calicosun

I am not sure if this thread is still live. Am really hoping it is! I have been trying to work with my host (with whom I am a reseller) to establish how I set up a development area for the development of my sites. The most common suggestion has been to set up a sub domain.

My questions are:

(please don’t laugh at this – I am still learning): What is working locally and how do you do it?

Would setting up sub domains with the host work for development sites?

Thanks!

Lisa

Hi there. Did you find a solution for your problem? I have a situation where my client mostly would like to sell to retailers and just wants their products on display for viewing but not buying (not worth selling on line as each unit is small). I am quite new to word press. Interesting that no one replied to your question.

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such an in-depth and amazingly helpful reply to my questions. I appreciate you doing this very much. It has helped me to make some big decisions that have been bugging me for months.

I see that you are very organised, keeping txt files of custom files. I guess keeping some sort of log book for each website with brief notes of work done, when, how long and any problems/issues to be aware of for next time would help save time in the long run also. Ha ha – this is on my list to do for my client with regard to their marketing material, things like noting that when I print x file with x printer for x client I need to remind the printer to print the job 10% lighter – still have not set up a system. Next week!

I have one more question (well several relating to one topic) if you can find the time to answer it/them…

Do you use word press for e-commerce sites and if so, which shopping cart do you use and how do you find it? If not, why do you not use it and what do you use?

Thank you

Wow – so you only spend 15 mins max a couple of times a year updating a site? If that is the case then it would work for me. I was aware that it was better to upgrade regularly as the upgrades occur than leave it for ages but still thought it took quite a bit of time. Would you mind answering the questions below?

– Do you have many problems with plug-ins when you do the upgrades on a regular basis? I have heard this can make the process take longer.

– If I used an existing theme and made quite a few adjustments to it or created my own theme/s will this affect the time it takes to do the upgrades… ie. are the themes affected by the upgrades or are they separate?

– Do you upgrade EVERY time there is a new upgrade ie. 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 etc or would you do 2.1 then maybe 2.3?

Thank you!

Thanks for your help everyone. I was told the support on the WP forum was amazing and now I know it for myself.

This was just an initial enquiry to find out if WP is right for my need. I am looking for a way to build small basic websites at a low cost for a few of my clients who just can’t afford to use a web developer so end up going without or getting their mate down the road who has no idea about SEO or designing a website to ‘throw something together’.

My initial research into WP made me think I could use a WP theme, adjust the design to fit with the clients brand (yep, know that is not totally straight forward) and give them an inexpensive small website. Upon further research I started reading about the ongoing requirement of upgrading the WP software and plugins – that is why I asked the question here… to double check what I was reading in my research was correct. It makes total sense now that I understand software better – Drupal is similar but I was still hoping it might be ok for smaller, more basic themes/sties in WP.

The ongoing monthly maintenance fees I would have to charge my clients to cover my time to check, monitor and upgrade, especially if I had to spend approx 1 to 1.5 hours a week, or even a MONTH on a single sites, makes this not a very viable option.