Creating An Online Calculator

[Chris.C]

I'm in the process of planning the development of an online calcultor that will work out the cost of renting different styles of a certain product based on someone's postcode that they enter.

I've never created an online calculator before, but I have seen a few guys around here post some pretty spiffy online calculators from time to time so I was wondering if anyone was willing to offer some friendly advice on things that should be considered or how best to do it?

Thanks.

 

[findtim]

there is a lot of different ways to do of which i don't really know as i haven't had the need to learn it yet.

but what i do know is IF i was wanting something like that i'd be asking these questions:

is it "adobe flash" based? ( then do not do it imo)
will it work on all browsers?
will it work on all smartphones?
what if the viewer has javascript turned off? AND can we have a button asking them to turn it on?
will i be able to take that code and expand on it to other types of calculators?
does it require a database?

just some hints as i have been researching it but only passively

tim

 

[johno69]

offer some friendly advice on things that should be considered or how best to do it?

Use jQuery. There's a few jQuery calcs around you may be able to tweak depending on your specific needs.

 

[findtim]

post a link to one you have seen and WANT and maybe someone will say " ohh yeh , thats just a $20 download plugin from blabla.com "

tim

 

[FirstPageResults]

Really depends on the functionality required and where it's going to be used.

Are you making a widget that you want to share around? Is it going to be used on a Word Press site? etc

jQuery is fine for simple calculations, but if you need some serious number crunching or the ability to read/write to a database then a server side scripting language like PHP is probably required (which you can pretty up for the user with a bit of jQuery).

PM with details if you like and I can advise how I'd build it.

 

[Chris.C]

just some hints as i have been researching it but only passively

Thanks for the hints - I really apprecaite them and I'll be sure to ask the designers.

Speaking of designers, should I be looking to hire specific calculator designers or should a reasonable web design firm be able to handle this sort of thing?

Use jQuery.

What are the advantages/disadvantage to jQuery?

Really depends on the functionality required and where it's going to be used. Are you making a widget that you want to share around? Is it going to be used on a Word Press site? etc

The basic premise of the calculator would be that I would require users to enter their product requirements (there are a few different variables between the product range) and their location. Then from that I'd be looking to produce a rough quote/price for which the users could obtain the product from a supplier in their area.

Prices and availability for the products will vary from area to area based on suppliers, so I will also need to enter in the supplier's details and product pricing (will this mean I need a database or something)?

Also I would like for the calculator to collect name, email and phone number of each user who calculates a a quote and then for an email to be forwarded to the appropriate vendor/s as well as the user receiving the result themselves via email.

jQuery is fine for simple calculations, but if you need some serious number crunching or the ability to read/write to a database then a server side scripting language like PHP is probably required (which you can pretty up for the user with a bit of jQuery).

So given what I've mentioned above what do you think will be required?

 

[findtim]

you have so many variables i think you will need a database , php mysql could do i think.

you are obviously going to have to hire someone ( not me) so i'd sit down and clearly write what end result you want eg: "if the customer does this then the calculator should give this result"

yo didn't mention freight , i always do it by postcodes, takes longer to setup but more accurate, but i combine that with zones so later on i can change all the freight charges just by changes 4-5 zones for the whole country. i think TNT run on 10 zones?

thus a postcode is allocated a zone, a zone is allocated a delivery price, you then only have to change the zones and pretty much do not have to touch the 8000 postcodes in australia ever again.

tim

 

[FirstPageResults]

Speaking of designers, should I be looking to hire specific calculator designers or should a reasonable web design firm be able to handle this sort of thing?

Web designer is fine. In regards to the quality of the interface (calculator).. you get what you pay for. Some are better at designing for user experience than others.

What are the advantages/disadvantage to jQuery?

You can't compare PHP and jQuery as they do two completely different things.

jQuery is a JavaScript library - it has many benefits, but mainly it just simplifies the JavaScript language. One of the main benefits is that it eradicates most cross-browser inconsistencies that JavaScript has. JavaScript does all it's processing in the users browser (client side). It's predominantly used to pretty up web pages (show/hide elements, animate etc).

PHP works on the server side. Among other things, it's used to write and write to a database. It can also send email.

Having said that, you can use PHP and jQuery together via AJAX. AJAX allows you to do things like read/write to a database without reloading the entire page.

So if you want a web form (calculator) that dynamically pulls information from a database based on the users input/selections (the variables you mentioned), then the best way IMO is to use a combination of PHP, jQuery and AJAX.

I hope that makes sense!

Prices and availability for the products will vary from area to area based on suppliers, so I will also need to enter in the supplier's details and product pricing (will this mean I need a database or something)?

You can do it without a database, but I wouldn't recommend it as it would be a nightmare to maintain.


Like Tim said, outline the process set by step and then use it to get quotes.

 

[Ashman]

I'm in the process of planning the development of an online calcultor that will work out the cost of renting different styles of a certain product based on someone's postcode that they enter.
Thanks.

Chris, I recently developed a tax calculator. If you need a hand send me an email via Webpark.

 

[Chris.C]

the best way IMO is to use a combination of PHP, jQuery and AJAX.

I was just wondering if anyone knew of any live online calculator examples that use PHP, jQuery and Ajax all together?

I'm just looking for some online calculator design ideas - so if you know of any good examples please forward them to me. Thanks.

 

[Chris.C]

I'm back with more questions.

Given what I have mentioned already - could anyone give me a rough idea of how many hours it might take someone to design a calculator like this?

 

[findtim]

I was just wondering if anyone knew of any live online calculator examples that use PHP, jQuery and Ajax all together?

I'm just looking for some online calculator design ideas - so if you know of any good examples please forward them to me. Thanks.

most i have seen are elongated leads sites to grab your email address and then ring you to make a sale, iselect dot com au comes to mind but it really doesn't take much time to find them, just search home loans or something

i wouldn't be thinking how many hours it takes as its all been done before, you need to find someone that has done it and just negotiate a set fee, its no different to a contact form, you just have the functions already programmed previously then change the parameters to suit your needs.

i always use the analogy " a VW beetle mechanic can drop an engine out in @ 5 minutes (i thnk its just 4 bolts? ) but a non vw beetle mechanic will charge you 4 hours labour" thus spend the time to find the right person.

how much you pay will then simply be how many variables you want in the script, but work out what you want before you employ because if you change your mind half way through then its going to cost you big time.

a client has just done it to me and its going to cost them as it is a total shift from my original brief, they understand this so its all fine but had they decided it earlier they would have saved a lot of money.

tim