Vortx's AspDotNetStorefront development services are divided into four main areas: store setup and configuration, skinning, custom skinning, and custom programming. Each progressively involves a greater level of complexity, time, and cost. Vortx also offers training and consultation, from the basics through core coding.

Store Setup and Configuration

Vortx will setup a default AspDotNetStorefront site for you to modify through the content management system. While this allows you to create a functional online store it does little to differentiate you from the default look and feel.

Skinning

Skinning is comprised of building one or two ASP.NET "templates" with a cascading style sheet to control the look and feel of your storefront. These templates determine a framework around the site's main content area where categories, products, the cart, and other information will be displayed. Common template elements are logos, headers, top and columnar navigation and menus, footers, search, and an optional "home" or "splash" page that is your stores landing page. By using these templates your storefront can be visually differentiated from other AspDotNetStorefront sites. AspDotNetStorefront also offers a plethora of pre-built "layouts" for many of the pages, most significantly the category, product listing, and product detail pages, which can be chosen from within in the content management system. These layouts are comprised of XSL transforms utilizing database queries and XPath to build the pages from underlying XML data.

Vortx can also provide graphic and XHTML layout services as part of the skinning process. Much of the content management systems also involves XHTML and CSS, and if you are not comfortable or don't have the time to use these layout methods Vortx can help you by either giving you sample page layouts for common elements, such as categories, products, and topics, or by subsuming content management duties until the deployment of the site.

Custom Skinning

If the pre-built XSL transforms are not sufficient they can be modified. Custom XSLT files can be created and added to the content management system. Often this involves creating custom database queries to support the necessary features. Custom skinning is the recommended way of modify storefront. Custom XSL transforms are not usually affected by AspDotNetStorefront updates. XSL transforms are somewhat limited in what they can do. You can modify much of the display and layout of product pages, but certain page elements, such as the add to cart buttons and selections, and the cart and checkout process itself, cannot be easily modified through the XSL transforms and require custom programming to be changed.

Custom Programming

Vortx has access to the entire code-base of AspDotNetStorefront, and with this resource we can modify most any aspect of your site. While this allows for almost limitless customization it has the drawback of not allowing for easy updates to AspDotNetStorefront maintenance releases. Vortx keeps all your custom changes in a source control system, and if and when you decide to upgrade your AspDotNetStorefront site to a later version we can help reconcile the differences between the two code-bases and re-implement your customizations.

Custom programming involves all the previously mentioned technologies along with C# and ASP.NET coding. AspDotNetStorefront is comprised of the web site backed by a set of business objects. It's these business objects that are the core of AspDotNetStorefront's functionality and where most custom programming takes place. Often the web site's ASP.NET pages and code also require modification to support the requested features.

Contact Us to set up an initial consultation about your AspDotNetStorefront project.