What do you want in V11

[wesleythorne]

most exciting, cant wait for some confirmed updates.

please actinic if you are listening can we have a very simple and quick way to add a product to more than one section or sub section without the need to create numerous steps. A single check box system as used by most of the online database rivals is what we need.

we need an online database actinic system

[wesleythorne]

built in spell checker please

[chris ashdown]

I will socccond the spill cheackker pleade

[pinbrook]

I'd like to see some clarification from Actinic re databases.

It seems all the new features being requested require an online DB. Does this means actinic is going online - fully. Or does it mean there will be both an online and offline database - as we have for stock control?

[brucet]

Version 11 will not have an online database as such, it will use the same technology as at present for storing data on the website.

We have been considering options for updating our technology. But it's no small task, and we decided there was an urgent need in the meantime to plug some key gaps in our current products as quickly as possible.

[wesleythorne]

best hope v11 does not take too long then, we need some real answers about actinics future commitment and online databases.

This should have been done on v8 but i guess thats easy to say now.

We would just like to know one way or the other if actinic will be be moving onto an online database, if so when, if not please let us know and don't keep us hanging on.

Kind Regards

[Jan]

With regards to working against an online database I'm going to ask the stupid question of the day, I always thought that Actinic's unique selling point was the hard coded HTML pages, the bringers of quick and easy SEO advantage. Have things changed SEO-wise so that this is not important anymore?

Regards,

[pinbrook]

Search engines are now able to index database sites quite effectively so actinic has lost ithe advantage it used to have in outputting HTML.

[Mike Hughes]

I would say Actinic has only lost half the advantage they used to have over online database websites.

Yes, search engines will now index dynamic pages OK so at least the online database web pages can be found.

But, having relevant keywords in the filename is still a major advantage of Actinic's approach. So a page called 'Blue-widgets.html' will do much better than something like "View.php?SectionID=1003&ProductRef=2163&Order=AlphaN" (all else being equal).

The added speed advantage of not having to search a database before outputting the page HTML shouldn't be forgotten either (nor the server processor overhead for having to parse the php).

And I can do a simple re-write with static pages if I ever want to change the page names. I'd be dead scared to do that with dynamic pages. Presumably all existing links would also die if Actinic decided in V14 (or whenever) to add another variable to the query string (such as &Device=PC, mobile, TV, etc).

So, I still like the static pagenames and links.

Against this though, there is the requirement to make websites more interactive. We need to be able to include more user generated content (reviews, ratings, ask a question, etc), to have a decent search function with flexible sort options (Price asc /desc, Ratings, Relevance, manufacturer, etc) and to handle online customer management (account generation, view order status, etc.)

My preference at the moment would be a half way house. Static pages for the home page, section pages, product pages (for speed, SEO, simple link-in strategy, stability) and then a dynamic back end that handles all the interactive search, reviews, and customer management functionality.

Mike

PS. I know I tend to go on about this, but if search results ordering should include 'by rating / reviews' etc (which they should) then surely this is another indicator that we really need the reviews functionality to be within Actinic.

[Golf Tee Warehouse]

My preference at the moment would be a half way house. Static pages for the home page, section pages, product pages (for speed, SEO, simple link-in strategy, stability) and then a dynamic back end that handles all the interactive search, reviews, and customer managament functionality.

This would be my preference also.

[plantsforshade]

We have been considering options for updating our technology. But it's no small task, and we decided there was an urgent need in the meantime to plug some key gaps in our current products as quickly as possible.

Hi does this mean you may be moving to a newer version of Access or what would be my choice a sql database as in Enterprise ? The current version used is ten years old after all.

Nigel

[leehack]

I would say Actinic has only lost half the advantage they used to have over online database websites.

Yes, search engines will now index dynamic pages OK so at least the online database web pages can be found.

But, having relevant keywords in the filename is still a major advantage of Actinic's approach. So a page called 'Blue-widgets.html' will do much better than something like "View.php?SectionID=1003&ProductRef=2163&Order=AlphaN" (all else being equal).

The added speed advantage of not having to search a database before outputting the page HTML shouldn't be forgotten either (nor the server processor overhead for having to parse the php).

And I can do a simple re-write with static pages if I ever want to change the page names. I'd be dead scared to do that with dynamic pages. Presumably all existing links would also die if Actinic decided in V14 (or whenever) to add another variable to the query string (such as &Device=PC, mobile, TV, etc).

So, I still like the static pagenames and links.

Against this though, there is the requirement to make websites more interactive. We need to be able to include more user generated content (reviews, ratings, ask a question, etc), to have a decent search function with flexible sort options (Price asc /desc, Ratings, Relevance, manufacturer, etc) and to handle online customer management (account generation, view order status, etc.)

My preference at the moment would be a half way house. Static pages for the home page, section pages, product pages (for speed, SEO, simple link-in strategy, stability) and then a dynamic back end that handles all the interactive search, reviews, and customer managament functionality.

Mike

PS. I know I tend to go on about this, but if search results ordering should include 'by rating / reviews' etc (which they should) then surely this is another indicator that we really need the reviews functionality to be within Actinic.

+1 for me.

[cbarling]

Thanks for the input, this is all very useful.

We expect to be demonstrating some of the v11 features at the October User conference, and announcing what we can immediately afterwards.

You may also have noted that the pace of product releases has increased. I expect that to continue.

Chris

[pinbrook]

But, having relevant keywords in the filename is still a major advantage of Actinic's approach. So a page called 'Blue-widgets.html' will do much better than something like "View.php?SectionID=1003&ProductRef=2163&Order=AlphaN" (all else being equal).

most DB apps allow you to set a URL pagename which eliminates this type of url

For example we do this on the pinbrook site (drupal) - take this page for example

http://www.pinbrook.net/actinic-user-conference-2010

if i didn't set the pagename it would be

http://www.pinbrook.net/node/187

I can set the page URL in a similar manner to the same option in Actinic.

But I digress....

speaking to clients with Actinic sites, a few of them are saying they like using other apps whether it be gmail, wordpress etc etc because it gives then flexibility to work anywhere and someone else bears the brunt of backups etc. They are beginning to feel constrained by the desktop nature of Actinic. Although I fully understand it is a major rewrite to take A online, maybe there should be more development on Express. Much in the same way a certain competitor is currently marketing its ecomm software where the hosted version gets all the new features before the software that peeps buy to self host and develop.

[leehack]

If actinic stray too far away from their strength, they will just end up as another fish in a rather large ocean, i couldn't think of anything more dangerous for them to do personally. It needs a facelift and updating so that it contains what we'd now consider as standard features on an ecommerce site, but if they try and cut it in a market that they have not competed in yet, i think they will vanish like a fart in the wind very very quickly.

For them to move into the areas that some people are discussing would be tantamount to online suicide. They do not have the resource or the investment for such a drastic change in such a short time, it needs to be done in stages, but it's true those stages need to pick up the pace and catch up in the areas where most of us agree they are lacking.