Search questions and share your knowledge with the world here on Questionpoint.
Home > Database Design Interview Questions > ASP.NET WEBSITE FROM STRACTH -- HELP ASAP

:: Categories ::

Interview Question in Database Design


 

Interview Question :: ASP.NET WEBSITE FROM STRACTH -- HELP ASAP


Hello, I am not a complete novice, but I recently have been offered to design/build a website from nothing, and I need step by step instructions.

I need to build a small database driven product catalog using .net pages and either MS Access or another dbase (Im not sure what I need)

What are the steps to set up the server first?
My client is going to give me remote access to their server, but I don't know what is needed on it or what to install first?
Do I need to pay for anything to install on the server, or can I just upload the code/assets and mdb file.
It cant be that easy?

Basically, I need a 10-12 page site, I can design the pages but I need help with the following:

1) a product catalog search function, ( master prod list, specific prod, product detail page)
2) login screen for downloading specific .pdf files or whatever
3) small content management system for client to update pages on their own after Im done.
4) code site for search engines (SEO)

My client is not technical at all, and I have a web designer background, so I could use some handholding.
Also, is their a way to copy a product catalog database and modify it to fit my project,
I have some knowledge of programming and databases, but I cannot right the sql tables or programming logic myself
(although I would like to learn) I am familiar with markup languages and the front end but I need to connect it to a backend and make it work.

Any assistance from professional developers would be great
Thanks
Answers to "ASP.NET WEBSITE FROM STRACTH -- HELP ASAP"
RE: ASP.NET WEBSITE FROM STRACTH -- HELP ASAP?

Well for starters, Access isn't really going to be a great back-end for a database drive website, unless VERY few people would be simultaneously using it (ie, around 5). You'd be much better off with an actual database server such as SQL Server or MySQL.



Based on your requirements, the quickest and easiest way to get up and running might be to simply use a CMS product like DotNetNuke (yes, it's free). DotNetNuke (DNN) has different modules available that can be installed via a web interface for handling features such as a product catalog, user login, file management, SEO, and client-accessible content management. Before you get too invested in the project, take a quick look at it (http://www.dotnetnuke.com/) to see if it would fit your needs. It would certainly save you a lot of time.



How you set up the server is up to you. If you're paying for commercial hosting your client most likely wouldn't have remote access to it to do anything other than modify pages or limited similar tasks. If you were to host it yourself, you'd have much more flexibility but would have to deal with a lot more administrative chores.



A product catalog search function can be fairly simple, assuming your database is well designed. A search screen will simply build a SQL query that checks a Product table or something similar.



A login screen can be done using the built-in ASP.NET membership mechanisms. You'd need to either purchase or build your own basic document management system for handling the PDF files. This can be as simple as storing the files in a binary format as BLOBS within your database, or store meta data about these files in the database and using various functions of the System.IO namespace to retrieve or access them.



The content management system may be a little harder to work with. Is your end-user updating static HTML-type "brochure" pages? If so, you could just use an HTML editor control (take a look at http://freetextbox.com/default.aspx) to allow the client a WYSIWYG interface. A control such as this will allow you to grab the generated HTML during a postback, which you'd store in a database. A basic ASPX page with a Literal control can be used as a template where this HTML is then placed to allow for dynamic updates.








 
Vote for this answer ::  
Update Alert Setting

Top Tags



- Sharepoint Developer Interview Questions - Java Interview Questions - J2EE Interview Questions - ASP.NET Interview Questions - MOSS 2007 Interview Questions - WPF Interview Questions - Microsoft CRM Interview Questions - Technical Interview Questions for Programmers
Home | Terms Of Service | Contact Us | Site Blog | Investors | Advertise With Us | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Questionpoint Widget
© Questionpoint 2008 User-posted content, unless source quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License