Instant Sites: I could sell a pre-made site for ______? (Post here)

Dave: I've been using CMS Builder for about 1.5 yrs, and really like the design and capability of the software. I also have used Article Manager once, and even though I really like the capability, I found the templates overly complicated. I must admit that I do prefer to manually code my sites (XHTML, CSS & PHP) and found that the templates were a bit of a pain.

I would personally rather cut&paste code generated by a code generator similar to CMS Builder that to "play" with templates like Article Manager.

As for new ideas, how about a generic merchandise store that sells widgets, and includes a shopping cart or at least allows for the integration of popular shopping carts.

Whilst these are a good idea, it also means that anyone who has a regular cms builder does not have access to these templates, to either use them or get ideas from them. It would be nice if these could be made available say in a members area?

Dave,
From my narrow perspective I can suggest a couple items that may be helpful across the board as the same needs continue to haunt multiple projects that CMSB is perfect for. The next two features, if available, would make CMSB and pre-made sites much more of an attractive sell:

* An automated account set up for just the basic user-owned records in the system. This way sites that have strong traffic don't have to manage the account set up process for member-type sites, classified-type sites, realty, etc. Along these lines, make it an "option" for the Admin to allow automated account acceptance or put the accounts on hold until the admin approves them.

* A built in module for using/incorporating PayPal_IPN into the system. So at initial integration the website admin types in the website owner's paypal details and any payments the site takes money for automatically go to that party. Along these lines, if it's a classifieds-style site that has member user accounts, then part of the member user info at account set up time includes the paypal information so when the member user sets up their items to sell on the site a paypal purchase link is automatically created for that member users items for sale.

* I know it's a simple coding thing to do individually but in the last couple years I've seen the same question in the forums over and over: "How do I only show the first thumbnail on a listings page?" Although it's easy, once instructed, to know where and how to put in the break tag...if the option was available in the admin section to turn on or off and have the code already set up by CMSB, it would just be one more polish on the CMSB diamond. OR just have this code already set up for the premade sites templates.

Dave,

As a business manager, consultant and owner with over 35 years experience I can see some great potential for your product.

However, you need to address other areas before you add to the mix of offerings.

First of all from a PHP illiterates stand point, the training materials for the particular product that I purchased (automotive) left a great deal to be desired.

That frustration was compounded by a less than stellar performance by your customer service department.

I would be happy to to give your some constructive ideas for future use but please focus on meeting your customers expectations in these area before moving on to new ventures or options.

Don Udell
Keyword Solutions

Hi Don,

Thanks for your feedback, and sorry to hear about your frustration and challenges.

>I would be happy to to give your some constructive ideas for future

Sure, feel free to email me directly at dave@interactivetools.com

Thanks!

Hi Dave,

I've been using CMSB for about a year and a half now and really love it. I have intermediate experience with php and mysql so for me the freedom your product gives me is great, however I can see Don's point about if you were inexperienced at php and mysql you may have trouble with the templates. With that said however, I've never found another service that offers a solid product like CMBS that flat out works great and is kept simple. The forum alone makes your support team very desirable. Posts are usually answered within 24 hours. For the price of your product you can't beat that!

I do have a suggestion for CMBS which I'm sure you have gotten before. It would be great to see a proprietary integrated photo gallery. I've seen the options you guys suggest with a third party and I have read the forum and seen some work arounds. I've even come up with a work around myself that uses a light box on the front end. All in all it works but it is a little cumbersome on the backend. I think most people would be happy with a simple straight forward solution that produces a html gallery on the front end.

Feel free to contact me directly if you would like more thoughts.

Thanks

Hi GraphicLingoes,

Thanks for the feedback! I'll add it to the feature request list. We have some plans to update the code generator and add more built-in support for photo galleries in future.

Thanks!