Microsoft Publisher - Using Publisher for E-commerce Website.

Author

Using Publisher for E-commerce Website.

Roger

2007-11-13, 3:15 am

I know this must be a stupid question but I have to ask. Can publisher be
used as a e-commerce website. I have already paid a company a large amount of
money for a domian name and the e-commerce set up. I like the templates
publisher offers and since I have a 30 day trial with this website company. I
was wondering can I use publisher to edit my site and then pay the small
money I see for creating a Domain name instead of paying a company lots of
money PLEASE HELP!!! I am very dissapointed with the features this compnay I
paid for have to offer. After seeing what publisher can offer I like it

DavidF

2007-11-13, 3:15 am

That's a tough one to answer. It isn't recommended, but it is done.
Publisher is primarily a DTP, and using it for web sites is limiting. If you
have some serious ambitions for your site, you probably shouldn't use
Publisher.

MSFT says:

" Office Publisher 2007 is not the appropriate tool in the following cases:
a.. If your Web site needs interactivity or database-driven content, so
that visitors can respond in a Web log (blog) or purchase items in a
shopping cart
b.. If your Web site requires data validation, such as for verifying
credit card numbers "

Read this before you decide: Prepare, publish, and maintain your Publisher
Web site:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/p...0947601033.aspx

But like I said, it can be done. Here is a link to a site that is doing it:
http://www.thepuppydepotonline.com/

DavidF

"Roger" <Roger @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:32779D98-FC2F-4C0A-995C-14001EF7F607@microsoft.com...
>I know this must be a stupid question but I have to ask. Can publisher be
> used as a e-commerce website. I have already paid a company a large amount
> of
> money for a domian name and the e-commerce set up. I like the templates
> publisher offers and since I have a 30 day trial with this website
> company. I
> was wondering can I use publisher to edit my site and then pay the small
> money I see for creating a Domain name instead of paying a company lots of
> money PLEASE HELP!!! I am very dissapointed with the features this compnay
> I
> paid for have to offer. After seeing what publisher can offer I like it

Roger

2007-11-13, 3:15 am

thank You Dave, I guess front[age is a better option for what I would like to
do?

"DavidF" wrote:

> That's a tough one to answer. It isn't recommended, but it is done.
> Publisher is primarily a DTP, and using it for web sites is limiting. If you
> have some serious ambitions for your site, you probably shouldn't use
> Publisher.
>
> MSFT says:
>
> " Office Publisher 2007 is not the appropriate tool in the following cases:
> a.. If your Web site needs interactivity or database-driven content, so
> that visitors can respond in a Web log (blog) or purchase items in a
> shopping cart
> b.. If your Web site requires data validation, such as for verifying
> credit card numbers "
>
> Read this before you decide: Prepare, publish, and maintain your Publisher
> Web site:
> http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/p...0947601033.aspx
>
> But like I said, it can be done. Here is a link to a site that is doing it:
> http://www.thepuppydepotonline.com/
>
> DavidF
>
>
> "Roger" <Roger @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:32779D98-FC2F-4C0A-995C-14001EF7F607@microsoft.com...
>
>
>

Roger

2007-11-13, 3:15 am

"Roger" wrote:
[color=darkred]
> thank You David, I guess frontpage is a better option for what I would like to
> do?
>
> "DavidF" wrote:
>

Roger

2007-11-13, 3:15 am

Soory I meant to say: Thank You David, I guess Frontpage is a better option
for what I would like to do?

Sorry about Dave, just tired of being in the Computer all day!

"Roger" wrote:
[color=darkred]
> thank You Dave, I guess front[age is a better option for what I would like to
> do?
>
> "DavidF" wrote:
>

Rob Giordano $Crash$

2007-11-13, 3:15 am

FrontPage would be a better choice, and better yet would be FP's
replacement; Expression Web. However, you're still gonna have to sit infront
of the computer for hours and you will have to learn a lot of stuff too.

Creating an ecommerce site from scratch is not a beginner project, so you'd
best stick with a pre-built ecommerce template that you can interface with
your main website or if you don't have a zillion items to sell use Paypal.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rob Giordano
Microsoft MVP Expression

"Roger" <Roger@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E38FC53D-4FDE-4699-A9FE-058E6CAF7BD8@microsoft.com...
| Soory I meant to say: Thank You David, I guess Frontpage is a better
option
| for what I would like to do?
|
| Sorry about Dave, just tired of being in the Computer all day!
|
|
| "Roger" wrote:
|
| > thank You Dave, I guess front[age is a better option for what I would
like to
| > do?
| >
| > "DavidF" wrote:
| >
| > > That's a tough one to answer. It isn't recommended, but it is done.
| > > Publisher is primarily a DTP, and using it for web sites is limiting.
If you
| > > have some serious ambitions for your site, you probably shouldn't use
| > > Publisher.
| > >
| > > MSFT says:
| > >
| > > " Office Publisher 2007 is not the appropriate tool in the following
cases:
| > > a.. If your Web site needs interactivity or database-driven content,
so
| > > that visitors can respond in a Web log (blog) or purchase items in a
| > > shopping cart
| > > b.. If your Web site requires data validation, such as for verifying
| > > credit card numbers "
| > >
| > > Read this before you decide: Prepare, publish, and maintain your
Publisher
| > > Web site:
| > > http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/p...0947601033.aspx
| > >
| > > But like I said, it can be done. Here is a link to a site that is
doing it:
| > > http://www.thepuppydepotonline.com/
| > >
| > > DavidF
| > >
| > >
| > > "Roger" <Roger @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
| > > news:32779D98-FC2F-4C0A-995C-14001EF7F607@microsoft.com...
| > > >I know this must be a stupid question but I have to ask. Can
publisher be
| > > > used as a e-commerce website. I have already paid a company a large
amount
| > > > of
| > > > money for a domian name and the e-commerce set up. I like the
templates
| > > > publisher offers and since I have a 30 day trial with this website
| > > > company. I
| > > > was wondering can I use publisher to edit my site and then pay the
small
| > > > money I see for creating a Domain name instead of paying a company
lots of
| > > > money PLEASE HELP!!! I am very dissapointed with the features this
compnay
| > > > I
| > > > paid for have to offer. After seeing what publisher can offer I like
it
| > >
| > >
| > >

