What is the workflow with actinic?

[Wilbo]

Hi there,

I'm a web designer who is going to use actinic to construct a shop for the client, can someone guide me through the correct (or best) workflow for doing this?

I'm imagining it's something like:

- Buy the designer software
- Design and create the template
- Add the products / set prices, shipping etc
- Get the client to buy the desired version of actinic, hosting, payment processor etc and instal on their machine
- Put their site details into the designer software
- Click 'Upload'

What does everyone think? I'd like as much information as possible before I get started, particularly on any potential pitfalls.

Obviously the client will want the site 100% finished before it goes live, so can I do testing without making the site available to the public?
Can I add products etc on my designer software or will the client have to add them on their software?

Thanks in advance!

[Duncan Rounding]

if this is a one off and you will hand over to client and walk away then you can use the customer's version of Actinic to design with. If you intend designing other sites for clients than Designer is what you would need.

Your work flow looks fine. there are many variations and of course you can do things in parallel but in principle you covered the important points.

You can upload the site in test mode to the final domain or to your own test domain. You can block access by the robots in the normal ways - if you are using standard templates then in test mode there's a meta to block bots built in. Personally I use my own sub domains for testing.

You can add products in Designer but you are only licensed to download test orders.

[Wilbo]

Thanks!
So just to clarify, I can add products through the designer software I just can't download orders?

One other question - I'm using the trail version of the designer software at the moment, (at least I think I am, the title at the top says Designer - Online Catalogue) but I can't see any way of making multiple sites - for example there's no 'new' button in the file menu. Is this functionality that's added in the full version?

[Duncan Rounding]

You can add products and download orders - but you are only licensed to do that for testing.

The trial version is limited. You can't create multiple sites nor can you move a site (snapshot) from the trial to the licensed version - so be careful if you are thinking of starting your design with the trial.

[tonerman]

I believe for multiple sites you need Business Plus

[leehack]

As a brand new designer to actinic, i'd say if this is your first and most likely the only actinic site you will do, tell client that you have no idea about actinic and leave the job, it's not worth the time investment, it really isn't, you'll be doing both client and yourself a disservice.

If you do intend to become an actinic designer long term, then something like this:

1. Do the actinic design course
2. Read all documentation at least twice
3. Don't slam the community forum with question after question because you are not prepared to study and read documentation properly, without question you will need the support forums later on, so don't get people's backs up, their help will be invaluable at a later date

That gives you a basis to work with and talk to your client about what you can do, design process is then:

1. No need to buy the designer software, i've not used it in 6 years, so you don't have to
2. Get client to buy their preferred version of actinic and provide you with the license key so you can install it your end
3. Buy yourself some test domains, i have 6, you can upload sites to these and have them hidden from the search engines via robots.txt
4. Design your outer layout in DW and ensure the template and the css are in the site1 folder (as per huge message that comes up on screen as you go to register a design)
5. Register the design with actinic via the DW interface
6. Adjust inner layouts within actinic, list layouts, fragment layouts, section link layouts, product layouts and various areas such as search, cart and checkout
7. Understanding 'site options', 'business settings', 'design library' and 'use parent' areas are really key here.
8. Add sections and products into actinic
9. Add shipping and business settings required
10. Add brochure pages for pages such as shipping, seciure payments, returns etc.
11. Upload it all to test site (web - network setup to add network settings)
12. Show client and take feedback on required changes
13. Make changes and update test site
14. Repeat above 2 steps until client is 100% happy
15. Snapshot the site (indeed do this many times throughout the process)
16. Invoice client
17. On receipt of cleared funds, send them the snapshot

That's a broad outline, won't go far wrong if you follow something like that

[Wilbo]

Ah thats interesting. I've spoken to two different sales peoplpe at Atinic and one said I definatly needed the designer software and the other said I didn't need it becasue i could design the site on the trail version, so they were both wrong!

The problem I have is that I'll have to make changes to the site periodically so I guess I'll need the designer software after all?

[leehack]

No because you will always have the clients software your end (and therefore have their site setup), you get new snapshot off them, import it, change it and then send it back.

[KellyJ]

leehack,

"Get client to buy their preferred version of actinic and provide you with the license key so you can install it your end"

1. Isn't using the customer's licence on the developer's PC breaking the Actinic licence agreement?

2. When using an external developer, isn't the customer's best option the lower cost Client version?

[Duncan Rounding]

1. Isn't using the customer's licence on the developer's PC breaking the Actinic licence agreement?

You are licensed to have one installation for order download and management and another for development. There's only one domain.

2. When using an external developer, isn't the customer's best option the lower cost Client version?

It can be, but it means the client has no control over content and design and of course the client would require a developer with Developer.

[KellyJ]

drounding,

When you said -

"The trial version is limited. You can't create multiple sites nor can you move a site (snapshot) from the trial to the licensed version - so be careful if you are thinking of starting your design with the trial."

- in what way should one be careful?

My trial Developer stopped working after 30 days. Just this week, I received my full licence. On entering that in the trial software, I was able to access the design I had started under trial, i.e. my blocked trial version transformed into my working licensed vaersion, without having to work with a site snapshot of my earlier work.

Admittedly, I did need Support's help with getting this to happen (they used NetViewer to remotely access my PC, but although I could see what they were doing, I didn't understand the simple configuration change they made).

Maybe you had other specific issues in mind?

[KellyJ]

You are licensed to have one installation for order download and management and another for development. There's only one domain.

It can be, but it means the client has no control over content and design and of course the client would require a developer with Developer.

I didn't know that was possible - at least I didn't read it that way on Actinic site - could have saved some money!

I assumed Wilbo is an external developer, whom the client would use to implement ongoing design changes. I understood the client can make product changes and some content changes (just not design or layout changes) with the Client version. Is that not true?

[Duncan Rounding]

drounding,... in what way should one be careful?...

There's no problem if you buy the software as you have found out. The issue comes when a developer designs a site using the trial and then wants to hand over the site to the client without registering the software.

You are correct Client does allow full product management.

Regarding using two computers - here's an extract from the license:

You may not:

(C) use one licensed copy of the Software on more than one computer except for backup purposes as described above or where the contents of a single web site are uploaded from one computer and a second computer is used to download orders from that web site and where the same functions within the software are never used concurrently on two different computers and the product version does not have multi-user capability.

[leehack]

leehack,

"Get client to buy their preferred version of actinic and provide you with the license key so you can install it your end"

1. Isn't using the customer's licence on the developer's PC breaking the Actinic licence agreement?

2. When using an external developer, isn't the customer's best option the lower cost Client version?

It's a per site license Kelly, not per person. What's the difference to having 2 PCs next to each in the same building, one doing design work, one processing orders - answer: location only. You're designing on behalf of a client into their software, it doesn't need to get any more complicated than that.