So you are a developer and it’s the first time that you are entering in the Sitefinity world? You have deadlines and a tight schedule, but still, you have to find out if Sitefinity is suitable for your next state of the art project? This KB will get you started.
If you already know the scale of your project, you can first take a look at our showcase gallery. This should give you an overview of the typical web sites done so far with Sitefinity. Some of the showcases provide you with case studies – how the development/management problems are solved with the CMS. Learning from others' experience is sometimes better than learning from your own mistakes.
If you are a .NET developer, then you already know the essential part of Sitefinity. When you pass the System Requirements, describing the various supported types of OS Web and Database servers, your next step should be installing the product and creating sample content. One valuable resource that will help you get started, are the weekly webinars that cover topics like product overview, creating pages, editing content, working with modules. In addition, you can explore the available product videos at your own pace. They cover various basic functionalities and are invaluable in the initial process of getting familiar with Sitefinity.
As a next step, you can experiment with our sample web site – Telerik University Demo. The basic developer resources that you are looking for are:
Once you pass this point, you will most probably want to know about the advanced customizations that could be done with our CMS. This is what Sitefinity is designed for – we provide you with a code base and API which you can use to create your own controls interacting with the content, modules and services. The resources that can guide you beyond the basics:
The Sitefinity Marketplace offers a variety of useful resources, including ready-to-use controls, modules, and templates that can save you a lot of development time so be sure to check this resource as well.
Sitefinity also comes with the award winning RadControls for Asp.Net AJAX - you can use them for the user interface or integrate them with your custom modules. We are regularly posting code examples with them in our Blogs and Forums. Another very helpful resource could be sitefinitywatch.com.
What about the support service?
It is important to mention that you are getting support from the people developing the product as well. The main support channels though which you could receive support is-are:
If you have any specific questions on the software architecture, or uncertainties on how to implement Sitefinity in your unique scenario, our team will be pleased to help you. Our partners could also help you if the project is too big for you and you need additional development help.
We wish you successful evaluation!