What will be your alternative platform now that BC is dead?

[DAVIDFON-KcxjDz]

What will be your alternative platform now that BC is dead? With this news today I’m already looking at where to move to.

Sadly, it is been along time since I have looked as I, like many of you, have invested a lot in to BC over the years. I would love some insight on where to go from here if anyone knows of a good flexible platform with integrations like BC. I

At this point, I’m looking more for function than worrying about cost.  As long as the value is there, I can sell it to my customers.

[spreadman]

I'm a small business owner and developed my own eCommerce site ('really feel for those with multiple sites/customers on Bc).

I'd like to know the same, i.e. I need a CMS where I can use my own HTML/CSS - not interested in Shopify template type offerings.

Is there anything out there?!

[agreatalias]

I'll probably be going into Firebase.  I know that's not ideal for anyone but it has the features I need

[jnowland]

Depends on how you used BC.

For developers there are platforms like Craft CMS the only difference this isn't a self hosted offering.

You would have to worry about hosting the site but if they ever kill that product you can still host your site.

For marketers there is a suite of platforms you can link up.

[C9-MB]

Given the dire situation, it's worth taking the time to consider options like Umbraco.

It's a serious paradigm shift for BC devs, and would be a near vertical learning curve for some, but it could do the job.

[dans63360207]

Anyone have suggestions for migrating and hosting 100+ sites? Our agency has a lot of sites over the last 8 or 9 years, plush about half a dozen in development right now. We've used everything from eCommerce to webapps through a lot of sites, so anything suggestions will help!

[DAVIDFON-KcxjDz]

So first of all, thanks to Adam from One Creative for his email. If you have worked with him you probably got a similar email to discuss paths forwards and his suggestions. Good stuff.

He shared with me his current plan which is Platform OS. I checked it out and got a notice from them for a webinar this afternoon which I signed up for. Sharing that info with you all here in case it may be something you want to also attend and learn.

Driven by Adam Broadway and his team, who you may know from before BC became and adobe product.

"As you can imagine, we have had many BC partners reach out regarding Near Me (being rebranded to Platform-OS).  So much so that we are running two webinars over the next two days.  This will be the best way for you to come up to speed with what the Platform-OS PaaS has to offer.  I think you will be enthused.

The two sessions are:-

27 March at 2pm PDT

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OK7MDFgeRvqOpIZUBievQw

28 March at 9am PDT

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NRukl_E1RFyPZ-vv8P0mHg

We look forward to seeing you at one of these sessions, and please circle back afterwards if you have any questions."

[DAVIDFON-KcxjDz]

After watching this and the Sandpile to see what Code Production has done with the action menu, this seems like the clear choice for those using Web apps, liquid and other higher end features of BC.

Best of all, the chains are off and the new platform promises so much more in building true web applications instead of sites.

Very excited and a big thank you to Adam and his team as well as Code Production for creating the bridge from here to there and filling the gaps with Treepl. Amazing stuff.

Thank you as well for recognizing the community that mad BC and will make Platform OS the way the future of the web will be built.

I have gone from a depressed Monday to an Optomistic hump day with more excitement than I have had since finding BC before adobe purchased it.

[israelisassi]

Personally, I'll be avoiding any products developed by anyone affiliated with BC's original development. This might seem harsh, but I don't intend on improving the odds of ending up in this situation again.

[spreadman]

Platform-OS $1000 /mo - way to expensive for me.

Why has post 6 been marked as the correct answer?!

[DAVIDFON-KcxjDz]

Check out recording on Sandpile to learn details not available on the site. They are catering to BC partners in a big way.

Sent from my iPhone

[C9-MB]

How did you come up with $1000/mo ?

[angelaCultivateCreative]

I'm wondering the same thing. I have invested a lot of time in Bc over the past seven years, developing over 30 sites. I design/develop in HTML and in all my research the past few days am turning up nothing similar I can offer my clients. Is there another cms platform compatible with HTML/Dreamweaver? Everything seems to be PHP based.

I'llbe watching this thread. Thanks in advance for any input!

[C9-MB]

If you only develop in HTML then basically everything is compatible. PHP is server-side scripting - think Liquid on steroids - that is not mandatory to render basic HTML sites. The Cloud-based version of WordPress (wordpress.com) or SquareSpace would easily meet standard html-based site needs. For mine, the only thing that Dreamweaver offered was an SFTP connector to BC, and that's old-school tech these days - there are better solutions.

