Looking for a solution for a retail store. Here's what is needed:

• Customer database
• Inventory database (that, ideally, would interact with a website or intranet)
• Appointment database ( if it could interact with a website and the customer database, that would be awesome)

Bonuses:

Can issue reports and trigger emails to customers by date and/or other info.

At first I was investigating MS Access, but a friend of mine has described it as "a nightmare" and recommended Joomla.

Yep, I'd definitely go the Joomla route. The CMS is about the easiest to use I've encountered, and I'm pretty sure there'll be plenty of (probably free) extensions to cater for customers/inventory/appointments.

Have a look, if you're interested, at the Joomla Extensions page, I would be really surprised if you don't find extensions capable of providing all of that functionality in one.

And yes, (speaking purely from a software development perspective) Access is complete arse.

Are you doing this yourself? If so, if you're already familiar with some development languages/environments, then you should find Joomla an easy enough learning curve.

If you want some more info and links to useful Joomla resources, just shout.

AsylumUtopia said:

Yep, I'd definitely go the Joomla route. The CMS is about the easiest to use I've encountered, and I'm pretty sure there'll be plenty of (probably free) extensions to cater for customers/inventory/appointments.

Have a look, if you're interested, at the Joomla Extensions page, I would be really surprised if you don't find extensions capable of providing all of that functionality in one.

And yes, (speaking purely from a software development perspective) Access is complete arse.

Are you doing this yourself? If so, if you're already familiar with some development languages/environments, then you should find Joomla an easy enough learning curve.

If you want some more info and links to useful Joomla resources, just shout.

Thanks, AU!

No, I wouldn't be doing this. I know jack about computers.

Ace said:

Thanks, AU!

You're welcome!

No, I wouldn't be doing this. I know jack about computers.

AsylumUtopia said:

Ace said:

Thanks, AU!

You're welcome!

No, I wouldn't be doing this. I know jack about computers.

In that case, if you're looking to find someone to do Joomla development - be careful and make sure they are reputable. The thing about Joomla is that it's very, very easy to put together great websites very quickly, mainly due to the basic Joomla package which provides tons of functionality, and also the availability of thousands of extensions (many of which are free, and others of which are very reasonably priced given the functionality and service commitments they provide).

To give you an example, I could knock together the basic functionality of prince.org in less than an hour - no joke. The banner greeting, member registration, login/logoff, and user profile functionality is already part of the basic Joomla package. The forums, chat box and image gallery functionality are all available as free extensions, and could be downloaded, extracted, and integrated into the site design within minutes. Configuration and template design (getting the look and feel correct) would take considerably longer, but the actual functionality (given that all of it already exists) takes hardly any time to put together.

That's all sweet and dandy, but the problem is that it means there are lots of unscrupulous cowboys out there, who'll quite happily knock together a great website with all the functionality you require, and then bugger off without finishing the job - as far as I'm concerned site design is only the first third of the job.

The second third is SEO - search engine optimisation. There's no point having a pretty website if nobody can find it, so SEO is of paramount importance. Sadly, the number of so-called web developers who know fuck all about SEO is frightening.

The third third is service contracts. Any web developer (or their affiliates) should be providing you with at the very least a 2 year post-implementation service contract. The last thing you want is for your shiny new website to break because Joomla issued a security upgrade which needs to be applied, and your developer has buggered off into the mist leaving you with a broken website and no clue how to fix it.

You may know all this already, or it may not be relevant, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

I do Joomla web design (among other things) myself, although I am (fortunately) snowed under at the moment. I do know other reputable Joomla designers and could put you in touch, if required.

There's quite a good (and active) Joomla community, so support and guidance is in plentiful supply (which is another reason I would recommend going the Joomla route).

Thanks so much, AU!

What if they want to have the customer/inventory/appt. stuff online? Can Joomla do that job?

Ace said:

Thanks so much, AU!

What if they want to have the customer/inventory/appt. stuff online? Can Joomla do that job?

Yes, absolutely. It may only require configuration, or it may require some development depending on what functionality you're using (or you might decide to do something bespoke, from scratch), depending on what details and functions you want to provide, but yes, Joomla is essentially a web design kit with practically all the usual web functionalitiy you can think of available.

AsylumUtopia said:

Ace said:

Thanks so much, AU!

What if they want to have the customer/inventory/appt. stuff online? Can Joomla do that job?

