Online Ordering system

[gwnh]

Preview Message

Hi,

I'm very new to web development using PHP and MySQL with dreamweaver, and I
have to try and set up an online ordering system whereby people can enter their
details for their business cards and other stationery and then submit their
order. As I'm just starting out this seems to me to be a huge job and I'm not
sure where I would start. I wanted to set it up so that when the user enters
the online ordering site after entering the username and password (which I'm
able to set up okay), that the user goes to a front page where it says "Welcome
'client name' to the online ordering site" and then when the client navigates
through the pages they are all customised to the client's requirements, for
example, the list of stationery in the drop down menu will be popuIated with
items specific to that client. How can I make sure that after the client enters
the username and password, that they are taken to their specific site - is
there a particular dreamweaver server behaviour that will allow this, or would
I have to hand code it? Or then again I could have it entirely wrong in that
maybe they wouldn't have to be taken to a specific site, maybe some specific
PHP code would allow the certain areas that need to be customised for each
client, to be updated dynamically. Could someone tell me the best way to go
about achieving all this? I guess the other problem is how would I store the
item, e.g business card up on the site and have the details on the card change
dynamically once the user has entered thier details in the text fields - the
card needs to update on the fly once an update button is pressed. As I said
earlier all this seems a huge task (at for a beginner), but if someone could
just give me a few tips on which direction to go in I'd be really grateful.

Thanks so much.

Close Window

[gwnh]

Preview Message

Hi,

I'm very new to web development using PHP and MySQL with dreamweaver, and I
have to try and set up an online ordering system whereby people can enter their
details for their business cards and other stationery and then submit their
order. As I'm just starting out this seems to me to be a huge job and I'm not
sure where I would start. I wanted to set it up so that when the user enters
the online ordering site after entering the username and password (which I'm
able to set up okay), that the user goes to a front page where it says "Welcome
'client name' to the online ordering site" and then when the client navigates
through the pages they are all customised to the client's requirements, for
example, the list of stationery in the drop down menu will be popuIated with
items specific to that client. How can I make sure that after the client enters
the username and password, that they are taken to their specific site - is
there a particular dreamweaver server behaviour that will allow this, or would
I have to hand code it? Or then again I could have it entirely wrong in that
maybe they wouldn't have to be taken to a specific site, maybe some specific
PHP code would allow the certain areas that need to be customised for each
client, to be updated dynamically. Could someone tell me the best way to go
about achieving all this? I guess the other problem is how would I store the
item, e.g business card up on the site and have the details on the card change
dynamically once the user has entered thier details in the text fields - the
card needs to update on the fly once an update button is pressed. As I said
earlier all this seems a huge task (at for a beginner), but if someone could
just give me a few tips on which direction to go in I'd be really grateful.

Thanks so much.

Close Window

[twocans]

[url]http://www.interaktonline.com/Products/Bundles/MXKommerce/Overview/[/url]

you could give that a go, they have good support there too.

regards

twocans




"gwnh" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:d64r26$gnn$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Preview Message
>
> Hi,
>
> I'm very new to web development using PHP and MySQL with dreamweaver, and
> I
> have to try and set up an online ordering system whereby people can enter
> their
> details for their business cards and other stationery and then submit
> their
> order. As I'm just starting out this seems to me to be a huge job and I'm
> not
> sure where I would start. I wanted to set it up so that when the user
> enters
> the online ordering site after entering the username and password (which
> I'm
> able to set up okay), that the user goes to a front page where it says
> "Welcome
> 'client name' to the online ordering site" and then when the client
> navigates
> through the pages they are all customised to the client's requirements,
> for
> example, the list of stationery in the drop down menu will be popuIated
> with
> items specific to that client. How can I make sure that after the client
> enters
> the username and password, that they are taken to their specific site - is
> there a particular dreamweaver server behaviour that will allow this, or
> would
> I have to hand code it? Or then again I could have it entirely wrong in
> that
> maybe they wouldn't have to be taken to a specific site, maybe some
> specific
> PHP code would allow the certain areas that need to be customised for each
> client, to be updated dynamically. Could someone tell me the best way to
> go
> about achieving all this? I guess the other problem is how would I store
> the
> item, e.g business card up on the site and have the details on the card
> change
> dynamically once the user has entered thier details in the text fields -
> the
> card needs to update on the fly once an update button is pressed. As I
> said
> earlier all this seems a huge task (at for a beginner), but if someone
> could
> just give me a few tips on which direction to go in I'd be really
> grateful.
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Close Window
>

[gwnh]

Thanks for the link - I had a look and it looks like a great product but it's
quite expensive. I might try and see if I can implement things myself before I
starting buying extensions.

