Hi there,

I've been asked to build a website for a photographer friend, who has little experience around computers.

My own experience in building websites reach a far as HTML & CSS, with no knowledge of PHP/MySQL/CMS/E-commerce.

 

I would like some advice on the following.

 

Gallery -

Any ideas of something simple & easy for my friend to update and add images?

My only experience in creating galleries is with CSS or Javascript.

Also, can XML data be used to create a gallery without the use of the Flash Viewer?

 

Shopping Cart -

Ive had a look at paypal, and it seems to be really simple & easiest to implement.

Any ideas on a simple shopping cart that can be implemented and designed as another page to the website. (my friend has little experience around computers so this would have to be really simple for them to add items)

 

CMS-

Is there a simple and easy CMS out there that will allow my friend to update her images and prices.

 

 

Any ideas or direction to tutorials would be grateful.

 

 

Martin

gallery could be done by php script.

 

shopping cart could also be php.

 

there will be some free ones, i would recommend searching http://www.hotscripts.com/

 

if you can't find a free one, you may have to pay, unless you learn php....

Hi there,

I've been asked to build a website for a photographer friend, who has little experience around computers.

My own experience in building websites reach a far as HTML & CSS, with no knowledge of PHP/MySQL/CMS/E-commerce.

 

I would like some advice on the following.

 

Gallery -

Any ideas of something simple & easy for my friend to update and add images?

My only experience in creating galleries is with CSS or Javascript.

Also, can XML data be used to create a gallery without the use of the Flash Viewer?

 

Shopping Cart -

Ive had a look at paypal, and it seems to be really simple & easiest to implement.

Any ideas on a simple shopping cart that can be implemented and designed as another page to the website. (my friend has little experience around computers so this would have to be really simple for them to add items)

 

CMS-

Is there a simple and easy CMS out there that will allow my friend to update her images and prices.

 

 

Any ideas or direction to tutorials would be grateful.

 

 

Martin

Welcome to WDF!

 

I take it this site will be to support her business and she has a budget?

 

To allow your friend to update the site herself a CMS would be the most sensible option. Choosing the right CMS however will require a lot more research and planning as not all CMS's are equal! My advice is to use the best CMS for the job and not choose based on price alone.

 

The gallery

1. Will she need to have thumbnail and medium sized images generated automatically? (ie she just uploads on eimage and the CMS does the rest)

2. Does she need to be able to categorise images or manage image so they are viewable/hidden

 

 

The shop

1. Paypal is fairly easy to add but don't foget that not everyone will use it so providing an alternative is a wise business choice.

2. What is she selling, prints, frames orginals?

3. Does she need to sell items in a variety of sizes, colours etc?

 

Without knowing more about the aims of the site, her business and her customers it's hard to recommend one particular CMS, but have a look at http://www.pixaria.com which is a CMS aimed at photographers and includes full image display/management and a full ordering system.

Hi there,

I've been asked to build a website for a photographer friend, who has little experience around computers.

My own experience in building websites reach a far as HTML & CSS, with no knowledge of PHP/MySQL/CMS/E-commerce.

 

I would like some advice on the following.

 

Gallery -

Any ideas of something simple & easy for my friend to update and add images?

My only experience in creating galleries is with CSS or Javascript.

Also, can XML data be used to create a gallery without the use of the Flash Viewer?

 

Shopping Cart -

Ive had a look at paypal, and it seems to be really simple & easiest to implement.

Any ideas on a simple shopping cart that can be implemented and designed as another page to the website. (my friend has little experience around computers so this would have to be really simple for them to add items)

 

CMS-

Is there a simple and easy CMS out there that will allow my friend to update her images and prices.

 

 

Any ideas or direction to tutorials would be grateful.

 

 

Martin

 

 

I was asked by a photographer to initially fix his site as his web designer had done a runner after a poor job of transfering the hosting. It was built using a software called "Gallery" It allows password only access to chosen albums and sale of photos too.

