Customization, navigation, and modules

How do we keep the pages active but create a whole new navigation system.  There are too many links on the main menu.  Ability to create sidebars or links just on the home of that link like video home....has all the other links on it

So we can have the links wherever we want them or not at all.

For the usability purposes the end user needs as little to distract them as possible.I am limited with coding but I am the end user. I have many ideas that would help the site owners to increase traffic and keep them engaged on the site. The navigation the way it is leaves no room for customization and when you see a boonex site, you know it because they all look the same. This is a huge drawback for the site owner and probably a deterrent for potential users of dolphin. Customization is difficult and costly.

i noticed that Andrew has made modules for WP so he knows what is available.  I have to say that I haven't had as many issues with the site crashing because of the modules as I did with WP but some of them are really difficult to install for someone who isn't a developer. I like the fact that the site could be user ready from the onset if necessary but customizing it is very difficult.  I did manage to find a tutorial about using phpadmin about the design boxes and such which gives you a better idea about how to change the look a little but it was hard to find. 

I would really like more tutorials that someone could use and not have to be a developer to do it. or pay 100.00 for every module.  Most of WP stuff is free and the software itself is free.  

I can't afford to purchase the license now. But I have stuck with this because of it is ready to use if you want to use it as it is.  I am getting more familiar with changing things but having to go into files and rewrite code to load a module should not be necessary. There are many reasons I like this software but customization and integration with other modules isn't one of them. there are may modules that work with WP, Joomla, Drupal etc. and none of them work with Dolphin.  A year ago dolphin offered things that those scripts did not. Today it seems the situation has reversed.

I am only writing all this because as I said I am the end user. I would love to be able to do some of the cool things offered but most other sites charge 5-25 dollars for addons. here the average is more like 35-100.And I don't want to lanuch my site half-assed so I keep putting it off til I can hire someone and I have already spent  a few hundred on modules. I am reluctant to buy the one navigation module I saw because I don't want to spend 50 dollars on a module that may not even do what I am looking for. I spend my last dollar on these things trying to get this thing going and it is frustrated that unless I have 1000's of dollars to spend or the time to learn to write code I cant' get my site up or integrated to 3rd party modules.

I would at least like to find some tutorials that explain how to change the menu completely! Any help would be welcomed. Looking forward to seeing the release of Dolphin 8 it looks like it may solve many of  these issues. 

Just wanted to share that with you. I am going to stick with it but if I could afford the 100's of dollars to rework the site, I could afford to have someone write it for me.

There's so much I could say but don't have time... but I will say this - don't compare dolphin to WP because the functionality is completely different.  If WP could do what dolphin could neither you nor I would be here.

Also, if you want to have a high-end site then expect to pay big $$$ - that's life.

Also, if you want customization you either have to learn coding languages or pay a developer. You can't expect to have everything for free.

You can use custom html blocks for sidebars and use any links you want (to simulate menus).

Also, I don't agree with you about the prices for the modules. Most are very affordable.  And dolphin comes with SO MANY modules out of the box.

Lastly, you could try learning CSS - pretty much everything regarding design can be customized via css.

Not trying to be rude and sorry to be so short :)

Top navigation menu.  There is a topic on here about hiding the top level menu but still allow the links to appear on the users submenu.  You can use that method to remove an item from the top level and still have the subitems.

You can hide the top level menu with CSS and the menu will still be active so that the submenu items are still in place.  Then you can write your own custom menu.  Look and study the template files, _header.html, _subheader.html file are two important ones that builds the top of the page.

Most developers do have a demo site up.  If after visiting the demo site you still are uncertain, contact the developer.

If there is one piece of advice I can give it is don't make the same mistake I made. I tested Dolphin back in 2010 along with WP, Joomla, Drupal, trust me I have tried them all. recently returned to Dolphin & plan to stay for good this time! I guess WP can only be compared to Dolphin if you are using Buddypress & creating a Community but their modules too also cost money. At least the ones that have the best use & are maintained. Consider having a site designed to your requirements from scratch & imagine the cost! I would say several hundred if not thousands depending on your needs. With Dolphin, although many modules cost money you can implement them over time. Think about Facebook & Google.....even they implement features on an ongoing basis, it's the nature of a Community.

Adding new features & paying for them when you can afford them is like paying a web designer in installments. People put a lot of time and effort into designing Dolphin Templates & Modules. WP has terrible security issues even with well known plugins to help combat those issues. Whilst I agree on the number of WP plugins available for free, they are also terribly maintained with the majority not at all! Dolphin gives you all the flexibility you need although two MAJOR areas I would like to see is to have the choice of uploading or embedding media in the core features & not restricted to simply uploading media & the Categories should have the ability to include Sub Categories. Those would be my two changes to core features.

Like you, my site isn't live yet, there are one or two issues I am working on before I go live with it but like you I am not a developer, I am comfortable playing about with a bit of code when told what to alter but prefer not to unless it's the only way. I prefer modules that install & work without too much config beyond basic settings. To suggest all sites look the same though isn't true. I would suggest as a starting point you take look at the template tutorials & work on customizing your design. Once you have that sorted you can then look at your menu options. Choosing from free templates brings you different menus as some developers prefer more menu content, some less.

There's no better way to learn than to ask in the forums once you have searched out your topic although I would prefer it if Boonex can 'archive' older posts as some searchers can bring up answers that may not apply to the version you are running & are simply out of date. To a newbie that can be confusing as to what applies or what to try if you run in to problems. Stick with it though & you'll be glad you did! :)