Can I Non Techie Do This?

Hi everyone....

I have been on Ning since 2008 and currently am one of the suckers who migrated to 3.0 last Spring thinking it was only a matter of time for Ning to complete the new format.

I have lost half of my members and my site traffic is 1/3 of what it used to be and because it's my business... my income has almost disappeared because no one can function properly there.

I have to get off Ning but I am NOT a tech person. I have learned how to do a few things, but it's very difficult for me to learn new things tech wise.

I want to move to Jamroom but it scares the hell out of me because I think it may be over my head.

Can a non tech person move their Ning site or am I screwed???
updated by @lora-mcmeans: 02/23/15 06:22:24PM

Screwed, sorry.

Joking.

There are a few Ning users here who are helping us understand what Ning users need, so we're doing our best to make the system work for Ning users. I think you'll see posts from other ning users in the forums and they will be the ones most able to help ease the transition to Jamroom.

At its base, Jamroom is a development system built by developers for developers who then add to the system to make it easier for non-developers.

So where that leaves you: Not all the things that Jamroom is capable of are accessible without looking at code. But we also don't know what it is that your wanting to do.

So if your willing to make an effort in explaining what it is that you need, then we'll try hard to make that accessible to you without having to look at code.

You can help us improve the system for non-tech people. If you want to.

Hi Lora - Welcome to Jamroom

Just to add to what Michael said, Jamroom will work for you 'out of the box'. We have a skin, NIngja, specifically designed for Ningsters that will show all imported Ning content and provide Ning functionality. All you would need to do is change the logo in the header to one that represents your site (and that can be done within the 'Control Panel'), and you could be up and running. See a demo of Ningja here - http://demo.jamroom.net/jrNingja
You can then, though its not essential, customise the site, by changing colours, layout, font size etc.etc. This is what Strumelia, Soaring and a few others are doing, but I say again, its not necessary and you don't need to get 'techie' at all.

We have a document on the import process - https://www.jamroom.net/ning-to-jamroom/documentation/ning2jamroom - so you could follow this and do it yourself, but even if that looks too daunting for you, we offer services to do it for you (note that you would still need to download your archive from Ning, then upload it to your new Jamroom server yourself).

hth


--
Paul Asher - JR Developer and System Import Specialist

Lora, I am a 'non-techie'...but I dove in and am learning quite a few things every day simply by reading the forums here...and read the documentation Paul points to.
You can do it! It will take a little time but just keep a notebook and take notes on what you need to learn or change on your site, and focus on one or two things at a time. You will get TONS of help here, from the JR team of 4, and also from other Ning refugees who have been working on their sites here and maybe are farther along than you and had the same questions.
Your site has many beautiful images and it will look and function wonderfully on JR!
You have way more options on setting up member roles and shops here than you do on ning.
Welcome! Rememeber- the first few weeks seem daunting but it gets a little easier every week!


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

I have to second Strumelia's recommendation to keep a notebook. I actually use a workbook and have a sheet dedicated to specific things I learn.

I don't consider myself a programmer at all, and JR does have some room to grow to match some of the drag and drop functionality in Ning but being able to chat directly with the developers has made a huge difference. I started my community in 2008 and never once got the level of support I get on a daily basis from the JR team.

You have no idea how happy you all have made me. I know just enough code to do the basics I think. As long as I have a support system here to guide me on specifics, I will be fine I think. And I am willing to hire help if need be...

So I think the biggest thing I am confused about is hosting. Do I have to have my own server?

And here is my list of requirements. I am only listing this to see if there is anything you do NOT cover...

Current Ning site thevintagevillage.com

We are a community helping each other via forums. We are also a marketing/selling site. BUT we are not a "real" selling site in that we do not have the ability to sell directly from it.


"Must haves"

1 - Multiple admin

2 - Member categories - we have free membership and paid, I need to have a system to distinguish the two. http://thevintagevillage.com/all-members

3 - Member profile pages featuring their pictures and giving them a place to share a bio and social networking links. http://thevintagevillage.com/all-members/2ajsgswcie0mt

4 - Multiple Forums with social sharing and privacy settings and member controls Ex of just one forum http://thevintagevillage.com/AVC-info

5 - Photo gallery - we "sell" vintage items on our site. Members belong to other selling venues like Ebay and Etsy and post a picture of their item and then add a link. We also use pay pal code if a member wants to sell DIRECTLY from our site, but a real shopping cart would be a dream come true for each seller. http://thevintagevillage.com/for-sale
If possible... the ability to have albums and the ability to delete all pictures at once per member.

