Freeway limitations

Freeway
1

I haven’t bought Freeway yet. I’ve been using iWeb and have enjoyed it very much. The reason I’m wanting to work with something else is because of the limitations inherent to iWeb with regard to my latest project. I don’t want to eventually encounter the same type of problems with Freeway.

Unfortunately, I’m not a developer/designer/coder. All I know is what I want the site to do. I hope the members of this list can advise me after taking a look:

  1. the site will allow members to agree to terms of use, join with payment, log in, have individual accounts, record info, update individual running totals of info

  2. members will belong to teams which will have running totals as well

  3. the site will allow users to enter info into a form, which will be used to generate a document, which they will then sign (agree to or not); if not, they will return to make changes to the document; is yes, they will be taken to another page for payment

  4. some actions will trigger automatic messages and emails sent, e.g. congratulations, you have reached your goal

  5. some data on file will trigger automatic emails sent, e.g. time to renew your membership

Bottom line, in your opinion, is Freeway the tool for me? I will have some help with development, but ultimately, I’d like to be the administrator for the site.

Thank you for your thoughts!

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options

2

Freeway can do all of the above.

You will need the skill set to do the dynamic code work to create the
functions you ask. Or find a Freeway developer to work with you.

David

On 6 Feb 2010, at 19:30, “Barbara Waite” email@hidden
wrote:

is Freeway the tool for me?

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options

3

Hi Barbara.

To expand on what David says, it is really only the the front end of
what you want that Freeway will do - and that applies to most web
design applications. Most of the functionality you are after will need
to be separately coded, either bespoke or by drawing on other code
snippets and scripts. The database would be handled on the host
server, most likely coded in PHP and MySQL and while on-screen input
could involve javascript, it will most likely be handled by PHP
scripts as well.

On the plus side, there are membership type scripts ready made, such
as Locked Area, OpenCrypt and CMS/Bulletin Board applications such as
Expression Engine. However, these will almost certainly have to be
tailored to your specification with hand coded additions.

All this can be done and added to the basic Freeway designed site, so
that the end result is seamless and so that you can administer all the
activity remotely. It will in no way be as easy as building a plain
vanilla iWeb site and there will be a steepish learning curve, but if
you have the appropriate development help at hand, there’s no doubt
that Freeway will help you pull things together. There are also
several mentors on this forum who can help and guide you. (I wish I
had their knowledge, but alas I’m a very basic user of Freeway and
know their worth from what I have learnt from them).

So, as long as you are aware that what you want will be much more
complex to produce than anything you will have seen from iWeb, go for
it. Freeway Pro is the version you need and it can certainly be an
asset in achieving your goal.

Colin

On 6 Feb 2010, at 20:17, David Owen wrote:

Freeway can do all of the above.

You will need the skill set to do the dynamic code work to create
the functions you ask. Or find a Freeway developer to work with you.

David

On 6 Feb 2010, at 19:30, “Barbara Waite” email@hidden
wrote:

is Freeway the tool for me?

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options

4

To add to others comments:

There is no Web Design package that can do all that out of the box.

No matter what one you go for you will have to rely on other code sources/scripts/PHP/MySql etc and integrate it all into a FW (or other package designed) front end.

This sort of implementation will not be easy for a non coder but once the site and its back end are built you should have no problems administrating it.

There is a vast pool of expert knowledge here and you can bet your boots that whatever you are trying to achieve will have already been done by a fellow Freewayer.

But to sum up - Freeway has the capabilities that you are looking for but you will need to work outwith FW as well.

David

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options

5

Thank you all for your very enlightening posts. I have a lot to learn.

Since I will be needing to utilize additional scripts and a database on a server no matter what web design package I use, could I continue to use iWeb for at least some of the pages? If you don’t think it’s a good idea, can I import my iWeb pages into Freeway Pro and continue building or would I have to start from scratch?

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options

6

It would be better to start from scratch - and probably quicker - as
you cannot successfully import iWeb designed pages directly into
Freeway. The basics of Freeway are easy to learn and it is only when
you get beyond the “iWeb level” that you have a steeper learning
curve; and even then there are plenty of Actions to help you achieve
sophisticated techniques, with just a few clicks of your mouse.

If you haven’t yet tried it, download the trial from:

http://www.softpress.com/products/freewaypro

Then have a good play and come back to FreewayTalk with any questions

  • even the most basic.

Colin

On 7 Feb 2010, at 02:41, Barbara Waite wrote:

… could I continue to use iWeb for at least some of the
pages? … can I import my iWeb pages into Freeway Pro and continue
building or would I have to start from scratch?

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options

7

Will do. Thank you, Colin, and everyone else who has contributed to this thread.

Barb

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options

8

Sometime around 7/2/10 (at 11:19 +0000) Colin Alcock said:

The basics of Freeway are easy to learn and it is only when you get
beyond the “iWeb level” that you have a steeper learning curve

I’d say that for a purely template-based site where all that’s done
is plugging content into existing structures, iWeb is going to be
easier.

Freeway provides the kind of blank page approach that is necessary
for creating custom solutions that aren’t hemmed in by template
restrictions. It takes a little more effort.

But if you need something beyond iWeb’s templates (and from reading
your brief description you certainly do!) then this is a very good
tool for you.

have a good play and come back to FreewayTalk with any questions -
even the most basic.

And THIS highlights a major plus point for Freeway, something that’s
often overlooked - the peer-level support community here is possibly
the friendliest and most helpful that I’ve seen anywhere.

k

freewaytalk mailing list
email@hidden
Update your subscriptions at:
http://freewaytalk.net/person/options