on-line forms? - DPChallenge Forums

10/22/2010 08:53:20 AM · #1

So I did a shoot for someone. In the past I've simply had them send me the number of the photo and the size they wanted. This is all fine and dandy when they're picking from only 10-20 shots. Now they can pick from 300 shots.

I know I can upgrade smugmug to professional, and they can place orders through there -- but I think that's going to eat the majority of my profits. So I'd like to create an on-line form to make ordering easier.

I'm assuming it would look something like this:

name
address
phone

Picture # Qty Size Price Total

It would be great if it could show a thumbnail of the photo, as well, but if it can't be done easily, that's ok.
It would be great if the size were a pull down menu showing the different sizes, but if not, then I would change it to:

Picture # qty 4x6 qty 5x7 qty 8x10 qty 8x12

or something like that.

I haven't thought this all the way through, yet, because I wanted to figure out whether this is possible and how to do it, before I plan too deeply.

How can I do this and have the orders stored in a database or emailed to me or whatever? What software would I use? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

thanks!

-w

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

10/22/2010 09:05:28 AM · #2

I think you can do that with google forms. I never use it as web dev ... but some people say it's useful.
//docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87809

eqsite

Nikon D7100

10/22/2010 09:17:08 AM · #3

Originally posted by vawendy:

I know I can upgrade smugmug to professional, and they can place orders through there -- but I think that's going to eat the majority of my profits.

I'm confused about this statement, and maybe I'm just missing something, but the smugmug professional account is only $150 per year. That would require just $12.50 per month in additional sales to cover it. I know that they take a percentage of your sales as well, but it's only 15% of the markup. I would think that given the functionality that they provide, you should be able to increase your sales enough to cover that. But I'm not a pro, so your mileage may vary :)

10/22/2010 09:17:42 AM · #4

Originally posted by keyz:

I think you can do that with google forms. I never use it as web dev ... but some people say it's useful.
//docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87809

I'm looking at it now -- it looked promising, but I can't seem to get multiple inputs on one line.

For instance, I can create something like:

Picture #1 check box for different sizes

but I can't seem to also ask for a qty in that same question.

In other words, I can ask one question with one input, but it doesn't seem to allow me to ask one question with multiple inputs.

Does anyone use this? Am I missing something?

10/22/2010 09:19:00 AM · #5

Originally posted by eqsite:

Originally posted by vawendy:
I know I can upgrade smugmug to professional, and they can place orders through there -- but I think that's going to eat the majority of my profits.

I'm confused about this statement, and maybe I'm just missing something, but the smugmug professional account is only $150 per year. That would require just $12.50 per month in additional sales to cover it. I know that they take a percentage of your sales as well, but it's only 15% of the markup. I would think that given the functionality that they provide, you should be able to increase your sales enough to cover that. But I'm not a pro, so your mileage may vary :)

The problem is, I'm not a pro and really don't want to become one. I do 1-2 shoots per year for friends that talk me into it. That's the problem. If I wanted to do more, then it would be a very sound investment. But I don't make that much each year to justify it. I don't make that much off of these shoots.

Message edited by author 2010-10-22 09:19:41.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

10/22/2010 09:22:05 AM · #6

Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by keyz:
I think you can do that with google forms. I never use it as web dev ... but some people say it's useful.
//docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87809

I'm looking at it now -- it looked promising, but I can't seem to get multiple inputs on one line.

For instance, I can create something like:

Picture #1 check box for different sizes

but I can't seem to also ask for a qty in that same question.

In other words, I can ask one question with one input, but it doesn't seem to allow me to ask one question with multiple inputs.

Does anyone use this? Am I missing something?

That's right, it might not be possible to set checkboxes and textfield on one line.
Maybe you could use a spreadsheet from google docs ... but it wont be very pro ;)

eqsite

Nikon D7100

10/22/2010 09:30:18 AM · #7

Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by eqsite:

Originally posted by vawendy:
I know I can upgrade smugmug to professional, and they can place orders through there -- but I think that's going to eat the majority of my profits.

I'm confused about this statement, and maybe I'm just missing something, but the smugmug professional account is only $150 per year. That would require just $12.50 per month in additional sales to cover it. I know that they take a percentage of your sales as well, but it's only 15% of the markup. I would think that given the functionality that they provide, you should be able to increase your sales enough to cover that. But I'm not a pro, so your mileage may vary :)

The problem is, I'm not a pro and really don't want to become one. I do 1-2 shoots per year for friends that talk me into it. That's the problem. If I wanted to do more, then it would be a very sound investment. But I don't make that much each year to justify it. I don't make that much off of these shoots.

Oh, well, that makes sense then. As I said, I'm no pro either, but I just signed up for a pro account. I'm hoping to get my parents and inlaws to purchase enough photos of my kid to to cover the expense!

10/22/2010 09:30:49 AM · #8

Originally posted by keyz:

Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by keyz:
I think you can do that with google forms. I never use it as web dev ... but some people say it's useful.
//docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87809

I'm looking at it now -- it looked promising, but I can't seem to get multiple inputs on one line.

For instance, I can create something like:

Picture #1 check box for different sizes

but I can't seem to also ask for a qty in that same question.

In other words, I can ask one question with one input, but it doesn't seem to allow me to ask one question with multiple inputs.

Does anyone use this? Am I missing something?

That's right, it might not be possible to set checkboxes and textfield on one line.
Maybe you could use a spreadsheet from google docs ... but it wont be very pro ;)

That was my fall back position -- an excel form that I could email out with protected cells. It would allow them to tab through the form, see totals, etc. But not everyone has excel, and it's not very professional. But it's better than having them write down the numbers and have to type everything themselves. Well, kind of better.