6 - Activity feed with social sharing options

7 - chat room

8 Internal search system big big big deal here, so that folks can search for things to buy...

9 - Groups

10 - Three column layout with a header and menu including the option for Modules for me to add html code for ad buttons and other content like on our main page. http://thevintagevillage.com/

That is all I can think of right now. I want to keep as much of the look and the set up as possible.

Is this list doable?

Lora

I only have windows on my computer.... how do I get Linux???
updated by @lora-mcmeans: 01/16/15 02:34:48PM

You don't need linux on your computer, as you don't run Jamroom on your computer. You will need to get a hosting account with a web hosting provider. Have you ever setup a hosting account before?

Also - everything on your list is supported - only the "chat" one requires a 3rd party system (comet chat) as we don't have a chat module created by us for Jamroom yet.

Hope this helps!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
updated by @brian: 01/16/15 02:46:02PM

Cool Beans!!! I am using a 3rd party system now for my Ning site... Skysa

And that shows you how little I know... so I need to set up a server account and THEY have to meet the requirements you have set here... got it!

I have my domain names with GoDaddy... who do you recommend I use?

Do many people who use ning use skysa? Seams like that could be integrated fairly easily.

"skysa"
http://www.skysa.com/

I love Skysa..... You can add all kinds of stuff to the chat bar.

Keep your domain names at godaddy, that's fine. I do too. But don't use their hosting ( Please ).

Hosting is just renting some space on a computer somewhere that's always on and connected to a really fast internet connection. Hosting companies usually compete on price per month and say "Unlimited (something)" but nothing is ever really unlimited.

Lately we have put a new tool into jamroom sites. All you owners can find it here:
ACP -> CORE -> TOOLS -> PERFORMANCE CHECK

Once you have done the PERFORMANCE CHECK, click the "Share Your Results" button to let everyone know.

That Performance Check system is still new lora, so we don't have a public list of speeds up yet. Its coming.

Hosting is important.
The key things to look for are:
* good speed from the system
* good support from the company
* common control system so its easy to change ( cpanel is the most common )
updated by @michael: 01/16/15 05:34:58PM

Just checked, skysa bar works fine. Might need some customization to get it connected to the login system, not sure.

Lora i used to use skysa chat on my ning- you should take a few minutes to test CometChat- they have a Jamroom specific supported chat- basic $10/month...with video $20/mon. You can test drive it right on their site. My moderator did and he loved it way more than Skysa...I liked it better too. I have not put it on my site yet but I plan to soon. Give it a try and check out their 'Jamroom optimized' live chat test.

P.S. Lora- I am temporarily on the $10/mont shared server on Arvixe only while I'm building my site. It's slooooow but cheap. Will have to move to a less cheap but way faster server before I go live. Frankly, I can not recommend Arvixe. They gave me huge grief when I temporarily had two 30GB ning archives at same time- loaded new one so I could then delete the older one and do a fresher import. They sent me icky notes about using too much space and then cut off my helper when he was just trying to make a copy of the old one before deleting it. It's all too stupid imho...over a lousy 60GB...you could put that on an iPad mini ? Just sayin'.
Anyway, I need a faster option myself. You and I will need a 'managed' server that you will not need to do maintainance on yourself.


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015
updated by @strumelia: 01/16/15 06:35:02PM

I think I am ready to do this but I warn you... I need a lot of coaching.

What is my first step?

Read these docs - https://www.jamroom.net/ning-to-jamroom/documentation/ning2jamroom
Start downloading your latest Ning archive
Look for some hosting to put your Jamroom site on.
hth


--
Paul Asher - JR Developer and System Import Specialist

Lora you mentioned you had moved from 2.0 to 3.0. You do realize that currently ning 3.0 has no archiver so you can't actually migrate your ning 3.0 content to JR using an automated tool, right? Are you planning on starting from scratch to build a new JR site then, and inviting your ning members to it when it's ready? Or did you keep your old 2.0 site as well, or kept an older archive from it that you might use?


