Drupal et al

[Bear]

Right!

Plan B website needs to be developed and I've been looking at Drupal, Joomla etc, but I'm no web developer.

I will start with a template that has menus, css etc and I am happy enought editing these. But, i need to be able to add a number of features in.

1. Membership database with login and online fee payment.
2. Online shop facility
3. Another database of 'products' available but distinctly different to the shop (they will be free, but you have to apply for them as quantities are limited)
4. Some other bits such as adverts, maybe a forum etc.

Is Drupal etc the best way to go to get these bits as plug ins and is it very easy to integrate these into an existing template?

Any other suggestions?

[DimPrawn]

Right!

Plan B website needs to be developed and I've been looking at Drupal, Joomla etc, but I'm no web developer.

I will start with a template that has menus, css etc and I am happy enought editing these. But, i need to be able to add a number of features in.

1. Membership database with login and online fee payment.
2. Online shop facility
3. Another database of 'products' available but distinctly different to the shop (they will be free, but you have to apply for them as quantities are limited)
4. Some other bits such as adverts, maybe a forum etc.

Is Drupal etc the best way to go to get these bits as plug ins and is it very easy to integrate these into an existing template?

Any other suggestions?

I would humbly suggest that if you are serious about taking peoples money online, selling goods, keeping personal information, integrating databases, that you do it properly, securely and professionally.

I would suggest either paying some proper experienced web developers that know this inside out or using some sort of online shopfront that you effectively "rent".

Otherwise you are asking for trouble.

IMHO.

[Bear]

I would humbly suggest that if you are serious about taking peoples money online, selling goods, keeping personal information, integrating databases, that you do it properly, securely and professionally.

I would suggest either paying some proper experienced web developers that know this inside out or using some sort of online shopfront that you effectively "rent".

Otherwise you are asking for trouble.

IMHO.

I think you're right DP - cheers

I will need decent content management. I need to maintain the content daily and by non techies.

[Cliphead]

I personally prefer Joomla. As far as shops go I've been happy with Zen Cart with some fairly major changes to the stock code. I've used other shops depending on what I need - simple downloads etc.

As far as security is concerned consider more than just the CMS or shop software but the server it's being hosted on. I have my own server which I configured from scratch based on CentOS 5 paying very careful attention to security and all that behind a dedicated firewall.

You can try out all the CMS packages here

[voodooflux]

osCommerce is also worth a look for your shopping solution - open source, very configurable, skinable and loads of available plugins. I know several people that use this package.

[lilelvis2000]

I did little bit of digging into this for a client. He was able to go to the local business link who put him in touch with the a section of the council setup specifically to advise people setting up e-commerce ('cause there are laws you need to adhere to). I think they can also give a list of local suppliers as well as ecommerce shopfronts you can look at - and may even help you get a grant! (not sure about this last bit)

IMHO - you're better off renting a shopfront.

[Bear]

Cheers for the replys

I may have misled you a bit with the shop thing. The shop will be a bit of a sideline in all honesty - i may even add it at a later date.

The primary site will be a relatively standard site with standard content (news, articles, forum etc). The 2 key things are membership with the ability to pay for membership and the database of free products - i wasn't thinking of running the free products through a shop as such because the stock will vary and i need to control the orders (so one person doesn't just take the lot)

[voodooflux]

Sounds very, very similar to a site I'm developing for someone at the moment. This client is selling a book and some other materials via his site, while also offering other free items and signup to a "club." His requirements are quite specific though, so I'm developing a custom solution for him.

[Fred Bloggs]

I deployed a Zen Cart system awhile ago and it was pretty good I have to admit. How compliant it is with current legislation I'm not too sure though if I'm totally honest. Obviously it was deployed via secure server. I understand it was originally an offshoot of Oscommerce.

Regarding CMS, do your research thoroughly, a lot of the bolt on modules can turn out to be buggy, underdeveloped, unsupported, securty risks and generally flaky. Be very clear that if you want close integration between a shopping cart and your chosen CMS that it all works as you want in fine detail and is secure. Sorry if that's not too helpful, but that's my experience as a non-IT person deploying CMS and Zen Cart.