This is just a quick update on the new site–the search engine is fully functioning, and results and product pages are created. We still haven’t created the layouts yet, but the data is all there and working perfectly. Now, all we’ve got to do is sort out our page layouts in CSS and start putting everything together (as well as complete the database). We know this sounds like quite a lot, but most of the dirty work has been done.
The current iteration of the engine is plain text–but upon searching for a keyword, a list of relevant results is sorted. Once the results load (which takes about 0.0043 or so seconds on average), one can click on each of the results for specific information about it. The nice part is, we’ll be able to easily tailor the results and product pages. For now, the results give the searcher a list of the product’s names (as hyperlinks to the product’s pages), price, size, color, and manufacturer. All one has to do to view the product page is to click on the product’s name (this is all done using php’s fantastic &_GET functions to read product IDs from within the links, using them to dynamically create web pages–something our users will never have to worry about).
We’ve also tested the speed of adding new entries and products, and have come to the conclusion that it is, well, instant. The moment we’ve added a product, removed a product, changed a price, or altered a description, it is changed on the database and within the site.
The current plan of attack is as thus:
1. Add more product to the database
2. Develop and test multiple layouts to determine which one is the most user-friendly, while still aesthetically pleasing
3. Add in paypal functionality and a shopping cart
4. Unleash this animal to freely roam the internets
As always, we’ll keep you up-to-date on how things are developing. Thanks again for reading, and have a fantastic Friday!
Costumecurio's Blog 