[PLUG] Web design software?

[Mark Phillips]

John,

It sounds as if you want advice on how to build a custom online
marketplace/auction (like ubid, or amazon). At this point, we have offered
several suggestions. IMO, you have three options. One, hire someone to
build the site for you., Two, learn how to do it yourself. This option may
take longer, but may be more satisfying. Three, change your requirements to
fit into the offerings of point and click solutions like wordpress or
drupal or plone or.... I don't think you will find a point and click site
builder that has a full blown marketplace with private currency out of the
box.

For the last two options, you will, as a minimal effort, have to create a
logo and visual appearance of your site and that will require (1) knowledge
of graphics and design, (2) knowledge of the tool you choose to use to
build the site so you can add your logo, fonts, colors, images etc. to the
stock site and (3) some knowledge of the underlying tools your tool is
built upon (HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.) to make the changes to customize
your site.

Finally, I agree with John Sechrest's post: before you build anything, find
out what your target consumers want - it usually is very different than
what you think they want. You can kill two birds with one stone...while
doing your market research, start learning how to use the tools you will
need to build your site.

Good Luck!

Mark


On Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 10:17 PM, John Jason Jordan <johnxj at comcast.net>wrote:

> On Wed, 2 Jan 2013 08:08:24 -0700
> Mark Phillips <mark at phillipsmarketing.biz> dijo:
>
> >Check out Plone (plone.org) as well. it is a secure and powerful cms,
> >with a large and helpful community.
>
> Thanks for all the suggestions from everyone.
>
>         *       Plone would take me several months of study to learn
>                 how to use it. Bear in mind that I don't even know what
>                 "HTML" stands for.
>
>         *       I created a free Wordpress page, but it appears
>                 designed for blogs. A blog is not what I need.
>
> While poking around some of my ideas for the site are starting to gel.
> Here is what I want:
>
> A site where people must sign up with e-mail validation. This is pretty
> standard for web sites these days.
>
> Upon signing up they automatically get 10 "site credits." These can be
> used like money to buy things that people have posted on the site. When
> a user posts an item on the site the user states how many site credits
> he wants for it, and if someone pays him this amount the poster is then
> required to ship the item to the "buyer" at the poster's expense. You
> can get more site credits by posting things of your own that you no
> longer need so that others can benefit from them. The idea is that a
> new user can get one item free, but in order to buy more things the user
> has to reciprocate by posting things for others to "buy."
>
> To post an item you must fill out an information sheet, which will
> include a required photo, location, etc. The purpose is to ensure that
> posters include adequate information. Postings automatically expire in
> seven days, or immediately when someone "buys" it.
>
> All communication is via the users' e-mail addresses.
>
> Note that no money changes hands on the site. Nothing is for sale. All
> site credits are in the user profile. There is no need for shopping
> carts, PayPal, credit cards, etc.
>
> Initially I will have to administer the site to remove inappropriate
> postings and ban users who fail to follow the rules. Ultimately I will
> find a trusted user or two to share the duties.
>
> I doubt I will have more than a couple hundred users or more than a few
> dozen site visits per day.
>
> I don't think I need to worry about spam because no one can post
> anything except registered users, and they must do so by filling out
> the template. As for security, the main issues are the user accounts and
> the database of listings. I could imagine a hacker setting up a user
> account, then hacking the site to give himself lots of free site
> credits, but all he could do with them is "buy" used sleep apnea parts.
> There is no money here. The best security is not to be an attractive
> target in the first place.
>
> I'm sure I'll think of more things as I proceed, but that's the basic
> framework for what I have in mind.
>
> Joker, Gandi and GoDaddy look like possibilities for getting the domain
> and hosting for a nominal amount. But I still need something
> pointy-clicky that I can use to create the content.
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