I'm already leveraging the kind help and assiastance from other users of this support forum and have decided to try to optimize my use of Orchard in getting my website running.

I have an ASP.NET site already but it is too fiddly, was never really designed and relies on C# for stuff that really might have been done without code.

I'm a very experienced .Net developer and the site was put together like five years ago.

Now here are my main site requirements - I want to use Orchard as much as possible but relaize that some functions might best be handled by leveraging third party services.

Site Requirements 

1. User registration – out of the box Orchard support.
2. Site editability – out of the box Orchard support.
3. Site email capabilities – use relevant Modules.
4. Blogs – out of the box Orchard support.
5. Download files from server (e.g. code beta .zip files) – use Media Picker
6. Join mailing list feature –
7. Leave mailing list feature –
8. Forum support – use beta Forums module.
9. Shopping cart – for purchasing downloadable files(e.g. software)
   1. Purchase - users get email with URL for purchased digital asset.
   2. User can return and retrive this but must login to site.

What I am seeking to do is prove that I can support each of these either wholly with Orchard or partially with Orchard and partly by leveraging a third party.

For example the card based purchasing can be handled by a third party service and (I am told) can be done so that it appears to be part of the site - users get a seamless experience.

Once I can prove that these goals are readily acheivable and the core site can indeed be implemenetd by Orchard then I can begin to create and refine the content and so on.

So at this stage this is a feasibility study I suppose.

I'd like to solicit view from other Orchard users/developer on the best way - in their view - to implement each of these requirements, if that means use this or that module then let me know or if you feel a third party service is ideal for this or that please let me know more about that (for example I could use a third party service for seamless forums too).

The business here is a small software components firm that like many such firms provides access to beta code, trial code and fully licensed code. Forums for tech discussions and so on.

Overall nothing major - but I'm building this somewhat as a web novice and want to do it well.

Thanks in advance.

KC

I'm not sure I see a question here, and to be perfectly frank, it sounds a bit like you're asking us to do your homework ;) Any specific questions?

bertrandleroy wrote:

I'm not sure I see a question here, and to be perfectly frank, it sounds a bit like you're asking us to do your homework ;) Any specific questions?

Fair point - but I'm not assking for anyone to do my "homework" - I'm planning to replace my own company website with a better one based on Orchard and I want to do as good a job as I can so I've summarized my requirements.

As for questions, yes I should be more explicit, here they are:

1. Is there any weakness or limitations on using Media Picker as the means to implement user file download capabilities?
2. Does use of Media Picker entail any coding or is it simply adding types, fields etc to Orchard?
3. How would one provide a "join mailing list" capability using Orchard?
4. Would mailing list require coding, for example to store the e-mail address in a database?
5. Would one create a dedicated database for such info or just add a table or two to the database created by Orchard?
6. Is the beta forums module mature enough for sustained use, has anyone here used it for a real site?
7. Where dores the beta forums module store its data - the same site database created by Orchard for the site or a distinct one?
8. What options are there for the "shopping cart" functionality:
   1. Must I write code, if so where - how do structure such a thing?
   2. Must I create a "Module" if so what are the typical issues one faces when creating a new Module?

So I'm just trying to get high level opinions and input to these areas because I'm very new to Orchard and somewhat of a novice with website design itself.

I'm not asking for anyone to DO anything, write any code or anything like that - but I do thrive on info and I do ask a lot of questions when I start a new technology, it's just how I work.

I'm quite ready to dive into documentation and I am a very experienced developer - but I need to get these big picture issues clearer in my head, this is just how I work - top down, succesive refinment etc.

Thanks

KC

You might want to break this up into multiple threads and/or possibly see if there are existing threads on these topics.  I see some of these questions pretty often.