Business catalyst or Webpress? How much will I pay?

[JohnSheppard]

Just on the wordpress thing (or pretty much all the open source cmses);

They all base their philosophy on having a core which you then add on 'extensions' to. The stock standard installs are usually pretty basic and stripped. For the uninitiated, the costs of finding and figuring out all the extensions yourself (in terms of labour and headache) easily outweigh a commercial solution. The difference comes in when you have someone who really knows word press back to front and in side out. They can build you a site cheaper than a commercial solution (arguably?).

On the Magicdust front, I'm pretty sure they sell wordpress, and at the price point they sell at, I doubt it comes with much, but I could be wrong. Ring them see what they say

[TheTrish]

Originally Posted by KTP

So, if I could ask.... what alternate hosted solutions would you recommend and why? I've heard of Sales Force but don't know much about it. I also know about InfusionSoft but that's too pricey for me. Someone even recommended 1shoppingcart though I still need to get the website built.

Be aware of hosted solutions like Joomla and OScommerce as you need to make sure the security is rock solid. As you are managing your own hosting you are responsible to ensure it is setup properly and that may include installing patches. There must be a hosted solution expert here somewhere. Here is a security checklist for Joomla, quite daunting.
http://docs.joomla.org/Security_Chec...-_Joomla_Setup

But with a SaaS solution like BC or the ones John suggested you don't need to worry about configuration, hacking, security or server issues.

PS, during my google search for the secuity checklist I found this.

http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/artic...e-Solution.htm

Might be of use!

[JohnSheppard]

That Joomla checklist isn't too much to worry about IMO. You're web person will know that stuff (or at least should). It's more related to hosting environments than anything.

The security problems come from not keeping updated or installing bad extensions. In the open source world, let me tell you, there are 100's of bad ones...yes they have reviews etc, but I can't tell you how many hours I've sunk into those which are just plain crap house time vampires....

If you decide to go with any of the open source CMS you just have to make sure that you stay constantly updated. This is true of closed source CMS too, but it's a bit more important with open source ones.....it's all a cost you need to take into account....one you can avoid with the Saas type solutions.

Joomla doesn't currently have updating built in, but that is coming version 1.6 which is just around the corner.

Personally, I am not aware of any e-commerce extensions for Joomla that are any good, and I wouldn't currently recommend that platform for it.....in 6 months that may be a different story tho...

[IgniteDM]

I think most of the major points have been covered by everyone else here...

but my 2 cents worth:

We use Business Catalyst not only for our own sites, but for quite a few client sites as well. It really depends on the budget they come to me with and what features they want out of it.

What I always say to people who only want something small to start with is always allow for expansion -because its so much easier down the track when you have an expandable platform! I generally recommend the base level options with Business Catalyst and let my clients know they can upgrade to using more features when they need to, i.e. to add marketing/ecommerce etc

I use Wordpress for some applications but just personally prefer the ease of adding all sorts of features to pages in BC without needing a coding person. ie. web forms, FAQ sections, Blogs etc. I find Wordpress is better for people with a more limited experience in editing websites... its quite user friendly. BC is great but can take a little more getting used for for the un-initiated.

Having said that BC has its limitations. But Adobe are continuously working on updates and roll these out quite regularly. Updates are automatically added on - you dont need to do anything.

My main point would be that no 1 solution is going to do everything perfectly. 1 CMS might be cheaper, but not so Search Engine friendly. Another might have more features but be more expensive. Just choose your most important must have features, budget and work your way back.

Good Luck !

[KatieP]

Hi again,

Thanks for all the posts. I have learned a lot. After reading the posts and doing my own research, I decided to go with a hosted solution as it will have less ongoing upkeep and I will have less worry about security issues. I have also decided that BC has what I need and offers the possibility of expansion when I need it. So, now I'll see how I go. I have also found someone to do the site for $3500 + GST. He uses templates, many of which I like and offers lots of features- all of which seems very reasonable. Got to be happy with that!

Thanks !!
Katie

[TheTrish]

Congratulations Katie,

I know you have made the right decision, Business Catalyst is awesome and they are constantly improving it which means you will get the benefits immediately when they happen, no server to manage at all.

Good luck with it all

Trish

[kbrookes]

I've worked with BC for clients and for the most part it's a good system. I do recommend it to some clients - but not all.

My main problems are that their email servers seem to go down with alarming regularity and they're a little disingenuous about what can and can't be modified.

They say 'everything is customisable' - that's not really true.

There's plenty of elements where you have no access to modify the core HTML structure - and that's a big problem for me.

Their templating system for newsletters is absolutely atrocious. Considering integrated marketing is part of their spiel, they really should have better methods in place. There's also no spam testing or client-side delivery testing, without which you're flying blind.

They also really need to work on providing a better out-of-the-box checkout process. The current one is cumbersome and it took me a fair bit of time to make it flow more nicely.

That said, their CRM setup is awesome and the auto-responder capabilities are fantastic - it's a great system for an all-in-one solution. Even so, I have big problems with some elements of what they do and prefer to roll my own with Joomla, Virtuemart and Campaign Monitor, depending on the client.

[webtronic_webdesign]

Hi Katie,

My name is Glen Harrison and I am the Owner/Director and Webmaster for WEBTRONIC WEBDESIGN™ the leading Adobe Business Catalyst Partner in Australia.

In answer to your question Adobe Business Catalyst gives you 10+ systems in one including eCommerce and a shopping cart with a built in Content Management System (CMS) so you can manage content. WordPress does not offer you the same systems or flexibility but is more a Blog tool and publishing platform.

We would be happy to work with you to build you an Adobe BC website that your happy with at a price you can afford. Go to: http://webtronic.com.au/ and send us an email through the Contact Us page and we can trade emails regarding what you want, how you want it and we can negotiate on price.

Kind Regards,
Glen

[Warren Cottis]

Originally Posted by JohnSheppard

Yes you make a good point You are right. I will say tho that depends how integral to the business the website is. E.g. If I'm building a formula1 race team, you bet I want a mechanic being heavily involved in my decision making process. If I'm running a pizza delivery joint, I dont care what the mechanic said....

But I stand corrected, it was gumby thing to say lol

This has been an interesting thread.

Quite frankly, I don't think you said a gumby thing, John.

In fact I am befuddled... if web people are going to deliver a website to a client and not involve themselves in the client's internet marketing plans then what are they really delivering?

Is the answer... a glorified business card?

[kbrookes]

To be fair, many companies have internal marketing people or outsource that function.

Also, only microsites could be equated with a business card. Anything more complex requires expertise, planning and skill. Given the clientele listed on your website, you already know this.