[DAVIDFON-KcxjDz]

For those making basically html and css/JS pages, any thing will probably do. There are some that integrate some features like marketing and commerce as well but lack some of the control that liquid offered us. But for those taking advantage of Web apps and would like them even more powerful, P{os} will be great for you and the cost is lower for BC partners than listed. Also, code production has created something as an in between that will allow you to service this smaller customers and a cost lower than most BC plans, and then you can upgrade them to Platform OS as they scale up/grow to ned more features.

It won't be the answer for everyone - but I marked as correct as it is certainly the answer for me as to what is next.

I encourage you to spend the time to watch the recording from Sandpile. I think they also have a link to the Platform OS recording there too.

[bcalpha]

After having tried Webflow, Weebly and 17 other "Site Builders", we have decided on Simvoly, because we need to be able to move our sites quickly and we know from experience how slow re-learning a new system can be (And we cannot wait for features).

Points we had in favour:

+ Pages, eCommerce, Blogs, Portfolios, Popups, Memberships
+ Very flexible and powerful Site Builder (Lot's of blocks/widgets/pages)
+ Optimized for speed (Front + Editor)
+ AWS Global hosting with CDN + SSL
+ Flexible (Inject with JS)
+ Custom Pages, Blocks, Apps (Planned), Widgets (Planned)
+ High quality code & proper E-Commerce
+ Stripe, 2Checkout, Braintree, PayPal, Afterpay (More soon)
+ Professionally made Templates and lots of them
+ Real white-label panel similar to BC (Beta)
+ The Ultimate plan is very high value (no limits)

Points against:

- No SFTP access (I've not needed it)
- Export/Import (Coming soon)
- Public API (Coming soon)
- No template language (yet)
- No E-Mail marketing (Not needed)

- No CRM (We use Plutio)

The main deciding factors was the great support, high development speed (They push out features weekly) and good pricing.

[spreadman]

Thanks bcalpha, that's the sort of post I hoped would be in this thread!

Can I ask your opinion on webflow as you've had a look?

I actually don't need a builder as such (happy to code) and I'm in the minority here because I only have 2 sites (1 Bc, 1 Shopify) for my small businesses. What it important to me is the eCommerce features. I defo need tier pricing (a simple requirement but amazing how many tools don't have it, or require a clunky plug-in, e.g. Shopify). I chose Bc initially for my main site because it was all-in-one and offered flexibility and extensive features. Can't find anything else that comes close atm.

[bcalpha]

Hello Spreadman,

I like Webflow a LOT and have tried it three times during the past two years.

When I last tried it, forms couldn't input data to their CMS - but this seems to have been fixed?

The main reason is that Webflow E-Commerce is not available yet, not even in Beta and pricing is unknown at this moment.

If they release it within the next months or so, we will use both Simvoly and Webflow (Simvoly for small clients, Webflow for Brands)

[spreadman]

Hello bcalpha,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, ecommerce nearly here. It'll be interesting to see what features it has.

I don't have experience of sitebuilders - are they just great for the basics, but 80% of time spent working round the more complicated bits writing custom code?

Thanks again.

[bcalpha]

Webflow eCommerce:

As long as it has an API from the get-go and ability to set custom fields on orders it will be enough for us, we dynamically inject our customer required payment gateways. And we need to be able to get the orders from the API so we can send send them accounting systems.

Site builders:

Most of the Website builders allow you to add custom code, so you're not really limited at all.

For really custom sites (like booking or cinemas) we use a headless CMS + JS to inject the GUI into a div tag of a code "widget/block".

Since we can also inject JS in the admin, we can inject the custom management for the cinema/booking app there too.

[C9-MB]

If you are ok with delegating the CMS role to be headless, then you should check out KenticoCloud.

https://developer.kenticocloud.com/docs/hello-world-in-5-minutes

[gleeren201365]

Hello Guys,

Replacement for BC

I have been doing some looking around and I found that SoloDev is the closest thing I could find thus far.  I have another meeting with their sales rep on Monday to nail down pricing. What I have found is BC was low-cost for the features it offered. In finding a replacement we may have to come out of pocket a little more.

The best thing about SoloDev is they have developers that will assist in migrating sites.

I think we need a general location to discuss all things. Can someone set up a forum where all partners can get together and discuss things? I was with Business Catalyst before Adobe purchased the system. At the time I thought it was a great thing happening, now I wish they would never have purchased it in the first place.

[BC Good Mate]

#foreverbc - Our primary goal is to develop a new CMS Platform close to Business Catalyst in order to ensure seamless transition of service.

#foreverbc - Business Catalyst

[spreadman]

opencart looks interesting for those who require ecommerce but don't need a site builder.

opencart cloud is built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the pricing plans similar to Bc.

Any opinions here?

[SmilingGoat]

Hi DAVIDFON

Did you guys record the webinars anywhere?

Thanks