SiteDirector v5 - In the works

2008 January 03
tags: Ecommerce · SiteDirector
by Paul Giesenhagen
We haven't posted in awhile, there have been so many things going on and not enough time to post about anything that would be helpful. I know I know, if you blog you've got to blog, or don't do it at all. Well we like our blog and we would like to blog more, but with all the various projects going on, blogging is the low man on the totem pole. Anyway, to our topic. We are working on v5.0 of SiteDirector right now. We are very excited we have some strong things going on and you developers out there will be very excited. Right now we are in the planning stages and soon to be moving into production. But we are putting our pens and pencils to the paper and making sure we cover all the bases of things we have missed in the past. Our main goals for v5.0 1) Clean code that is EASY to follow and customize: We want SiteDirector to be very developer friendly. More so than in the past. We will be breaking down the pages even more so it will be easy to add additional fields and additional customizations. This is what will make SiteDirector really appealing to even more developers. We had discussed frameworks, but decided against it, even though we like frameworks ourselves, we have found that many developers find it easier to work with procedural code and it makes for easier changes. 2) Easy Skinning - We are going to make the front end very skinnable and the CSS/XHTML will be much easier to manipulate as well as change out. Just swap out CSS files and the whole site makes it's change. 3) Finally the catalog building. We have ourselves been dealing directly with online stores to find the bumps in the road, the things that slow you down in managing your store. We are designing a much more fluid console area that will speed up management and improve best practices. Some hints: Ajax, drag and drop, flyout windows, better promotions..... more to come!
11 Responses leave one →
  1. Rachel Unck
    Rachel Unck PERMALINK
    Jan 8, 2008 at 3:01 PM

    Clients ask again and again for robust promotion handling. Especially, buy one of these products, get one of these other products half price. Yet I have not found support for this in any other ColdFusion cart. Please add support for this in version 5. Keep up the good work! Thanks.

  1. Paul Giesenhagen
    Paul Giesenhagen PERMALINK *
    Jan 8, 2008 at 3:40 PM

    Actually Rachel, version 4 (our current version) supports this type of promotion.

    If you need help with this, send over an email and we will walk you through it.

    Thanks!!

  1. Kurt
    Kurt PERMALINK
    Jan 21, 2008 at 8:06 PM

    I've been looking to upgrade my asp cart. I can't wait to see what 5 has to offer. I love the skining feature. I just want to purchase or have a css skin designed for my cart and be on my way.

  1. seeds
    seeds PERMALINK
    Jan 21, 2008 at 8:08 PM

    Do you have a release date?

  1. Paul Giesenhagen
    Paul Giesenhagen PERMALINK *
    Jan 21, 2008 at 9:24 PM

    No release date as of yet. We are currently coding and planning. We will update as time goes, but we are still looking at 5-6 months.

    There will be an upgrade path from v4 to v5 so if you are ready to switch let us know if you have any questions.

  1. Jeff
    Jeff PERMALINK
    Mar 23, 2009 at 11:24 AM

    Any update on release date for V5?

  1. Dan
    Dan PERMALINK
    Jun 29, 2009 at 1:23 PM

    Any word on v.5. release date? A client needs a redesign on a v.4.8 but I am dreading the new CSS. The new 'skinning' promised in v.5 makes me want to hold off if possible.

  1. Paul Giesenhagen
    Paul Giesenhagen PERMALINK *
    Jun 29, 2009 at 5:00 PM

    Dan,

    We are probably 3 months away on our first release. This could go out further, but I'm getting more and more confident as we move along.

    There have been many delays not only in coding ,but in general business that have slowed it up. But we are progressing nicely and we more than anyone want to release it.

    I hope this helps.

  1. Dan
    Dan PERMALINK
    Jul 8, 2009 at 12:42 PM

    Sounds good. Can you give me any insight into the new 'skinning' on v. 5?

    I work a lot with WordPress and skins/themes on that is outstanding. Customizing preexisting themes by dropping a .custom class on the body tag <body class="custom"> then doing all your CSS customization separate custom.css sheet where every tag starts with .custom. I am actually about to try this with v.4 of Site Director.

    I have become a big fan of the 960 Grid System. www.960.gs. I realize it is probably a little late in the game for you to consider working with that for Site Director but you might want to check it out for the future.

    These guys use the 960gs architecture for all their WP themes. www.woothemes.com. Good stuff.

  1. Zane Taylor
    Zane Taylor PERMALINK
    Jul 8, 2009 at 1:49 PM

    Dan,

    Skinning in SiteDirector 5 is very similar to the WordPress template/theme system. The application structure is designed from the ground up to accommodate multiple distinct skins, each of which is made up of a primary layout file (comparable to a WordPress template's index.php), a set of variable modular template files (comparable to header.php, footer.php, etc.) which are included by the primary layout file, and any CSS, Javascript, etc. that a given skin might require. Once these files are in place in the designated skin directory, they are manageable via the administrator console.

    SiteDirector 5 will be distributed with a small number of new skins that will serve as examples of the system in use. We also expect to produce and release additional SiteDirector skins in the future.

    The 960 Grid System is a great design and development tool, especially in the case of theme and template development where standardization is important. While it's unlikely that it will be employed in the initial skins distributed with SiteDirector 5, look for its implementation in later skin releases from us.

    I hope this gives you some insight, and thanks for your interest.

  1. Jeff Pierson
    Jeff Pierson PERMALINK
    Nov 2, 2009 at 4:30 PM

    Any update on when version 5 will be released?

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