Let me preface my post by saying that my intent is not to start the infamous pee-ing contests that arise when someone asks for constructive advice on one thing or another or on competing products. I am merely looking for advice from people who hopefully have experience with both platforms. With that housecleaning out of the way...
I somehow stumbled upon VWD a few months ago and thought I would build a few sites using asp.net from scratch. The 'drop-and-drag' controls made it look so easy. While the software is great and quite intuitive, I lacked the skills needed to wire it all up and customize it the way I want. Someone how during my struggles, I then stumbled upon DUNN. Wow, after I saw a video on how easy it is to get a basic site up and operable, I was hooked. I spent a couple days trying to get a login feature to look and act the way I wanted it using VWD; I spent 2 minutes dropping and dragging the module using DUNN. A whole new world opened up.
My experience with DUNN is still being measured in weeks, though I have been putting some serious time in trying to get up to speed. I paid for a subscription to DNNcreative, watched the videos, active in forums on the internet to solve my basic problems. All is going well. Hell, I even laid out $90 clams on a skin I really like, which is unlike the cheap b*stard that I am. I read guidebook after guidebook, article after article on my LONG 2 hour train ride to work each day (each way!). I'm feeling pretty good about where I am already...
Here's the rub: I have ZERO C, C++. C+++++, C#, VB, JS, CSS, et al, experience. I was, however, a superstar at BASIC and could spell my name and make it flash using assembly language on the Apple IIE. :) I've written a number of small programs/games on my Timex Sinclair, TRS-80, and Commodore 64, though :) ....just haven't kept up with the times, I guess. I did learn HTML the old fashion way a decade ago using notepad (before I found hot dog pro long ago) and using an FTP and spamming the refresh button technique to monitor changes. I can work dreamweaver pretty well, a bit closer to the times. :)
Therefore, to get DUNN to do what I want, I must purchase modules, which I have no problem doing. But when you attach a price tag to what I am trying to do, these modules are adding up, given my inability to customize myself. I am able to get the entire site wired up and looking good, but I lack the main aspect of what I am trying to do:
--a series of forms that save the records to a database once users complete the fields, then a second pane that allows users to query those submissions.
--a "tell-a-friend" referral system that isn't the basic mailto: in simple link form like the freebie modules. Would rather have a spot for an email address and just a submit button and the preconstructed email is relayed to the intended recipient.
--a survey system that allows me to tie the response to the login demographics of the respondent (Terp, 35, DC, Married, Poor, Yes response), etc, stored during registration.
--and opt-in/opt-out newsletter feature with a few checkboxes (or radio buttons) for different newsletter genres that add people to the subscriber list for future mailings.
--and not sure how this is done (but seen it before), but the ability to have an email sent to someone who clicks on an affiliate link..perhaps a second login account to track the links they've clicked on and the purchases made...hard to explain, but I have seen it done on a site using .php. I click on their referral link to go to, say, Bestbuy.com, then I get a follow-up email saying I clicked on it...and if I made a purchase, I get a follow-up email in a week or so (perhaps all this is being done manually, but given the volume, I suspect otherwise).
Add that up and you are looking at $498.17 in modules.
I would also like to host on GoDaddy to start, given the cheap hosting (I know, I know, you get what...) with lots on bandwidth for little money..and trust them enough, based on the reputation they have built, not to go out in the garage and ghost my code off their server and throw up another site that steals my bazillion dollar idea! ..but I digress.
Anyway, I saw a thread about Joomla! on here the other day and did some homework. There are a TON of free modules out there that do everything I want....customizable forms tied to an SQL DB that allows for user queries, tell-a-friend that does what I want, weather modules, mapping modules, newsletters, free Amazon affiliate modules (or component, the jargon is still new to me with Joomla!). I could envision my costs going down to near nothing.
So to get back to the subject at hand, here's what I am debating:
1.) Both platforms seems to use heavy js; is one, however, more SEO ready than the other out of the box? I've seem some very human and search engine friendly sites using Joomla! This is one of my biggest concerns, second only to the cost of modules.
2.) Are there benefits to using an asp.net platform over .php? Is .net the future and going to kill .php, so better to get in early?
3.) Given my needs, is one more suited for me than the other?
4.) Ease of deployment to a host and ease to construct the site offline, then upload to the host server.
I am just trying to avoid the time (and capital) commitment to learning a new platform, given I have an investment in DUNN already. :)
I also like the admin controls I've seen in Joomla! Pretty slick interface, but I don't really need all the eye candy, I guess....just an observation.
So in short:
Which is easiest to learn--.php or asp.net?
Which is more search engine friendly?
Which is easiest for total newbies with zero programming experience using today's languages?
Which is easiest to work offline, then upload to a host (and easiest to wire the DB up for what was already built using a local DB)?
I welcome all suggestions/advice. I am installed the new 4.5.3 now (an old pro at this now) and going to continue playing until I make a decision, then never look back. I'm wasting a lot of time researching both platforms and could have probably had 5 sites up using DNN by now. 