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I'm developing website for freight(cargo) forwarding/logistics company.
It will be CMS based (Joomla or Wordpress). What I need is component/plugin (can be commercial)
that has this functionality: (doesnt have to work exactly this way)
It can be simple e-commerce/virtuemart extension, whatever that is close.
Client logs in
Adds his tracking number(cargo/order number whatever)
He will see his his cargo status and current place.
Cargo status can be managed manually in CMS backend via admin.
Doesn't have to work exactly this way, but basic idea is this.
It does not matter joomla or wordpress these are the things you have to do.
Before You Start, Solidify Your Business Goals:
Do you fully understand the business outcome and goals that you’re trying to accomplish? Do you understand how you're going to measure the success of your implementation? Example: sales & marketing metrics.
Quick Qualification:
Does the extension work for your Joomla version? Is the extension in the expected category? How popular is the extension brand name? What is the extension type (Component, Module, Plugin)? Do you a long and short list of your possible extension choices? Does the extension meet your hosting requirements? Is the extension GPL? Is the extension encoded? Are some or all files encoded? What is the extension rating score on the official Joomla resource directory? What is the number of ratings? What's the extension popularity and number of downloads?
Critical Features to Meet Business Objectives:
Feature A) < Enter your specific feature requirement here > Feature B) < Enter your specific feature requirement here > Feature C) < Enter your specific feature requirement here > Feature D) < Enter your specific feature requirement here > Feature E) < Enter your specific feature requirement here >
Other Secondary Features:
Do you understand the total list of features you need (captcha type, ability to embed in articles, database storage, confirmations, styling options, …) Does it unnecessarily complicates the site installation (example: job extension and you have only 3-4 jobs)?
Security Concerns / Scam-Like Internet Practices:
Do you understand security issues and problems related to installing this extensions? Can developers/company be trusted? What's the company online reputation? Are their extensions listed in the Joomla extensions directory? How long has the extension existed? Does the extension contain or require backlinks? Are their hidden links? Ads inserted in the control panel or front end? Does the extension contain call home functions? They're only welcomed if the extension can work normally without a developer server connection, it is possible to install it without call home and it only calls home for the version check. Does the public version of the extension contain security risks? Is it listed in the vulnerable extension list?
Legal/Licensing
Does it limit use per domain/installation? Does it limit distribution of extension? Does it require a nondisclosure agreement? Does it limit usage of non GPL media files to a domain/installation? Is the extension not listed at JED? Does it limit support per domain/installation? Does it require payment to remove owner visible or hidden links?
User Experience
Does it offer professional user experience for the site visitors? What is the website administrator user experience?
SEO
Does the extension follow the best industry SEO practices? Does the extension support search engine friendly URLs?
Community
Does the extension have a solid and favorable community view?
Demo
Is there a demo or light version?
Author / Company
What's the extension website? Who is the developer or development team? What's the extension roadmap? Is the official extension easy to download? Are there FAQs, written tutorials and training available?
Test Installation
Do you have a test installation ready to evaluate an extension before trying it on your test installation?
Initial Set Up
Do you understand how to set up test installation, have time, resources, knowledge, experience, etc? Do you have to manually copy extension files for it to install?
Maintenance
Will the extension be easy to maintain? Is the extension easy to update? When was the last version released? Are security patches being promptly published? What is the stage of the extension development? Does the extension modify Joomla core files? Do you must have file/folder permissions set to 777 to install & run? After the extension is uninstalled, does the site or admin return errors? Does the extension team offer good technical support?
Cost
Is the extension free/commercial? Does the plugin require one time payment or membership subscription?
Read more on How to choose a Joomla! Extensions
If you end up using Joomla, look into extension called Fabrik - http://www.fabrikar.com , that will give you an ability to maintain a list of custom defined entries (database table) and give the end-user ability to search through it (filter by individual fields). You can restrict which records (shipments) are visible to each user based on their username, etc.
I've created a few Web sites for freight forwarders, including cargo tracking sites and one thing I can say for sure - if they already use a TMS (Transportation Management System) where they already have tracking / status information they won't like the idea of double-entering it in another system. Fabrik is easily configurable to connect to external databases if this data is available elsewhere and tracking it there in real time.
Watch their tutorials, it is really powerful. Good luck.
You could do that with any of the well rated forms components for Joomla, which you can find at http://extensions.joomla.org
Related
I'm thinking about attempting to design a new framework architecture aimed at allowing a web app to later be easily ported into a system such as Drupal or Joomla while maintaining the independence of the original app such that updates to core functionality would require only one release or otherwise minimal extra work.
Before I start on this however, I would like to see what work has previously been done that comes closest to what I am proposing. So an answer to this question would come in the form of a reference to the most similar work or if possible a definitive 'no' that this has not been done before.
Clarification by example: MediaWiki is a common web app that has become one of the most highly recommended of its kind. However, site admins building their sites with Drupal would be required to hack MediaWiki in order for it to play nicely with Drupal in terms of sharing a user base for example. Imagine that MediaWiki has decided to do a complete rebuild of their system, what design could be used to make this interaction simply require a Drupal module or Joomla component and thus make MediaWiki available to more users?
