I have created a number of intranet web applications, using VB.NET, but this is a first time I need to create an internet one.
I have an online store, created (not by me) by using OSCommerce package(php). It is not easlily customizable and I got tired of trying to change this and that and I would like to write a new store from the scratch using what I know
Are there any things I should be aware of? Any advice you can give me before I start?
I am concerned about the indexing:
How does google indexing work with such sites? If I have just one form that loads information about different products into a control, will google somehow understand this and index this form with all possible products? Or I will have to do something else?
Currently google gives the store ranking of 3. Will it disappear if I completely redo the site?
Google will index everything just fine. As long as nothing is hidden behind javascript. As the google spider doesnt support javascript. Just make sure your pages are as SEOed.
As for where to start, take a look at this link. It should give you a good understanding on where to start:
Here’s an elaborate version:
while working on your very own web storefront you will, most likely, fall a victim to being a lone developer. The really good thing about open source software is that it has a zillion eyes watching it for mistakes, errors and vulnerabilities. Even if you will have a person or two to QC the code, it still wouldn’t match the crowd’s ability to spot issues. As a developer, you already know that one un-sanitized field can be enough to compromise your site. Since you are very limited in resources, the web site would just be too fragile.
That would’ve been my major concern. On the other hand - security through obscurity isn’t a bad idea
I’m sure I didn’t try them all out but I did go through a phase where I was installing them, trying them out, being disappointed and deleting them.
It seems like they are mostly set up to maintain the entire site and not just the catalog and payment processing. They all say “easy to integrate” but the amount of work to get it integrated seemlessly into an existing site is about the same as building it from scratch. None of them that I tried turned out valid and semantic markup and I just can’t take them seriously.
I don’t know. You are right about having the code watched by the community but all I really need is a secure credit processing page that I can drop into my projects, the rest is ancillary.
all I really need is a secure credit processing page
Well, then obviously you are not the target audience for almost any and all shopping cart/web store software out there, they take pride in being all-around solution for small to medium businesses. Since your goals are different no wonder OSS solutions don’t satisfy your needs.
However, rather then saying it/they stink you may want to say “they don’t live up to my personal expectations” - this way you keep it closer to truth while not loosing your cool as well
:find: Help me find the part where I lost my cool.
You may be right though, I may not be the target audience if the target audience is expected to look past the outdated code on the surface and assume that the code underneath is somehow correct. (:
I stand by my statement that none that I tried were worth the effort to put into use. :shrug: Make your own call.
This goes a little beyond the original topic, but I believe it’s worth digressing.
The primary reason we (people who understand computers thoroughly enough, let’s call us geeks for short) will never do what the rest of the population (let’s call them users for short) does is exactly that - we do understand how computers tick and they aren’t really interested.
From working with numerous clients of various skills I figured a few simple ideas that everyone can relate to - either by agreeing or not.
Idea #1: most users don’t care how it works. Really. They just need the end result. In our case if it’s a shopping cart we’re talking about, then they need features 1, 2 and 3 and want feature 4 turned off. How - they couldn’t care less.
Idea #3: (I am skipping stuff irrelevant to conversation) Users don’t have time to figure out new technologies. If all they know is how to sell widgets on eBay it would be insane for them to spend countless hours of figuring how to write REST routines in C#, because all this time could be spent selling more stuff and making more money. Counterproductive and expensive.
Idea #4: Users don’t have such a passion towards computers as we, geeks, have. They are just not that into it. They have better things to do.
Having said all that, open source solutions can be perceived as a used car auction that people go to when they need a car. Not “the car”, not “green Pontiac Bonneville SL 1998 with overdrive and 6 CD changer”, but just “a car”. To drive from point A to point B for as little money as possible.