Yes, absolutely. It may only require configuration, or it may require some development depending on what functionality you're using (or you might decide to do something bespoke, from scratch), depending on what details and functions you want to provide, but yes, Joomla is essentially a web design kit with practically all the usual web functionalitiy you can think of available.

I meant What if they want to have the customer/inventory/appt. stuff offline!

Ace said:

AsylumUtopia said:

Yes, absolutely. It may only require configuration, or it may require some development depending on what functionality you're using (or you might decide to do something bespoke, from scratch), depending on what details and functions you want to provide, but yes, Joomla is essentially a web design kit with practically all the usual web functionalitiy you can think of available.

I meant What if they want to have the customer/inventory/appt. stuff offline!

Yes, if it was only required as an intranet, then you wouldn't even need to have it hosted on the web, it would just be hosted on your own server/pc. If part of it is to be an online website then you might host the entire database online only allowing public/member access as required (and using a hosting services' tried and tested systems for backups and security is often easier and cheaper than doing it in-house), or you can mix and match, having an online frontend website that pipes relevant info to your backend (offline) intranet (and vice versa). The possibilities are endless.

Without further info on the requirements I'd just be pontificating about how great Joomla is. If you want more specific info that requires sharing of info you'd rather not share on here, feel free to pm me, or email at asylumutopia@gmail.com

AsylumUtopia said:

Ace said:

I meant What if they want to have the customer/inventory/appt. stuff offline!

Yes, if it was only required as an intranet, then you wouldn't even need to have it hosted on the web, it would just be hosted on your own server/pc. If part of it is to be an online website then you might host the entire database online only allowing public/member access as required (and using a hosting services' tried and tested systems for backups and security is often easier and cheaper than doing it in-house), or you can mix and match, having an online frontend website that pipes relevant info to your backend (offline) intranet (and vice versa). The possibilities are endless.

Without further info on the requirements I'd just be pontificating about how great Joomla is. If you want more specific info that requires sharing of info you'd rather not share on here, feel free to pm me, or email at asylumutopia@gmail.com

Dude (dudette?), you are awesome. Thank you so much for the time you put into answering my questions!

I don't know what it is, but a client of mine asked about Joomla the other day, they'd apparently heard good things

Ace said:

AsylumUtopia said:

Yes, if it was only required as an intranet, then you wouldn't even need to have it hosted on the web, it would just be hosted on your own server/pc. If part of it is to be an online website then you might host the entire database online only allowing public/member access as required (and using a hosting services' tried and tested systems for backups and security is often easier and cheaper than doing it in-house), or you can mix and match, having an online frontend website that pipes relevant info to your backend (offline) intranet (and vice versa). The possibilities are endless.

Without further info on the requirements I'd just be pontificating about how great Joomla is. If you want more specific info that requires sharing of info you'd rather not share on here, feel free to pm me, or email at asylumutopia@gmail.com

Dude (dudette?), you are awesome. Thank you so much for the time you put into answering my questions!

It's dude. And you are most welcome.

Ace,

Sorry to jump in a couple weeks late, but if you haven't found a solution I suggest looking at http://www.mailware.com/. Mailware manages inventory, is a full back office system, and handles customer database needs. This software will also allow you to "issue reports and trigger emails to customers by date and/or other info." Hope this helps.

Thomas Rampart

I can't help but think this page has read like a Joomla commerial so far.

At any rate, good luck, Ace. I wish I could help you here, but I know nothing.

[Edited 10/13/10 11:45am]

Lammastide said:

I can't help but think this page was read like a Joomla commerial so far.

At any rate, good luck, Ace. I wish I could help you here, but I know nothing.

I guess it does. But what can I say, Joomla is the cat's pyjamas. It's open source, and therefore freely available to everyone, it's by far the easiest route to web design for beginners (which can be both a good and a bad thing), but most importantly there's no need to re-invent the wheel with Joomla. Unless you have very specific web design requirements then all the web-based functionality you might require is already available free (or for a fraction of what similar functionality would otherwise cost).

Gah, I can't help myself, there I go again spouting on about the marvels of Joomla!

I may be slightly biased, but I believe it deserves to be recommended at every opportunity.

I guess I've spent too long seeing too much money wasted on simple web designs that could've been done with Joomla in a tenth of the time for a twentieth of the cost.

</end_of_Joomla_Commercial>