mac help for web design

Hi all

I need to buy a mac desktop for web design for a ecommerce site.

the site has 8 microsites coming off it and has a pretty hefty product base.

Can any one suggest the following please:
1. would i need a server for this (and if so which one and what software)

2. do i need e-commerce software like 4-d business

3. what mac would be recommended with what specification

4. what is the advantage of having two screens

basically, if you were getting all the software and hardware needed for such site what applications and hardware would you get and why

would really appreciate any one getting back to me on this

Do you have any web design experience?

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nade93 said:

Hi all

I need to buy a mac desktop for web design for a ecommerce site.

the site has 8 microsites coming off it and has a pretty hefty product base.

Can any one suggest the following please:
1. would i need a server for this (and if so which one and what software)

2. do i need e-commerce software like 4-d business

3. what mac would be recommended with what specification

4. what is the advantage of having two screens

basically, if you were getting all the software and hardware needed for such site what applications and hardware would you get and why

would really appreciate any one getting back to me on this

Click to expand...

1. Yes, you need a server/host. Check out www.2stickshosting.com

2. Some hosts offer ecommerce templates/software. You could get Dreamweaver and make the site your self or hire a web designer.

3. I'll let someone else answer that one. I am getting a MBP for web/graphic design.

4. Not sure.

nade93 said:

1. would i need a server for this (and if so which one and what software)

Click to expand...

You will get mysql and apache pre-installed. Since it is *nix based, you wont have problem finding many other free server solutions. (Try MAMP) -> For testing purpose only.

nade93 said:

2. do i need e-commerce software like 4-d business

Click to expand...

Yes. Unless you want to try an open source solution.

nade93 said:

3. what mac would be recommended with what specification

Click to expand...

iMac 20" or 24" would be my choice.

nade93 said:

4. what is the advantage of having two screens

Click to expand...

Well, you can spread your work in a wider space. That way, you have a better control of your work.

nade93 said:

basically, if you were getting all the software and hardware needed for such site what applications and hardware would you get and why

Click to expand...

Maximum RAM possible - OS X is RAM intensive. More RAM you have better the performance you get.

Otherwise your system is pretty much complete.

A few questions.

1/ Do you want the Mac for design of the site, as the host server for the site, or both? Your post doesn't make this clear.

2/ Since you provide lots of details about the site, I am going to guess that it is already up and running, so I am not sure why you are inquiring about getting new e-commerce software. Doesn't it have some already?

For web design, I would agree with novicew that the 24" iMac would be a good choice.

For web hosting, this would depend entirely on how hefty your user base really is - an iMac might not make a very good web server. You might be better off looking at a hosting company, or putting together a one or more lower cost (than full featured Macs) web servers instead - 1u rack mount servers from Dell, HP, IBM or some other. Lots of cores, and load 'em up with a good Linux release and Apache.

First of all - Paying someone to do this will probably cost the same then buying all the stuff you will need AND then learning how to use and take care of it all. Depending on scope of the site it'll run around $2k for a somewhat decent eCommerce site.

1. would i need a server for this (and if so which one and what software)

Yes. Since you asked this I'll assume you're not well versed in being a server admin so just go with a host. I use knownhost and they've been awesome but there are TONS of good hosts out there (as well as bad hosts). Do your research before settling and remember that you can always switch if you have bad experiences with a host.

2. do i need e-commerce software like 4-d business

Yes and no. There are some open source apps but I'd recommend something like X-Cart.

3. what mac would be recommended with what specification

For the design: any of the new intel macs would be just fine. Make sure you get at least a gig of ram, more if you're going to do lots of image editing also. Laptops are nice because you can take it with you when you meet with clients (I have a macbook) and you can easily connect it with an external monitor when at home or office.

Server: Not so sure - you won't need to worry about this anyway if you go with a host for your site.

4. what is the advantage of having two screens

When I do my web design I usually have Dreamweaver (or whatever editor you'll use) on one screen and a browser displaying the current page I'm working with on the other screen. You can also have one screen with the editor, one with your color program; or maybe photoshop on one screen and something else on the other. Point is - you can have more windows open at once and be able to view it all simultaneously which helps do things quicker and thus better.