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

I am aware that I can't move my current content from 3.0 so this would be starting from scratch. I do have my 2.0 content archived with the jason file but not sure if any of it would even be worth transferring.

I began another website on WIX to act as a blog and to have as plan B if Ning imploded. So I might use JR for that instead. I can just copy and paste the content from there since it's not a lot.

@ Curtis... yes... I am a visual learner for sure.

Thanks so much everyone.... off to do some research!

Hi Curtis,
I see you are using the Ningja skin in that video- but are you using jr Site Builder? (i thought site builder was not yet available for use with Ningja?) I'm not seeing any of these drag/drop building options for building my own site with Ningja skin/bundle. =8-o


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

I thought SB was still a beta that was not intended for use with Ningja skin yet...?

JR Team....?


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

Site Builder is beta and is undergoing frequent changes, but the "hooks" for it are in the NingJa skin.


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net

Yeah Michael has been working directly with you, so you may have access to some things he's specifically done, but ideally any changes make it to the modules pretty quickly.


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net

I upped my subscription on Jr this morning. Because yes.


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

Thank you - your subscription really helps us out.

Thanks!


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net

It remains the Bargain of the Century compared to what everyone else offers. And you guys are superheros, seriously.


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

Yeah Ningja is ready for Site Builder. Turn on the modules which are now in the STABLE channel and you will see the top section of your jrNing skin disappear. All the content will go away.

This is because Site Builder is wanting you to add the content. No issue though, you can import a default .json package via:

ACP -> SITE BUILDER -> TOOLS -> IMPORT

Right now, you would need a .json file to upload. From the next version of the jrNingja skin that file will be packaged with the skin, so you might want to wait for that.

If you don't want to wait, I'll attach it as a zip file here.

Not getting enough complaints about things not working anymore for the Site Builder so moved it to the STABLE channel.

Docs are here:
https://www.jamroom.net/site-builder/documentation/

--edit--
You'd need to unzip that file to get the .json file to upload. Cant attach .json files to the forum.
updated by @michael: 01/19/15 08:06:35PM

"All the content will go away"?....Would this mean I would have to start building my site all over from the beginning again?
That means i lose 3 months of work... ?




--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015
updated by @strumelia: 01/19/15 08:54:10PM

Turn it on, try it out, if you don't like it turn it off.

I cant comment on "Loose 3 months of work" because I don't know what you have done. It should all still be useful though, you just need to set it up in a different way.

Any templates you've been using can still be used.

So- I install the various site builder modules, then 'turn them on/activate'...and look at site builder? My site itself won't look any different at that point?
And if I turn the sitebuilder moduels off again without changing anything my site and ACP areas will be back to what it all was like before?
Am I understanding that right?


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015
updated by @strumelia: 01/20/15 06:43:30PM

yup, you got it. The jrNingja skin has a check built into it "If Site builder is all active, show it, if not show the default layout."

--edit--
The difference between a standard template and the Site Builder system is where the code is stored.

In the traditional system users edit the code in the skin .tpl files to create their custom Jamroom layouts and skins. With this method, to get a list, you use the {jrCore_list ...} function in the template you want the list.

With Site Builder, the code for the templates is stored in the datastore, so the skin just has the outter layout, then that big box in the middle where all the content is is just a blank pad. You add a layout to that, then add widgets to the layout. But if you view the .tpl code for that section in the skins all you will see is:


That one line of code is the panels activating. It says "Go and check the database for this page and see if any widgets have been added here, if there are some, show them.".

Its un-related to the code you have in the /skins/ directory. So your site will be blank when the system is just started because nothing has been added.

--edit edit--
Turn it on, try it out, if things get weird, let me know and I'll help you get setup.
updated by @michael: 01/20/15 09:45:28PM

@Michael -

If you think about the header/menu design I want to move to (there's a thread on this), can I do just the header, footer, and index page using Site Builder?

I need to pull the CSS classes for the profile page menu and use them for the header. I don't want to have to redesign every page.

The header and footer are the parts that aren't handled by Site Builder. You add the header and footer and use Site Builder for the body.

As for other pages sure. Site Builder will only turn on if there is nothing there already.

So if you have a template fondue.tpl in your skin folder, then your-site.com/fondue will use that page.

If you have the audio module turned on then your-site.com/audio is already taken by that module so that module will show. If it was going to show a 404 Not Found page, then you'll see the "Edit This Page" button.