I'm using MediaWiki as just an example, I think modules and components already exist that solve this particular problem but I hope I am able to get my idea across. It is a problem I have encountered many times during web development now that CMS systems are appearing more and more enterprise-like.
Thanks!
godwin
Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) is an OASIS Specification that you can use to imrprove the data portability and interoperability of a CMS. If your system has (or your provide) a CMIS interface, you can move content to / from other CMS systems that also provide CMIS interfaces.
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_Management_Interoperability_Services
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=cmis
I am in the process of creating a payment gateway for drupal / wordpress / magento. I already have clients who want to use my plugin. Because this is a paid piece of work, I want to protect it from being used on other websites.
I have also seen that many vendors who sell themes, modules and plugins are required to put in the API key.
How can I do the same. What do I need on my server side. I know how to create modules, but I don't know to sell them securely and deliver regular updates.
If there is a book regarding this please let me know.
I'm not familiar with any books on the subject, but I'll tell you what I've seen as one of a founders of a component / plug-in marketplace that has many such plug-ins.
There are a few approaches -
Some plugins do not require an API key at all. Either the plug-in is only available after purchase, or has some limitations on the free downloadable version that encourages people to pay for the commercial version. This approach relies more on people's integrity and low motivation to try and hack the free version into the commercial one, especially if they are not technical users (as many CMS users are).
Set up a check against your server that happens periodically. You do not need a full blown API for this, just set up an endpoint on your server that the plug-in can send the API key and according to the response allows the use of the plug-in. You need to plan it so that this check doesn't happen every time the plug-in is run, especially if it a plug-in that runs on the public site and not only in the administration panel - it will seriously degrade the performance of the site using it and create unnecessary load on your server. Use some kind of time based checked - either absolutely or from the time of the last check.
In addition to or instead of doing an API check, some people will obfuscate their code to make it harder to modify and bypass the check. This often requires that the server has a module installed that can parse the obfuscated files - this requirement often makes it less viable for most people. You can see some examples of obfuscators in another question.
Personally, I lean more toward the first option, as someone determined enough will break whatever protection you put (people break much more complicated solutions in no time). This is one of the problems of delivering source-code instead of binaries (and those are broken just as easily by more experienced hackers). Let those who are willing pay, and the others just let them do what they want as you won't be able to create something truly secure anyway.
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I am tired of having to manage projects manually. We use subversion for version control, but ultimately, I want an app that can:
Send out notifications to clients on the progress of their projects
Allow clients to log in and see screenshots of projects
Keep track of money paid, as well as invoice due dates and how much is outstanding
Allow clients to post any queries regarding the project in an area
Manage several projects
I currently use
SubVersion
WHMCS --> would be great if it could integrate into this
Any suggestions would be great? Or might I have to write an app like this myself?
Redmine
Redmine is a flexible project
management web application. Written
using Ruby on Rails framework, it is
cross-platform and cross-database.
Redmine is open source and released
under the terms of the GNU General
Public License v2 (GPL). Features
Below are some of the main features of
Redmine.
Multiple projects support
Flexible role based access control
Flexible issue tracking system
Gantt chart and calendar
News, documents & files management
Feeds & email notifications
Per project wiki
Per project forums
Time tracking
Custom fields for issues, time-entries, projects and users
SCM integration (SVN, CVS, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar and Darcs)
Issue creation via email
Multiple LDAP authentication support
User self-registration support
Multilanguage support
Multiple databases support
Go Redmine site
You should definately check out Gemini. This has loads of awesome features and can do all of the above (plus a whole lot more). Also, we'll be bringing out some great new functionality on the finance side in the next few weeks.
Dave
I've been looking at Redmine: http://www.redmine.org/
As of now, I've only been looking at it for my 2 person company, and as it integrages subversion and other version control system directly into projects, I think it's an OK choise.
But as mentioned, I haven't used it in production like environemts yet, but it look well tested.
There is also a Turnkey version of it, which is ready to be used as a live CD or in a Virtual Machine: http://www.turnkeylinux.org/redmine
/Kristoffer
If you are looking for something that is hosted I would consider assembla.com. It has just about every feature you could want, and has worked really well for me in the past.
http://www.assembla.com/
We use PivotalTracker
Doesn't have all the features you mention, but it is useful for client interaction and project management.
You could write the app yourself, but you'd likely be better off just going with a SaaS! Believe it.
Your software needs are a bit ahead of what traditional project management apps offer, and it is likely you'll find many systems to be insufficient.
Warning: Just because most PM apps will be insufficient doesn't mean you should settle with multiple different apps. This will lead to double entry, inefficiency, and a list of other problems that come with apps that don't integrate properly. You're better off with something that combines everything you need into one system.
You could try WORKetc, they have a 14 day free trial and combine all the core essentials for web devs. CRM, Project management, collaboration tools, billing, support tools, email marketing, and even client logins (invite clients/contractors to check on projects you're working on related to them + they can collaborate).
WORKetc combines key tools so that it can be used to manage an entire small business. Combined alerts, reminders, calendars, to-dos, document sharing, and a bunch of other features. Worth looking into, other than that I'd recommend looking at the Google Apps Marketplace. Cheers!
