Thread: Bv & Soho launch...to link or not to link?

I would like to see some user sites out there that used BV for the "front end" of their website and then used Soholaunch for the "back-end" (cart) of their website....of course, linking them together. I see lots of examples of BV sites without carts and then Soho sites without "custom fronts" but not so many in the forum that use both.

I would also love to see some sites that used BV for the front and perhaps oscommerce for the back.

I already understand how other carts such as Cart Manager and Mals are added as buttons.....but they just seem way over my head when it comes to configuring them.

I've seen lots that use Zen and Cubecart...but they didn't do much customizing of them and those are not my layout style.

Anyone out there with one of these "integrated" and creative sites? I would love to know your results.

Thanks!

Just a note - Mal's and Cart Manager are VERY easy to use - configuring the carts in Soho and Zen and Cubecart aren't any easier - just a different way to do it.

I look forward to seeing sites that have done what you're looking for - but it's easier to do the entire site in Soho than to link as you're looking to do - because you'll have more trouble trying to keep the integrated feel - you will be using different templates from one to the other. - unless you're looking JUST to have it go directly to the Soho shopping cart? In which case, you'll still have to add all the buttons to get there, similar to Mal's or Cart Manager.

Say HEY, Crazy!
I am in the process of slapping up a BV front-end with an OSC back cart myself....only because I have to "repair" a website and leave it up as much as possible while I get the hang of OSC. Depending on my success, I might even leave the format stick....although I already feel I might need to pop it all into OSC to maintain the seamless continuity. With the steep learning curve I am going through in Soho, I am still overwhelmed with OSC....

There was one site that came through "Promote Your Website" about a month ago, and believe it or not, it is also featured on the Soho splash page. It does have a BV front-end, and a nicely "mated" Soho back cart.
I will have to surf, and post another link when I find it for you....hope you can be patient for an hour or so....

OK ---
Here is the Soho splash page I was talking about....and the website I am specifically referring to is the top-left: raptinbliss

Compare this to my designed-from-scratch custom Soho template (still a project in INITIAL stages!), and you can see the wide range of choices. Keep in mind also, that I paid less than $70 for this template to be done exactly as I specified, with my art, my layout, etc. And, that this included a dynamic Menu system not included with Soho proper. I had TemplateZapper.com (Ben) do mine, and turnaround was only 4 days!

You can create a folder which will then become a "directory" to load Soho or OSC into by itself, and you wil simply hyperlink your BV pages to the "index" page of your cart....HOWEVER, you will need to specially modify the Menu system in the cart to allow visitors to return to your BV pages/home....as if in the cart you click on home it will take you to the cart's index by default. The easiest way is to load an image somewhere as an icon and link that....
It's NOT hard, but you have to actually write down a flow chart to be sure you set it up right. And, you have to let yourself get used to the fact the BV pages and the cart look a bit different, unless you are willing to "reverse-engineer" your BV pages to look the same. **Most shoppers really don't mind a slight change of enviornment: they see it as just being delivered to a "secure area" (as long as they can still see your logo and know for sure who they are spending with!!)

You can do this!

Ok, Vasili...you are in for it now! Please don't abandon me! Before your last post I was about to surrender! LOL LOL But this Raptinbliss page is exactly what I needed to see....

1. THe way I look at it, either way I'm going to have to configure a shopping cart...to me, that is the hard part...so I need something very user friendly. If I can set up the cart to look the way I want, then I can tie in the "front pages" nicely with my design elements. They do not have to be exact matches. Actually, i like the "shopping" part to be just a bit different from the Main page.

Whether I learn the "button" type carts or the "catalog" type carts...I stil have to do the work...so i will go with the one that has the easiest to follow tutorial first. i may end up bailing out...but if I don't start somewhere soon, i'm really going to give up!

2. I LOVE that raptinbliss layout...it is very similar to the design i have in mind and the layout would work great for me. So, they created the non-shopping pages in BV? I want to try that first before I hire someone else to do ia template for me--because i just need to learn this!

I think with color and simple design, their pages flow very nicely. The cart is simple and not cluttered with all the extra mess you see in carts like Zen. I like this ALOT.

I hope you will help me as I go! First I must open my voda account and install soho. i'm almost convinced that i should try it.

Oh...what did you mean by the raptinbliss page having a "nicely matted Soho back end cart?"

