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Author Topic: Starting from scratch  (Read 10616 times)
jennymac
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« on: March 24, 2011, 04:18:36 AM »

Hi,
I have just inherited website management for Girls' Brigade Victoria (www.gbvic.org) . I have been using Joomla for work for two years, but we had the site made for us and mainly what I do is content management (I have the 'safest' level of backend access, but NOT super admin- they won't let me do that.  Cheesy) Through a test site I have been playing with (in preparation for this handover) I have done some installing of templates and extension but I am feeling really ignorant.
When I took over management last week I found out that the website is Joomla 1.0! The last webmaster hadn't done anything since 2008 Sad
We have to upgrade to at least 1.5, so we decided a face lift may as well happen at the same time, espcially as we may lose the custom built template when I migrate to 1.5. I LOVE "Life Journey" and think it will be great for the GB Vic upgrade and what we want in a website.
So, what to do?
1)  Do I migrate then install LIfe Journey?
2)  Do I migrate and install at the same time? If so, how?
3)  Do I install the template via site shaper then do the migration?
4)  Should I install the template, migrate, then site shape?
5) I have read the site shaper tutorial and it may as well have been in chinese b/c I do NOT understand. I am a real amateur! I really want to use the template as it is, rather than trying to build it myself, so I know site shaping is the way to go. Can you explain it in simpler english?
6) Is it possible that a coder could do it really quickly for me and then it wouldn't cost too much (we are not for profits and all of us are volunteers)?
Really looking forward to your answers.

PS How can you ask 'pre-sales' questions when the only way you can post on the forum is to purchase membership?




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Jenny McWilliam
Girls' Brigade Victoria
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mikek
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« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2011, 07:49:47 AM »

Hello,

I looked at your current site and it looks like most of it just content articles that could easily be copied and pasted. So I don't think I'd even worry about doing a migration process from 1.0 to 1.5 or 1.6 some how. I would start with a fresh install of Joomla with demo content at all and install the Life Journey template. From there then just re-create each of your articles and then create a menu item linking to each article; that's the same basic layout you have now. Once you have those basics setup you can always add from there.
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Mike Knott
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jennymac
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« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2011, 05:55:10 PM »

Hi Mike,
this sounds good.
If I do a new install of 1.5 or 1.6 will I lose the content?. The last webmaster has created a copy of it, so it is safe- right?
Do I still do the site shaper process? That is what concerns me most. I don't need more work than necessary.
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Jenny McWilliam
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jennymac
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« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2011, 04:33:52 AM »

This is not 'up and running in a few minutes. My control panel is with GoDaddy. It appears to have no extract button so I have downloaded the Site shaper to my desk top to upload via FTP. It appers that I have to manually load every single file (more than 5000!) one at a time. I can't see how t o do it any other way.
Suggestions?
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Jenny McWilliam
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Adrian
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« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2011, 05:36:03 AM »

Let me make a comment.

At the point that you are is an exciting point if you perceive the taste of doing things yourself.

If I were you, I would take that with more patience and explore some other things that are before the installation or upgrade.

I was at Godaddy for a long time, then one day I decided to open a small hosting account on Hostgator. Which would serve to test setup with a sub-domain. Today it will cost about 8 dollars for a single month for your test.

You can do that in the same Godaddy, opening another hosting account.

After your tests and let the theme of your website the way you want, you can decide whether to start the new installation at your old hosting account, or transfer to the new, which I think is best.

Doing it this way, you have a better opportunity to explore and compare joomla with other programs to manage content.

That's how I came to end in WordPress, when I realized that Joomla was a truck and I needed only a sedan car.

Today you do not need technical help to manage your website (if you have a good web hosting company). It is therefore important to explore alternative options.

Web Hosting company. It is essential to ensure that; Joomla, theme and other scripts, are joined in harmony.

Passing that point, you will see how easy it is to install thousands of times joomla, or any other script.

Good Lock.
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mikek
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« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2011, 07:23:23 AM »

Hello,

I would also suggest not using Godaddy, and go with someone with Hostgator and Siteground who gives you full cpanel control with the extract function. I've worked with a lot of hosts and a lot of member's hosts over the years and I cannot think of anything positive to say about Godaddy, they lack some very basic functions as you are now finding out.
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Mike Knott
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Shape 5 Team

- Need a great host for your website? We highly recommend siteground.com!


- Put your trust in the hands of our extremely qualified staff to get your job done right!


- Firebug is the most powerful web development and debugging tool, and it will save you a lot of time, frustration and forum questions:
Install Firebug
jennymac
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« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2011, 02:56:13 PM »

Thanks Adrian and Mike for your coments. Having inherited this website (including Go Daddy- which I have never used before) in the last week, after 2 years of trying to convince the old webmaster that he was doing nothing on the site and needed to move on, I am anxious to show GB VIc that we can move forward. Compounding the situation are two facts- 1) I am a volunteer and 2) GB VIc, as a not-for-profit- is cash poor!
However- after last night's panic (I'm in different time zone to you!) I have managed to ftp the files across using ACEftp.(Sigh of relief !)
What I have now are files called:_
1) db_backups
2) joomla
3) NEWebsite
I am guessing that I will ftp Joomla 1.5 onto Go Daddy to overright the1.0 install (Adrian- my work has spent the last year 2 years training me in Joomla so I am staying with the truck!)  yes or no?
Many thanks
 
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Jenny McWilliam
Girls' Brigade Victoria
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Adrian
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« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2011, 07:19:22 PM »

I am guessing that I will ftp Joomla 1.5 onto Go Daddy to overright the1.0 install

No, what you will do is upload the Joomla zip file to a folder selected, then install in that folder, but that "does not override" the previous installation.

"Unless" you upload the Joomla zip to the folder where your current Joomla is installed, and that is something you do not want to do because you'll lose everything.

The other thing I see is that you should be or try to be clearer on how the Root and the folder in a web hosting account work.

Mikek At this point, is quite right to mention cPanel.

Godaddy does not use cPanel, using cPanel to manage your hosting account is important because cPanel makes many tasks automatically.

I suggest again, slow breaths and count to ten. Continued calmly and looking for information on the help page on Godaddy, while you're there.

About; using Joomla or WordPress, in general terms is a matter of individual taste. My other suggestion is you avoided this discussion for now, I believe the most urgent to you is, the management of web hosting.
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jennymac
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« Reply #8 on: March 27, 2011, 04:50:26 AM »

Many, many thanks for your advice Adrian.
I have been away from the computer all day on other things, so it has helped me 'take a breath.'
I will look into webhosting and see what I can find- both in GoDaddy and in another host.
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Jenny McWilliam
Girls' Brigade Victoria
Webmaster!
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