Just a curious post to see how everyone brainstorms and what processes they go through in building a site.

What parts do you do first?  Design? Database?

For me there are two parts that go hand in hand:

1. The "site map" or list of pages and their relation to one another.
2. The graphic design of the site, which determines your skin.

You should sketch out several pages in detail, as this will also help define the pane structure needed within the pages. Also, as you specifiy functionality for the site, this will help you identify modules.

So, start with the pages, add details, identify modules, identify skin features, etc.

Sometimes it's easier to build the site with a standard skin while you wait for the skin. But, when showing to end users or the client, you really need to have the skin in place.

Yea I got a ton of ideas and things i want to do but it seems like a giant task. So i am trying to do babysteps and relearn and learn new things one at a time

Hello,

Yes, like Joe I begin with the content. - Especially with clients, I try to get as much info together as possible before even touching a design. Looking at the text content, pages, any special media? mp3 / video content required etc.

From all the info i can then work out what modules will best work for presenting the content and also what type of menu structure i should use.

From there I then look at layout structure of the skin for what will work best with those particaulr modules

and then finally I look at the actual design of the skin and designing any templates to match the skin in the modules.

One thing I am always keen on is to make sure my site has RSS feeds - this is really good for search engine promo.

Hi,
I am wondering if its common to build a skin for your website. if so, I am guessing this is another neccessary learning curve ? Even for understanding how to change or maintain a skin ?
My next question is kind of a "while I am at it" .....
I have a domain. the domain has its primary domain name and thats one website. I also have a subfolder which is being pointed to by another domain name and thats website number two.
I am trying to figure out whether I should put dotnetnuke in a subfolder or in the the domain's root. I want to have two portals, one for each website.
I am leaning toward a subfolder ?
thanks

hello,

Yes it is common to build a skin for your website, however there are many skins available to purchase from Snowcovered or there are skins available on here for free that you could use and then adapt.

If you need to learn skinning we also have many tutorials available on here, just check the main tutorials page in the menu and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

I would put DotNetNuke in the domain root folder, ie. the folder for www.mywebsite.com.

To have two portals with different domain URLs, you just point the second URL to the DotNetNuke installation folder and DotNetNuke will take care of the rest.

It would also probably be best to ask advice from your hosting provider as they can advise you with details related to your particular setup.

Regarding portals you may want to check out:

Portal Considerations (When to use Multiple Portals / Parent / Child or create a new DotNetNuke installation)

• DotNetNuke and Multiple Portals
• How to create DotNetNuke Portals (Parent and Child)
  
• DotNetNuke Portal Aliases
• DotNetNuke Portal Templates and the Site Wizard
• Managing and Configuring Portals as a Host Super User

Thanks,