Customized Computer Systems

[merkelpc]

Hello, I am currently beginning a website that sells my computers. I have recently been thinking, and I have come to the conclusion that the kind of things I offer now, just wont work out well enough. I need to offer people the ability to customize their own computer. I made my website using frontpage express :) and I do not know anything about programming websites. If anyone could point me in the right direction on how to make a website that allows a user to customize a computer, and then allow them to update the price, it would help me greatly. Thanks alot! -Brian

[Compguy Pete]

I'm sorry however I'm going to have to burst yoru bubble... frontpage express will not cut it for your project. It would be next to impossible with standard frontpage. It could be done with regular FP but it would be faster for you to learn what it will take to do it right.

What I might suggest before putting all that time into a database driven site. Is to posts your preconfigured systems on your site first. Then as demand goes up work on getting the changable system configurations online.

[merkelpc]

Why would I need to add database functions? Theres no way I could just use html, with tables and forms, and then submit it to a shopping cart sytem? I think my goal is actually more attainable than you have told me. Or maybe i'm completely wrong :) Thanks again. -Brian

[Ribeyed]

hi,
i agree with compguy this is not achievable without good use of a database. I am currently working on exactly the same thing for my client who also wants to sell customised systems online.
Here is what i have done so far, it’s not completely finished but you can get the idea:

http://www.discoverycomputing.com/systems/systems_new.asp

You have about 5 or 6 different types of systems:

P4
P3
Athlon
Duron
Celeron
m-series

Each of these types required some different components; P4 needs different motherboard than a P3; a P3 may still only need 100mhz memory where as the Athlon needs 133mhz.
What you don't want is a user being able to select a P4 processor then being able to select an Athlon motherboard, this would just cause you problems having to contact customer and fix the order.
Personally the only way to build this is to do it dynamically on the fly. Store your types in one table, have another table with your categories and a relationship table in the middle for the many-to-many situation. You also need you products table and another for the many-to-many relationship between the categories and products (this is because a product can belong to more than one category and a category can have more than one product).
Page 1 has the types of systems you can buy, on select then next page displays the categories for that system with drop down menus populated with the products from the database.
User selects products, submits form to proceed with order. Are thinking of just sending the information in email form or are you planning to store the order into the database?
Other things to consider:
What's the minimum number of components needed to make it a system?
Can they just buy a base unit without monitor?
If the motherboard has built in graphics or sound, do you have to buy separate sound or graphics card?
Can it be a customised if the user only selects the following?

processor
motherboard with onboard sound and graphics
hard drive
floppy disk
CD-ROM
Case

This is by no means easy to get right, but personally anything can be done as long as you have a well designed database on the backend.

Hope this helps

[jpmoriarty]

here here to the above.

Without a dynamic website you functionality is reduced to virtually zero. How do you intend to "add items to a shopping cart"? How do you intend to have a cart at all for that matter?

I wont go on because points have been made succinctly previously. Needless to say, you need to quickly gain some indication of the scope of your project - designing an online shopping store is probably one of the most complicated (IMHO :) no backlash please) things you can design on the web: it incorporates the use of cookies, sessions, back end databases, data validation, data entry and uploading, security and SSL's, to name but a few. None of these are easy by themselves, but it's the amalgamation of them all that will really cause some headscratching.

My advice would be to sit down and learn how to do HTML (with particular attention on forms, because you'll be using them a lot). Then when you're happy with that (and only then - don't jump the gun), start learning PHP (a good resource is www.phpbuilder.com/board) to dynamically generate the HTML.

Good luck with it - just remember, you need to learn how to stand up before you enter a marathon :)

[Ribeyed]

hi,
just like to add i am still having problems working out the best way to do this. I a'm thinking o fusing the Dell customised systems page as a templete for my own.

[jpmoriarty]

your main problem i think is that you can certainly use the dell system for the "front end" of your system - but there's a lot that needs to be going on behind the scenes which you wont be able to steal from dell. I would say get that back end working, and then worry about how you're going to display it to the end user. That's usually the last 5% of the problem...

But if you're asking if the dell system is a good one... I guess they are the largest computer retailer in the world I think, so they probably know what they're doing, yeah.

[merkelpc]

"i agree with compguy this is not achievable without good use of a database. "
"Each of these types required some different components"

Whats the problem with just creating more than one form and table for each different model, and then only allowing certain parts to be selected on each table?
Example:
User selects a p4 model. The table presented to them only displays compatible parts for a p4 system.

"How do you intend to "add items to a shopping cart"? How do you intend to have a cart at all for that matter? "
Buying a merchant and shopping cart software, they handle all the transations and shopping cart functionability, I just add a 'Add to Cart' button next to the item.