It all depends on the size and scope of your projects.
I would say that JIRA is the best system available at the moment and if you only require a small number of users (<=10) then it is only $10 a month.
It's definitely the most complete system out there but obviously there is the hurdle of cost and getting it set up (there is a lot of initial set up to get workflows and things working how you like them).
I know this question has been tossed around by many developers and designers. I just got finished with my companies intranet site using joomla 1.5 with a custom bulit template and modifying almost everything in joomla. It got me thinking if I should be using an enterprise CMS instead of an free open source CMS. I almost went with wordpress, but the company wanted joomla for there site. It was a great for me to jump into another CMS and learn, but is there a better CMS out there that meant for intranet or does it really matter at all?
Try OpenAtrium, its free.
http://www.openatrium.com
If you're planning an intranet project using a CMS, then you'll need to clarify a couple of requirements before choosing the right one. I have a blog post with some simple choices for choosing a cms for an intranet, more specifically on collaboration and community features. But other more basic requirements are:
Is there a technology stack that the organization prefers/uses? Does it need to be on-premise or cloud based? This will filter down the candidates
Is the Intranet for just posting read-only notices and information, or are community features (groups, lists, news feeds, etc)
Does the Intranet require SSO so that organization members can seamlessly interact with content based on their identity?
What sort of budget is available for the Intranet? All CMS installs have a cost, even the ones without any subscription cost.
Is document and file management an important requirement?
Are customizations needed for any specific Intranet functionality or connectivity to other systems?
Wordpress will do a simple intranet well, but will start to become more work if you start getting complex requirements around authentications, groups and social functionality. If on the LAMP stack and looking for more complex requirements, look at Drupal or Joomla. On the Windows/.NET side there have been suggestions in this answer already - the choices span from full commercial answers such as Sharepoint to those available open source and commercially licensed like Dnn.
Nowadays everything is called a CMS - tools to maintain websites, advanced portals, wiki's, and so on. The requirements for a "CMS" are drastically different for intranets and public websites, however.
Intranets usually have a high level of interaction, lot's of user generated content, different content types, and so on. More users need to be able to login to the system (basically everyone, not just the content editors) with different levels of authorization and different roles in general. Collaboration in general is much more important than with an average "public" CMS based website.
Furthermore you will usually want different types of plugins. Google analytics and SEO are much less important, you'd be more interested in some active user plugin, recent publications, integration with other internal tools (i.e. project management) and possibly exposing other datasources (databases, telephone directories, filesystems with internal documents), and so on.
In my personal experience, Plone is a good choice. It provides most of the above out of the box or through existing extensions and it has excellent integration possibilities with external systems. Cyn.in also provides a somewhat completer plone based solution.
If Plone's too much for you, you could consider some wiki-like system, such as TWiki or MediaWiki
As others have said, it will depend on your requirements.
If you are looking for something more in the enterprise space, then elcomCMS might be a good fit - it's .NET based though (not sure if that rules it out in your case), but has an API and other dev considerations.
Pretty strong as both a web CMS and an intranet.
http://www.elcomcms.com/Product/elcomCMS-Overview/Intranets
I have user long time drupal, but now I switching to WordPress it's much easier, if you don't want to create a community or something like this.
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Can you recommend any tools? Should we build our own? Should we create the sitemap manually?
The Google Sitemap Generator for IIS generates a sitemaps based on actual HTTP requests to your server (unlike other sitemap generators that rely on a crawlable path from the homepage, Google's approach doesn't actually crawl your site).
It is uniquely suited to dynamic applications, particularly those that have a deep bank of data that's surfaced through user queries alone.
I have personally used Google's sitemapgen, a Python script, which automatically generates the sitemap according to an XML configuration file and a url list.
There also seems to be a newer tool called googlesitemapgenerator, which according to its website is newer and supports more formats:
Google previously released sitemapgen,
a Python-based tool, to Sourceforge.
In comparison to sitemapgen, Google
Sitemap Generator is a next-generation
tool that relies on web server
filtering rather than crawling,
provides enhanced features, and
supports more formats.
I always used this one XML-Sitemap. It's an online site thou, not a standalone application..
I would recommend you build your own if you have this ability. A sitemap should include all the files you want to be crawled and this is not always every file in the site. An automated downloadable script will likely require a decent amount of configuration to address content you do not want listed in the sitemap.
Unless you want every file on the site spider-ed, in this case perhaps one of the scripts listed are a good option. Myself, I put a bit more effort into SEO typically and details like controlling what pages are being submitted and how is important to me.
the big question is: how big is your site: is it <3000 pages you propably do not need any sitemap at all if all pages are linked on your site. is it <50000 you can use one of the many scripts on the internet. if it's bigger then >50000 you should make your own sitemap.xml. because then you are in the distribution SEO business where you need absolute control over your site and what you communicate to google (and when), because then you can controll: ok, i submitted google 25.000 pages, he crawled 99% of them and indexed (according to google webmaster tools) 30%, i get X visits from it, lets add another 25.000 ... and so on.
GSiteCrawler is one I've used in the past and it's done me good.