If anyone else can give me any further tips, I'd really appreciate it.

[David Powers]

gwnh wrote:

> Thanks for the link - I had a look and it looks like a great product but it's
> quite expensive. I might try and see if I can implement things myself before I
> starting buying extensions.
>
> If anyone else can give me any further tips, I'd really appreciate it.

What you want to do is not particularly difficult, but you're right in
thinking that it's a lot for someone who's never undertaken this type of
thing before. There is no magic wand that you can wave to create a
customized online ordering system. If you want to learn to work with PHP
and Dreamweaver, you could take a look at the book I co-authored with
Allan Kent and Rachel Andrew. The case study at the end (which I wrote)
doesn't go into ordering, but it steps you through the design of a
database, and how to customize pages using both hand-coding and
Dreamweaver server behaviors. You can see more details here:

[url]http://computerbookshelf.com/phpdw.php[/url]

Another book that goes into more detail about online e-commerce is
"Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL E-Commerce: From Novice to Professional".

[url]http://www.apress.com/book/bookDisplay.html?bID=356[/url]

It doesn't use Dreamweaver, and relies heavily on the Smarty template
system and handcoding. I have read only a couple of chapters, but it's
been highly praised by many people.

If you don't mind reading stuff on screen, both books are available
directly from the Apress site as e-books. The e-book price is 50% of the
publisher's list price.

--
David Powers
Author, "Foundation PHP 5 for Flash" (friends of ED)
Co-author "PHP Web Development with DW MX 2004" (Apress)
[url]http://computerbookshelf.com[/url]

[gareth]

Rather than redirecting each user to a specific page or site, its much
easier if you redirect all users to the same pages, but have different
content eg prices etc for each user.

You would first log the user in, and place their username in a session
variable or cookie. You would then have your pages, with the same static
layout, but areas of information for the users would be dynamic. You would
have this information stored in database tables, referenced by the users
username. You pull out the correct information using a Dreamweaver
Recordset, and an SQL WHERE clause that brings up the correct information by
searching for the username stored in the session or cookie. You can then
drag the fields onto the page in the relevant places.

Again, for updating information etc, you would use the DMX update behavior
to update the correct record, again making sure the correct record is
updated by using the username stored in the session or cookie.

It is possible to do this yourself, however I have got an extension that
will make things easier for you as it will generate most of the code
automatically. Take a look at [url]http://www.phploginsuite.co.uk[/url]. The full
manual is available as a free download so you can see exactly what the suite
can do and how it would help you.

Good luck with developing your site!


--
Gareth - TMM Dreamweaver
[url]http://www.dreamweavermxsupport.com/[/url]
[url]http://www.garethdp.com/[/url]

PHP Login Suite V2 - 34 Server Behaviors to build a complete Login system.
[url]http://www.phploginsuite.co.uk/[/url]

Co-Author: Dreamweaver MX: Instant Troubleshooter - Apress
Co-Author: Practical Intranet Development - Apress
Co-Author: Dreamweaver MX: Advanced PHP Web Development - Apress
Co-Author: Dreamweaver MX: PHP Web Development - Wrox

[twocans]

Hi Gwnh,
sorry if you felt $79 was too expensive for the entire package, if you were
in need to complete your site in a short period of time then maybe you would
have found them suitable.

you could check out the other ecarts out there.

[url]http://www.webassist.com/Products/ProductDetails.asp?PID=54[/url] commercial
[url]http://www.webassist.com/Products/ProductDetails.asp?PID=18[/url] free
[url]http://www.webassist.com/Products/ProductDetails.asp?PID=29[/url] free

[url]http://www.felixone.it/extensions/xcarten.asp[/url] commercial

regards

twocans










regards

twocans



"gwnh" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:d651dp$okr$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Thanks for the link - I had a look and it looks like a great product but
> it's
> quite expensive. I might try and see if I can implement things myself
> before I
> starting buying extensions.
>
> If anyone else can give me any further tips, I'd really appreciate it.
>

[David Powers]

twocans wrote:

> Hi Gwnh,
> sorry if you felt $79 was too expensive for the entire package,

Not Gwnh, but you must be joking...

