Want to launch a brand-new DotNetNuke website or refresh an archaic one? Sprocket Websites is your partner to build a DNN site that will work hard and stay fresh for years.
Why use DNN?
DNN is the #1 rated Content Management System on Windows servers. As integrators, we harness the power of this globally-recognized platform and customize it to meet your specifications. Your new website comes equipped with an exceptional Content Management System (CMS) so you and your staff can easily update news and information in-house. And the DNN platform has SEO best practices built in to jump-start your Search Engine Optimization.
Start fresh – or keep your look
Your business or non-profit will team up with our talented designers to create a website that’s both attractive and effective. When you’re ready for a change, DNN's modular system lets you design a new look for your pages without recoding and rebuilding the entire website.
If you’d rather, we can also re-create the look of your current website on the DotNetNuke platform, giving you powerful new functionality while we preserve your familiar branding.
Build on a strong foundation
Either way, with DNN’s extensive module selection, regular updates to the technology and world-wide technical support, your website is a foundation you can build on for many years to come. Ask us about functions like registration systems, e-commerce, donation buttons and more.
Rent a DNN expert for your team
Because we work in DNN every day, Sprocket Websites is your go-to resource if you already have a DotNetNuke website and no one to manage it. Engage our DNN experts for short-term assistance to upgrade your website to the latest version, add modules for new functions or update your site's look with a new skin. We're your local DNN specialists.
DNN Upgrades
DNN is constantly evolving as any good software would be. Sometimes the changes are for convenient new tools that make the website administrator's job easier. Sometimes Microsoft makes changes to the underlying .Net code, SQL Server code or the Operating System which gives the DNN programmers more efficient methods, making DNN websites faster to load. And of course, there are security upgrades to fight the ever-present hackers trying to break in whether to cause mischief or steal information.
Because DNN is modular, and modules are built by different programming companies, the parts evolve at different speeds, and some parts never advance. You want a team that has experience with a large number of modules from different companies and knows their history. We've handled hundreds of upgrades. We know many of the programmers - we've met them at conferences and talk to them regularly - and know the modules they've coded. We know which module version is compatible with which DNN version, and that knowledge makes for a much smoother upgrade.
Upgrades are charged by the time they take to complete. Every website is different, in that it's built using a different combinations of DNN, modules and theme(s). We review the list of modules and themes used and confirm that each component has been upgraded. We upgrade the underlying DNN, then the theme(s), then the modules, and run functionality tests on the site to ensure the pieces are all working together. Sometimes based on what modules or themes are used, we need to upgrade incrementally, eg, DNN v5 to v6, then themes, then v6 to v7 to v8.
What if a module developer never upgraded and now that module no longer works with a newer version of DNN? A very real possibility. Most often, there is another module developer in the DNN community that built a similar module, eg, a forms module or a slide carousel module. We'd swap out that component. In the case where the module provides a unique function, we may have to stop the upgrade process at the version just prior to the module breaking and then re-assess the situation. Is it time to ask the community to provide a new version of that module? Sometimes a member volunteers to build it for free; sometimes they build on commission. And of course the functionality might be replaced with newer modules that require a little extra configuration time. All these decision points are explained in clear, easy to understand terms so you make the best decision for you.
Depending on the complexity of the upgrade, we'll want to make a copy and work on the copy. That way, if the upgrade process takes a day or longer, your live website keeps serving your customers. If your website is static, we can copy back the upgraded site in place of your live site. If your website is changing, like an eCommerce website continuing to get orders during our work, we need to incorporate the changes into the upgraded site at some point prior to "going live" with the upgraded site. There are numerous techniques to accomplish this, and we've done them all.
After reading how it all works, we hope you agree that it's best to have an expert do this work for you. Contact us with the form on this page so we can help you keep current.
Of course, if you keep your website up to date with occasional upgrades as they become available, you not only keep the site secure and working properly but also keep from having the large project of a major website upgrade. Let us be your webmasters and we can set a monthly maintenance schedule so you have piece of mind. Whether you host the site yourself, use a major hosting company, or wish us to begin hosting for you, we can help.