DavidF

2007-11-13, 6:15 pm

Roger, not Rog ;-)

Thanks for the sensitivity to David vs. Dave...I do find it a bit irritating
when I introduce myself as David and the person responds with "glad to meet
you Dave", but that is off topic...

I think it is a matter of scope, what you are trying to do and what goals
you have for your site. If you have only 1 or 10 items to sell, then you can
easily use PayPal with Publisher to build your site. If you anticipate 100s
of items to sell, or plan on a very dynamic site, then you will quickly grow
frustrated with managing your site with Publisher. Publisher is intended for
primarily relatively small, simple, static sites...but people push those
limits all the time.

If you already own FrontPage, then yes this will give you a lot more room to
grow your site. If you don't own FP, then you might consider Web Expression,
as it is the program that is replacing FP, and is a superior, albeit a very
expensive program. The learning curve will be high too. And if you already
own Publisher and know how to use it to produce print documents, and only
have a few SKUs, then it might be worth building it in Publisher. And there
are other choices out there. Mike Koewler who posts here regularly uses
Serif Web Plus 10, and it has the commerce capability built-in and works
much as a DTP when it comes to design, is relatively easy to learn, and
inexpensive. I would take a look at it. And there is nvu.com a free open
source program...

My point is, to continue to do as you are...plan well what you want to do
now, and where you want to go and then choose the software. Feel free to
write back with more questions...

DavidF

"Roger" <Roger@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E38FC53D-4FDE-4699-A9FE-058E6CAF7BD8@microsoft.com...[color=darkred]
> Soory I meant to say: Thank You David, I guess Frontpage is a better
> option
> for what I would like to do?
>
> Sorry about Dave, just tired of being in the Computer all day!
>
>
> "Roger" wrote:
>

DavidF

2007-11-13, 6:15 pm

And another thought...

Be aware that designing, building and managing your own website is going to
take a lot more time than you expect. Be careful about it is cost effective
for you. The template you have, that is costing you more money than you want
to spend, may still be your best choice if time is an issue for you. How
much is your time worth to you?

DavidF

"DavidF" <Nope@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:uDdOgxfJIHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Roger, not Rog ;-)
>
> Thanks for the sensitivity to David vs. Dave...I do find it a bit
> irritating when I introduce myself as David and the person responds with
> "glad to meet you Dave", but that is off topic...
>
> I think it is a matter of scope, what you are trying to do and what goals
> you have for your site. If you have only 1 or 10 items to sell, then you
> can easily use PayPal with Publisher to build your site. If you anticipate
> 100s of items to sell, or plan on a very dynamic site, then you will
> quickly grow frustrated with managing your site with Publisher. Publisher
> is intended for primarily relatively small, simple, static sites...but
> people push those limits all the time.
>
> If you already own FrontPage, then yes this will give you a lot more room
> to grow your site. If you don't own FP, then you might consider Web
> Expression, as it is the program that is replacing FP, and is a superior,
> albeit a very expensive program. The learning curve will be high too. And
> if you already own Publisher and know how to use it to produce print
> documents, and only have a few SKUs, then it might be worth building it in
> Publisher. And there are other choices out there. Mike Koewler who posts
> here regularly uses Serif Web Plus 10, and it has the commerce capability
> built-in and works much as a DTP when it comes to design, is relatively
> easy to learn, and inexpensive. I would take a look at it. And there is
> nvu.com a free Open Source program...
>
> My point is, to continue to do as you are...plan well what you want to do
> now, and where you want to go and then choose the software. Feel free to
> write back with more questions...
>
> DavidF
>
>
> "Roger" <Roger@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:E38FC53D-4FDE-4699-A9FE-058E6CAF7BD8@microsoft.com...
>
>

Mike Koewler

2007-11-13, 6:15 pm

Roger,

What is a relatively large amount of money? If it's more than $125/yr.,
then I would let your trial period end. Many, many hosts charge that
much or less per year and most of them include an e-commerce program
that can be auto installed. For a big store, I love osCommerce. And as
David says, I use WebPlus which has a Wizard that allows you to set up a
store using PayPal, Mal's E-Commerce or another one (can't remember
which one!).

Mike

Roger wrote:
> I know this must be a stupid question but I have to ask. Can publisher be
> used as a e-commerce website. I have already paid a company a large amount of
> money for a domian name and the e-commerce set up. I like the templates
> publisher offers and since I have a 30 day trial with this website company. I
> was wondering can I use publisher to edit my site and then pay the small
> money I see for creating a Domain name instead of paying a company lots of
> money PLEASE HELP!!! I am very dissapointed with the features this compnay I
> paid for have to offer. After seeing what publisher can offer I like it