-- edit --
As for redo; you can use any templates you've made already, just add them to the TEMPLATE field of the widget.

If you had this code in your template:
then you can use my_custom_template.tpl in the widgets and keep on using it.
updated by @michael: 01/20/15 11:38:19PM

...and could i continue to edit my custom template from time to time in my non-sitebuilder mode, and it would update automatically in the sitebuilder core_list module?


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

"Turn it on, try it out, if things get weird, let me know and I'll help you get setup."

Is it advisable to make backups of my custom skin and all my customized module templates before doing this, or am I safe to go ahead and try without doing that first? (in other words, can't lose my customized templates by just trying out the SB)


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

A backup is always a good thing to have. Sure back it up. "Do I think anything will go wrong?" A:"No, I cant see how it could."

DO IT!

Or send me your login details and I'll do it for you.

Here is a screenshot of what the index page will look like when you turn it on:
(screenshot)

Look for the button in the bottom left. "Edit This Page".

If you turn the Site Builder system off, it will all come back.

Any pages you have added to your site, or module urls will still be there. The site builder system only adds pages to url's that have nothing there. so
site.com/gallery
site.com/audio
.....

Will all still be there.

Open a new thread "converting over to Site Builder" and we can walk through issues as they come up.

This is some reading on the subject if you dont want to wait for me to answer in the forums:

"Site Builder -> Development"
https://www.jamroom.net/site-builder/documentation/development

The process would be to move section by section through what you have in index.tpl now and move each block over to a widget. It could be useful to turn off Site Builder, open the page in a browser, then turn on Site Builder and use that page for reference as to what goes where.
updated by @michael: 01/21/15 06:47:01PM

Ok. I appreciate all you have written to reassure me and spell it out.
I WILL try it out!
But- my day job is piling up and interfering this week- I am swamped with deadlines and I won't have much time until the weekend.
YES I will follow your steps!
Where am I supposed to stick the unzipped .json file you attached earlier here? -please tell me exactly... am using Ningja skin.


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

The import system is found at:
ACP -> SITE BUILDER -> PANELS -> TOOLS -> IMPORT -> UPLOAD PACKAGE -> "Upload Package"

That will put a new file under PACKAGES on that same screen. From there click INSTALL to see all that is in that package.

Check all the checkboxes and click IMPORT.
Be aware that this will over-write any existing panels. So if you do that, then make changes to a one of the pages and do that again. What is in the file will over-write your changes. So before doing an IMPORT its always a good idea to do an EXPORT to get you back to what you had.

EXPORT is the same but in reverse. (wont need to to start with because there will be nothing to export)
ACP -> SITE BUILDER -> PANELS -> TOOLS -> EXPORT -> check all panels to export -> EXPORT SELECTED PANELS

Will create a new package (.json file) on that same page which you can download if you want.

A newer version of that .json file is now included with the jrNingja skin, so you don't need to upload anything. Just go to :
ACP -> SITE BUILDER -> PANELS -> TOOLS -> IMPORT -> site_builder_package_jrNinja_default.json -> INSTALL

Check all the checkboxes and save. That will give you the same layout as Ningja had to begin with but with Site Builder active.

Dumb question here...

Can I test out the set up on a non published site? Can I set up a test site or practice site???

And would I need to be on a server since it would not be live?

You can setup a test site, but it needs a place to be. It is possible to set it up offline on a local server but that means setting up a web-server locally which is pretty complicated. Easier to pay the $7 for a 1 month plan here:
https://www.arvixe.com/jamroom-hosting

And use the 1-click install to get it up and running. You can then put the site into "maintenance mode" from:
ACP -> CORE -> SYSTEM CORE -> GLOBAL CONFIG -> maintenance mode

Then nobody will be able to login or signup or see your site. Only admin level users.

Jamroom only runs on a server, so yes.

You're only wanting to look around and the above idea wont have the ning stuff turned on. Do you know anyone who has installed it already who would be comfortable letting you in as an admin to a running site?

We don't have an admin level demo setup, just the top level demos:
http://www.jamroom.net/demos

Okay... I will work on this over the weekend!

I just want to thank you and everyone with Jamroom for all the help. By having a non tech person like me around, it will test your patience for sure ... but at the same time the easier you make it for people LIKE ME, the more people will be able to do this and sign up with you...