So obviously, I was hoping for a cheap solution, that I can figure out and do myself, that's incredibly gorgeous and professional. And of course, I figured that you guys would know how to do it. :D

10/22/2010 09:31:43 AM · #9

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFV4SFU0REhRUmsySnNBUmJ3c2R4eWc6MQ

You can do it on 2 line by picture. Here I set section header for delimitation: one pic per header

Message edited by author 2010-10-22 09:37:33.

10/22/2010 09:37:48 AM · #10

Originally posted by keyz:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFV4SFU0REhRUmsySnNBUmJ3c2R4eWc6MQ

You can do it on 2 line by picture. Here I set breaks : 2 pages, one pic by page

Can you explain what you did to do that? I wasn't able to get that far.

just looked, I think I understand what you're saying.

I'll go play with it. (thanks!)

Message edited by author 2010-10-22 09:38:35.

10/22/2010 09:43:00 AM · #11

Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by keyz:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFV4SFU0REhRUmsySnNBUmJ3c2R4eWc6MQ

You can do it on 2 line by picture. Here I set breaks : 2 pages, one pic by page

Can you explain what you did to do that? I wasn't able to get that far.

just looked, I think I understand what you're saying.

I'll go play with it. (thanks!)

another question. This would be kind of painful with 300 pictures if you're only trying to order 4 of those pictures. But if I could also include the picture itself, it might be a nice preview & order option.

I can't see a way to do it, but can I upload pictures into the form?

10/22/2010 09:45:56 AM · #12

Click add item, select "choose from list" to create the list for different sizes.
add item -> text for the number of prints
add item -> section header for the separation of questions (pictures)

then you can duplicate each element (don't recreate the lists) and just change the nÂ° of the picture.

Theme : glue ... for a bit of phun

then do to https://docs.google.com/
click on the checkbox of your new doc, click on share on the top menu -> sharing settings -> change -> choose "Public on the web - Anyone on the Internet can find and edit"

Then use the link displayed at the bottom of the form you edit, this is what you'll use to share it.

10/22/2010 09:49:49 AM · #13

I was hoping there was a way to duplicate, since it would make life much easier..Thanks!

10/22/2010 09:50:35 AM · #14

Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by keyz:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFV4SFU0REhRUmsySnNBUmJ3c2R4eWc6MQ

You can do it on 2 line by picture. Here I set breaks : 2 pages, one pic by page

Can you explain what you did to do that? I wasn't able to get that far.

just looked, I think I understand what you're saying.

I'll go play with it. (thanks!)

another question. This would be kind of painful with 300 pictures if you're only trying to order 4 of those pictures. But if I could also include the picture itself, it might be a nice preview & order option.

I can't see a way to do it, but can I upload pictures into the form?

I think it's not possible to insert picture in google form ... unless you edit the code of the form (which is possible ... but not advised if you are not use to do such things).

And at the end, you'll find all the saved results in a spreadsheet you'll find there https://docs.google.com/

Message edited by author 2010-10-22 09:51:52.

10/22/2010 09:51:22 AM · #15

Anyone have any other options? The google forms are an interesting option -- I do worry about 300 pictures taking way too long to go through page by page, so I'll have to play with it a bit. But it could be a cool option for smaller numbers of pix.

10/22/2010 09:53:44 AM · #16

Originally posted by vawendy:

Don't do page breaks, use section headers ... all your datas on one page is much better.
Else I don't know other easy option (my favorite is PHP+MySQL :D )

Edit ... I don't like to receive a 2 while I'm trying to help a DPCmate ! Not fair ;)

Message edited by author 2010-10-22 09:55:01.

10/22/2010 10:00:57 AM · #17

Go back to my form, I set 3 pics on one page :
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFV4SFU0REhRUmsySnNBUmJ3c2R4eWc6MQ

for sure, this will be boring to create for 300 pics ... but there no way to create such thing without being bored (except with a programming language).

10/22/2010 10:11:37 AM · #18

Originally posted by keyz:

I don't care about being bored creating it -- I meant the customer might be bored going through 100 pages just to order 10 of the pictures. That was my concern...

And it is not fair that you received a 2!!! They should have given you a ten for being so nice!!

Have you ever used microsoft Accesses on-line forms capabilities? I used to create Access databases all the time -- though using Accesses forms and reports capabilities. I didn't use SQL except in some complicated query issues, so my SQL experience is old and very limited.

10/22/2010 10:20:51 AM · #19

I'm sorry, I hate MSAccess ... and always tried not to know anything about it in the case my boss asks me to do something with it :D
But the few thing I know about access, is that it might not be a good solution to crate an online form.

But once again, if you don't do page breaks but section headers, you can have the 300 pics on one page. You can't ask the user to browser 300 pages for 5 prints for sure :D
There might be other solutions with PHP CMS but it might be a bit difficult if you are not familiar with web developping issues. I'll ask someone about that tonight (around 2PM-DPC time), and I'll tell you if I have another option.

Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR

10/22/2010 10:27:53 AM · #20

Originally posted by keyz:

What is PHP CMS? My husband has some knowledge of web developing issues -- though I'm not sure how in-depth.

Prism

Pentax K-30

10/22/2010 10:45:01 AM · #21

I use Wufoo for making online forms for use on my work website. They have a lot of features but are simple to set up. Best of all you can try it for free and then if you find it works for you, set up an account based on the number of forms and responses you expect to need.