 

In the end he opted for a complete redesign and I built a joomla cms site with the gallery software bridged into it.

 

A link to this software is: http://gallery.menalto.com/

 

 

The gallery has a admin side where you can create albums, add watermarks, add shopping cart, add/edit passwords etc. There is also a forum for help and questions on there too.

Thanks guys for your help.

 

BlueDreamer

Ive answered some of the questions, if it give you a better idea of what shes after.

 

The gallery

1. Will she need to have thumbnail and medium sized images generated automatically? (ie she just uploads on eimage and the CMS does the rest)

2. Does she need to be able to categorise images or manage image so they are viewable/hidden

 

I think it would be best for her to have a drag and drop interface. The thumbnails generated automatically is ideal.

 

The shop

1. Paypal is fairly easy to add but don't foget that not everyone will use it so providing an alternative is a wise business choice.

Other than PayPal. what is an alternative way? would it be entering card details directly into the website, or paying by cheque?

 

2. What is she selling, prints, frames orginals?

3. Does she need to sell items in a variety of sizes, colours etc?

 

Its mostly prints, but with the idea of giving the customer the option of frames.

 

Without knowing more about the aims of the site, her business and her customers it's hard to recommend one particular CMS, but have a look at http://www.pixaria.com which is a CMS aimed at photographers and includes full image display/management and a full ordering system.

 

I had a look at Pixaria. It looks ideal for her needs.

I have a couple of questions on it, or if anyone has used it before.

 

How easy is it to setup? (i have no experience of php)

 

Is the layout customizable?

 

The demo website has a gallery as the home page. Can that be changed?

 

Can certain features, like the search facility be disabled? its a small website, i doubt it will be neaded initially.

 

Thanks again.

The gallery

1. Will she need to have thumbnail and medium sized images generated automatically? (ie she just uploads on eimage and the CMS does the rest)

2. Does she need to be able to categorise images or manage image so they are viewable/hidden

 

 

I think it would be best for her to have a drag and drop interface. The thumbnails generated automatically is ideal.

Hmm, a drag and drop would be nice but would require some scripts/custom coding/ probably some Flash to get it working, not a job to be taken lightly, and could work out very expensive!

 

Auto creation of thumbnails is straightforward in any CMS.

 

 

The shop

1. Paypal is fairly easy to add but don't foget that not everyone will use it so providing an alternative is a wise business choice.

Other than PayPal. what is an alternative way? would it be entering card details directly into the website, or paying by cheque?

 

 

Protx (Sagepay)

Worldpay

SecureTrading

Secpay

 

... there are nummerous payment gateways that can be used.

 

2. What is she selling, prints, frames orginals?

3. Does she need to sell items in a variety of sizes, colours etc?

 

Its mostly prints, but with the idea of giving the customer the option of frames.

 

OK, see next answer...

 

Without knowing more about the aims of the site, her business and her customers it's hard to recommend one particular CMS, but have a look at http://www.pixaria.com which is a CMS aimed at photographers and includes full image display/management and a full ordering system.

 

I had a look at Pixaria. It looks ideal for her needs.

I have a couple of questions on it, or if anyone has used it before.

 

How easy is it to setup? (i have no experience of php)

 

Is the layout customizable?

 

The demo website has a gallery as the home page. Can that be changed?

 

Can certain features, like the search facility be disabled? its a small website, i doubt it will be neaded initially.

I've not actually used it on a live site, but used a much earlier version on a site that never made it (the site owner went bust!).

 

No PHP knowledge required, installation is "easy if you know how" but the deevlopers will install it for you.

 

I believe the current version runs on the Smarty templating system which gives you near unlimited ways to customise everything. You will need to be familiar with Smarty though.

 

The templating engine allows you to do whatever you want with the home page (and any other page).

 

The search can be disabled if you want, again the templating engine allows you total freedom.

 

 

Essentially a script like Pixaria gives you functionality above all else. The design, presentation and site management is really down to you how you want to play it..