Thread

This is not a direct kick at EE/EL but it takes so long once you add up all the time.
Just sounding off out of frustration and seeing how others feel…

Download EE
Buy Plugins
Download Latest Version of all addons (free included)
Sort the 101 addons into various thirdparty folder
Strip out unwanted template files and images
Upload
Install
Configure all addons

Now i can start my actual website!!!

Also, now add on the various accounts work for buying add-ons from 10 different places, each needing to be added to my books (and being in the UK wait for the currency conversion).

You can easily lose an afternoons work just getting to a successful upload of a EE install you can use. How do others manage this?

I agree it’s a mess, but why not create a default install which includes all addons likely to be used for customers? Keep that total install up-to-date. Do all/most configuration there, stripping out unwanted templates, etc at that time.

Then, delete unneeded addons for a given customer when customizing install for them? And/or add a few that are brand-new but vital or specialized for that client ....

(You still have to purchase addons, of course, per customer. If I were a large shop, I would buy them in some appropriate volume against realistic projection of needs over, say, six to twelve months. Keep a small ‘inventory’ in-house as it were).

And I said it is a mess, right?

but with EE updates, and build updates, addons changing daily, the download and config time remains.
But true about the time saved with accountancy.

It is just making it more expensive (both cost and time wise) for me to use EE

“Setting up an EE site is now so tedious and long”

That’s why you do it only once if you’re smart.

EE Updates - dont install the latest version as soon as it’s out unless there are critical updates you need, that way if there’s a bug that needs a build update for you won’t have to do it all over again.

Addons changing daily - If you’re using too many addons that might be a problem, and then again you don’t have to upgrade every single addon on every new version unless it’s fixing bugs you have/might have or adding features you need.

You can also do upgrades and updates addons on a “sandbox” installation.

We’re working on an Add-on that is trying to solve this type of problem exactly. It’s called Trigger and we’ve got a preview video here:

http://addictaddons.com/trigger

Basically the idea is to be able to access EE functionality really quickly, but also to run sequences of actions in one command line. So, instead of having a basic EE install with all of your settings, you just run a custom sequence with all the settings you like. That way when the next version comes out, it doesn’t matter, you have your settings. You can even set up entire site structures that you re-use.

Eventually we’d like to integrate something where downloading/installing add-ons is done on a command line basis too. That’s a ways off, but we feel your pain of all the setup, especially with so many useful EE add-ons around.

I agree it’s a mess, but why not create a default install which includes all addons likely to be used for customers?

This is what I do. Combined with the NSM Config Bootstrap, I can have a basic site setup and running within minutes. Like Tony, I generally only update when I need to, so definitely not a daily basis.

This is what I do. Combined with the NSM Config Bootstrap, I can have a basic site setup and running within minutes. Like Tony, I generally only update when I need to, so definitely not a daily basis.

This is a must-do approach for set up and upgrades/updates. Don’t rush to update. Set up a pre-defined and configured package for new installs. It’s much, much easier.

By comparison, anyone tried installing or updating a WP site?

You can upgrade recent versions of Wordpress in just about 2 clicks these days.

You can upgrade recent versions of Wordpress in just about 2 clicks these days.

Yep. There’s probably not an easier install, either.

There’s always a danger with updates and upgrades, so the need to backup the DB and config files are of paramount importance, but it’s difficult to not like how WP does it.

I’d love to see some progress made in this area. I recently upgraded one of our MSM sites, and it ended up being far more work than you would expect. It’s tougher to justify billing for those hours too!

To top things off, I also bumped in to a known bug in 2.1.3 which resulted in the ‘publisher’ member group (not admin) seeing PHP errors after any entry edit. After correcting the EE PHP myself (as per instructions in the bug tracker), all was well.

My two main wishes for EE:
1) NSM .htaccess should be part of the core offering (as an option you can easily enable). Most servers run Apache anyhow.
2) Upgrades should be two-clicks like WP and many E-commerce platforms. It should not be stressful with a CMS of this calibre.

A one-click WP-like upgrade for EE would be fantastic.

A one-click WP-like upgrade for EE would be fantastic.

My Wish List:

1 - Fix the bugs. I don’t know what went wrong with the start-over for Code Igniter, but EE 2.x needs to become as solid as 1.7. Fast.

2 - A dynamic category menu system. WP has it right. Do it that way.

3 - Custom URL strings (no more index.php hacks). WP has it right. Do it that way.

4 - Optional one-click updates. WP has it right. Do it that way.

5 - A static, multi-column base layout and design framework. Content developers (as opposed to developers) can build themes on top of that. StudioPress has it right with Genesis. Do it that way.

6 - Built-in static page caching. This is a must have. There are a couple of WP static page cache plugins that work very well. Do it that way.

7 - Threaded Comments (or, build in Disqus). EE’s comments are totally anemic. WP does a good job. Do it that way.

Strange, huh? Years ago I stayed away from developing on WP because EE did so much more. Now it’s EE that can’t catch up to table stakes features.

Once these are done, the bugs are fixed, and EE is stabilized, then move forward with improvements, add-ons, etc. Stop wasting time, development resources, support on Forums, Gallery, Wiki, Commerce.

Once these are done, the bugs are fixed, and EE is stabilized, then move forward with improvements, add-ons, etc. Stop wasting time, development resources, support on Forums, Gallery, Wiki, Commerce.

I don’t think they have been using any resources for the forum or wiki….pretty much wrote them MANY years ago and nothing else done.

From afar it seems the double whammy of doing the complete rewrite (CI) and losing Paul set them back a couple years. It’s hard to make up that kind of time without miracles…..or the Woz stepping in for a couple months!
:lol:

But it has been done before. Heck, Apple was years behind on their plans and then got smart enough to SCRAP their entire OS plans and start again…...(OS X). If they would not have done that, they would have been toast.

grrramps should be in charge of product development/planning at EL! 😉 The core functionality of EE is what makes it great. Unfortunately your issues list is spot on, and makes it seem like they’re losing touch.

I would really like to hear Elis Labs respond to your points.

Re: extras. I sure hope they ditch the forums. There’s already far more modern and capable platforms out there (like Xenforo).