<< see my post to your thread "Template" in "SohoLaunch" Forum, where I finished up where Gen. Naval left off >>

Honestly, I think that you should set up your account, install Soho (correctly) and fiddle around with it to get your basic understanding of how rigid linear computer logic functions.....
Then..write down a schematic of how you want your site to look and function. Then get ahold of Ben at TemplateZapper (I'll give you his email) to have a custom template made, unless you can't really afford the $60-90 to get exactly what you want. You can always revert to the free ones and do your own tweaking....it is soooo much easier and quicker to just let someone else do it for you. It ends the drawn-out process of unnecessary frustration over the simple things that will need to be done only once anyway.....
And, as mentioned in the other thread, you need to spend some time in the Soho Forum learning, being inspired, finding solutions, etc. all of which will help you to plan precisely. Trust me! (LOL! I can't believe I actually wrote that!)

Oh...what did you mean by the raptinbliss page having a "nicely formatted Soho back end cart?" (sp. sorry!)

Thank you Vasili for your response....it is a joy to have such encouragement when feeling so lost...

May I be candid with you here as I think this is a great discussion and i'm hoping I'm not the only one benefitting by it....i mean NOTHING CRITICAl....just the opinon as a total newbe on this site....I HAVE been reading all the Soho forum threads for days....and i did not find much inspiration there. .......Over and over and over I hear,

"customizing is hard"
and
"use templatezapper"

And yes, I agree, it would be SIMPLER to use zapper, (and i do not care about the cost...i totally understand the value of professional help...which is why I have had my site maintained for me for 6 years).....

some people just want to BE CREATIVE and do it themselves! even if it kills me! LOL

But,here is the dilemma (sp)....CREATIVE people are often not as good at tech stuff--fitting things inside of a box. Myself as an example...I want a creative site, but it also has to have functionality as I'm selling a product that I create! How to merge the two things together is a puzzle that my LEFT brain thinking does not grasp until my right brain wakes up...this might take a week of forum searching and question asking, but once it wakes up....WOW! You've got a hurricane!!!!

Now, i've discovered a company called Vodahosting that can give me the POWER i need that all the little home/craft/art web hosting sites cannot....but is lacking in answers for my creative needs....there is bluevoda that perfectly fits the creative side....but no "matching" cart.

Then you have Soho....cart set up that Left-brain me "gets"....i really need the "fill in the blank" product entry.....but too many creative limits. You can understand how people like me get frustrated and just don't know what to tool to sacrifice!!

So while it may seem unnecessary to some to do my own template....and it seems i'm trying to squeeze water from a turnip.....it is the creative process that I seek and crave...and in the end, if I can't , then I will surrender. IN the meantime, I very much appreciate all your patience and advice. REALLY i do!

Now, i will go read the template thread (gulp) and hope my right brain grasps it! LOL Then,i will open my account as soon as I know what domain to use! CHeers!

You have been the first to echo all my posts and have grasped what I felt was my very own private issue, which eventually evolved into something of a mantra (evidenced by all my repetitive posts).

Commiting to VodaHost has allowed me to personally be able to define my online future and be free from the financial and creative restraints to unprecendented levels, but as in all reality, there are limitations I must recognize. That is why I have spent the last month or so fine-tuning my web suite design to literally accomodate the available tools and technologies without feeling as if I had to once again compromise or settle for less. Funny thing, once you experience publishing a DIY BV website, it is hard to contain the feeling of total freedom and move on to the next hard-core project without some sense of disappointment (that you once again have to rely on others for anything/everything).

The very most important, the core, the critical issue that originally motivated me to commit the future of my businesses to my "partnership" with VodaHost remains today: I can (in fact) design, create, actuate, and maintain myself my online operations using VH-supplied technologies without ever becoming totally dependent on so-called webmasters again, simply by trading my time. To me, this is THE most important mantra I must diligently repeat to myself, especially when I find myself groaning "You mean I can do that?" once again. I am getting better about moving past my intense focus, however! LOL

And, since you mention the time element, I have to keep this as an important influence on the decisions I make since it's all about my ongoing businesses....not only do I have a timetable I must meet (self-imposed, of course!) to complete the developments, I have to implement them to remain a viable enterprise that provides income for more than 100 families!
I may not end up with what I originally had in mind, but what I will have will be completely within my control to do the job I need it to do. I can always go back later to insert another totally custom designed version developed more leisurely......gladly paying through the nose!

