (link))

That's something I wrote a while back, it's very simple, but could be made much better if the customer wanted to invest more money in it

It's all done in perl.

 

[Beau]

Well, if you are just learning, I'd recommend starting out with ASP. It's based on Visual Basic, which is very easy to pick up with. Plus it has a lot of support out there. HTML (or DHTML - HTML with JavaScript features to enhance the functionality) is a must, otherwise you can't do anything with layout. Also, you can start off just using a Microsoft Access database and ODBC drivers for it. Your hosting company can set this up for you. To access it, you'll use ADO. There are 3 books that I really recommend you get for it: 1) Active Server Pages Bible 2) VBScript Programmers Reference by Wrox 3) DHTML: The Definitive Reference.

 

[Chooco]

WHOA HOLD ON THERE CHIEF

first of all is this store just for YOUR CITY ALONE? if so, you can run the webpage right form your own home or from the store! you will only need a web host if you plan on something like newegg.com or other setups where you can have stuff sent all over the country.......
test my website's speed, it's plenty fast! click on my sig
here is one of my local part's store's website, it's run from their only location: dynamic PC and here BCOM

 

[Beau]

<< WHOA HOLD ON THERE CHIEF first of all is this store just for YOUR CITY ALONE? if so, you can run the webpage right form your own home or from the store! you will only need a web host if you plan on something like newegg.com or other setups where you can have stuff sent all over the country....... test my website's speed, it's plenty fast! click on my sig here is one of my local part's store's website, it's run from their only location: dynamic PC and here BCOM >>



Okay Chooko, back away from the computer. Go do some research.

Hosting your website has many great advantages. First, it offloads the stress and hassle of managing the server (ie: monitoring security [hackers], virus checking, hardware maintenance, backups [very important], and actually learning to do all of that). Second it is a lot less expensive. True that he can run a server off of DSL, but many ISP's charge a lot more once the know that you are running a server off of the line and if you go over your upload/download limit, the cut you off till you pay more. That doesn't sound like a very good business practice. Also if you run your own server, you have to buy one. Considering the cost of Windows 2000 server, the propper licensing, a good anti-virus, the hardware costs, tape-drives and media, you've just spent $2000 JUST TO BEGIN WITH. Then you through on the cost of keeping it running and you've got a bundle of cash that you just threw away when you could have just paid $100/year for a cheap service like readyhosting.com and had all this taken away.

 

[Chooco]

2 grand for a server?!?!?!?! OMG yeah right, you don't need a dual P4 2ghz to run this thing, my friend in Texas just bought a dual 2ghz P4 and it cost him 2 grand US.
for $700 CANADIAN (bit less than $500 US) you can get a 1.3ghz Duron with KT266A motherboard and 512mb of RAM which is PLENTY fast enough, if you run it on Linux, the OS is free AND RedHat Linux has a real good built in security wall. another security would be a $100 US router, they block all ports except for those specified to be used as the website. right there you have eliminated most risk of hackers.
DSL is only $17 US per month and as long as you don't actually TELL the ISP that you are running a website they don't give a crap. look at this picture of my current bandwidth use, i bought this computer on December 19 (not quite 5 months old yet) CHECK MY BANDWIDTH USE

a good provider will cost you $35 US per month, running it yourself costs $600 for an initial fee and after that it is completely free. 1 year of a provider adds up to $420 US and you don't even get to keep the computer!
running it yourself is the way to go.