The package you recommended is $599, not $79.

--
David Powers
Author, "Foundation PHP 5 for Flash" (friends of ED)
Co-author "PHP Web Development with DW MX 2004" (Apress)
[url]http://computerbookshelf.com[/url]

[twocans]

I think they have a deal on it at the moment.
[url]http://www.interaktonline.com/Products/Bundles/MXKommerce/Buy/[/url]



regards

twocans


"David Powers" <dp@example.com> wrote in message
news:d65q53$q7v$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> twocans wrote:

>> Hi Gwnh,
>> sorry if you felt $79 was too expensive for the entire package,

>
> Not Gwnh, but you must be joking...
>
> The package you recommended is $599, not $79.
>
> --
> David Powers
> Author, "Foundation PHP 5 for Flash" (friends of ED)
> Co-author "PHP Web Development with DW MX 2004" (Apress)
> [url]http://computerbookshelf.com[/url]

[twocans]

lol sorry David,
See I was logged into there site as I am already a customer and have already
purchased the kollection, the price I was seeing was for me to purchase
extra licences, at present what I purchased was to be loaded on One PC only
and any other pcs I would have been able to purchase at the reduced rate.
sorry for the misunderstanding.

have a nice weekend

twocans







"David Powers" <dp@example.com> wrote in message
news:d65q53$q7v$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> twocans wrote:

>> Hi Gwnh,
>> sorry if you felt $79 was too expensive for the entire package,

>
> Not Gwnh, but you must be joking...
>
> The package you recommended is $599, not $79.
>
> --
> David Powers
> Author, "Foundation PHP 5 for Flash" (friends of ED)
> Co-author "PHP Web Development with DW MX 2004" (Apress)
> [url]http://computerbookshelf.com[/url]

[David Powers]

twocans wrote:

> the price I was seeing was for me to purchase
> extra licences, at present what I purchased was to be loaded on One PC only
> and any other pcs I would have been able to purchase at the reduced rate.
> sorry for the misunderstanding.

No problem. It looks a nice suite, and if it helps set things up quickly
and efficiently $599 is probably not expensive. I've developed several
online systems, and it's certainly very time consuming - and time, as
they say, is money.

--
David Powers
Author, "Foundation PHP 5 for Flash" (friends of ED)
Co-author "PHP Web Development with DW MX 2004" (Apress)
[url]http://computerbookshelf.com[/url]

[gwnh]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions - I will look into them all and see which option will work for me.

[Alexandru COSTIN]

We actually used MX Kommerce to build our site - and the deal is.

a) Twocan has many of our products
b) MX Kommerce is very flexible and allows you to define your own
discount functions
c) We've created one function that looks to the list of the products the
logged-in user has - and creates a special offer for bundles

That's why he sees $79 instead of $599.

Alexandru

David Powers wrote:

> twocans wrote:
>

>> Hi Gwnh,
>> sorry if you felt $79 was too expensive for the entire package,

>
>
> Not Gwnh, but you must be joking...
>
> The package you recommended is $599, not $79.
>

--
InterAKT Online - Dreamweaver extensions
[url]http://www.interaktonline.com/[/url]

[David Powers]

Alexandru COSTIN wrote:

> a) Twocan has many of our products
> b) MX Kommerce is very flexible and allows you to define your own
> discount functions
> c) We've created one function that looks to the list of the products the
> logged-in user has - and creates a special offer for bundles
>
> That's why he sees $79 instead of $599.

Fair enough. The ability to offer special deals to good customers is
excellent. Although I don't have any of your products, I know they have
a good reputation.

As I understand it, the $79 Twocans was referring to was for an extra
licence, but he mistook it as the full price and told others about it.
Perhaps the way you display offers to existing customers doesn't make it
sufficiently clear that they are getting a special discount. Perhaps
Twocans just made a mistake.

As I pointed out in another post, $599 is probably not expensive for a
product that builds a sophisticated online ordering system. I certainly
had no intention of criticizing your price.

--
David Powers
Author, "Foundation PHP 5 for Flash" (friends of ED)
Co-author "PHP Web Development with DW MX 2004" (Apress)
[url]http://computerbookshelf.com[/url]