It is clear that many VH Members bantering back and forth about eCommerce clearly do not have a business plan (let alone a web plan), so it is no wonder the obstacles of using a "customizable" cart revolve around the central functions of actually transacting business rather than the larger issues of continuity, viability, or merchandising. This process has helped to illustrate pratfalls to me, and has been a way for me to refine my designs, actually. Trying to be of some help for me is a means to reinforce my chosen path, a form of self affirmation, for like all males I tend to procrastinate before running up to the battle...

I think I once said that I am leap-frogging: BV to Soho to OSC to World Domination! God, I hope so! If not, I will simply be drained and begging for quarters! LOLOLOL

Look forward to working with you!

Oh my goodness Vasili....i enjoyed reading your response...and I THINK it was a compliment! LOL LOL


I'm not sure what you meant about the cart issues: >>>so it is no wonder the obstacles of using a "customizable" cart revolve around the central functions of actually transacting business rather than the larger issues of continuity, viability, or merchandising. This process has helped to illustrate pratfalls to me, and has been a way for me to refine my designs, actually.<<

In the end...of course the cart must transact business--and i understand that many sites out there are very straightforward---and I tend to get so wrapped up in how it LOOKS that i forget "does it really DO what I need it to do". Now i have found a cart that does what I need, but i don't know how to make it look the way I want. ..several of my competitors use certain carts that get the job done...but they are so ugly and so hard to use as a customer and so cluttered and such that I know they loose sales. My customer base is women aged 30-65 with most of them being over 40 and not very icomputer savy nor patient.....it does no good for me to have a great product, if after 2 minutes on my site they give up because they don't understand how to navigate or buy my product....

So, my issue of merging POWER with Ease of use and "pretty stuff" continues......yes, it will be hard,but i will conquer it to my liking!
Fortunatly, I am able to take the next few weeks to focus on this without putting other people in limbo...but one of these days my kids are going to expect me to do some laundry and make some dinner!! LOL (my office is homebased)


Anyway...thanks for your encouragement to me to keep striving for what I need and yet learn to compromise when necessary. I also love what you said,

>>>Trying to be of some help for me is a means to reinforce my chosen path, a form of self affirmation,<<

It is good to do what you love and to be willing to share it with others. It will trickle down in wonderful ways. You know for everyone who actually posts here, there are probably many, many who will read your posts and benefit from your wisdom and you will never know it. That is what makes a job worthwhile, you know...sharing your passion.

>>> for like all males I tend to procrastinate before running up to the battle...<<

ROFL!!!!! Well, i'm not a guy, but I sure am guilty of doing this regarding my website! So shall I say,
CHARGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok, you already have....now I must do likewise!

have a wonderful evening! whereever you are!

Originally Posted by islandcrazy

Oh my goodness Vasili....i enjoyed reading your response...and I THINK it was a compliment! LOL LOL
I'm not sure what you meant about the cart issues: >>>so it is no wonder the obstacles of using a "customizable" cart revolve around the central functions of actually transacting business rather than the larger issues of continuity, viability, or merchandising. This process has helped to illustrate pratfalls to me, and has been a way for me to refine my designs, actually.<<

Sometimes I get rather "heady" and forget anyone is actually listening.....
(I was trying to say -politely, of course- that others seem to always stumble on the most basic issues and tweaks when it comes to carts without paying attention to whether they should actually be investing so much time and energy into a technology that is beyond their "business plan" altogether...I mean, why bother?...and how the consistency of these "problems" help me to guage my own preparedness)
and, as always so as not to seem so self-absorbed or TOO self-important: "In My Opinion!"
Good Night, Soldier! <"DIS-missed!">

Ok, just an ironic twist to this thread.....I have been in contact with the owner/builder of raptinbliss website....which was the purpose of this thread to begin with---looking at creative examples in Soho....

Here is the link a previous thread about her,which just goes to show no matter how much you read the forums, you can still miss some pages in your homework:

http://forum.soholaunch.com/showthread.php?t=1291

turns out she built her own template using Frontpage and Soholaunch combined.
It is truly a beautiful site.

Sorry!
When I saw her site appear in "Promote Your Website" (the old name for our BV website showcase Forum) I remembered comments that make her stick out in my mind as having done something very different, something I was leaning toward..I stand corrected, having "filed it" mentally as a Soho+BV website...
Nonetheless, it is still a fine example of what can be accomplished "mixing mediums" in website design!