Database options when you haven't built a database

(Jennifer Weiley) #1

I have a list of about 1,000 suppliers: name, address, phone number and list of services offered from a list of about 8 options.

At the moment I have:

  • grouped them into regions (each page is a region)

  • used accordions for each town and

  • within each town listed the suppliers with heading style for the name and then body text for the rest.

It’s horrible!

I was thinking I could create a record for each listing but then not sure how to group these into a database display. I think this is a custom build.

Any other thoughts on how I can better display and provide a reasonable search experience before we embark on a custom build? Plug ins? csv file?

[Squiz Matrix v5.4.0.1]

(Douglas (@finnatic at @waikato)) #2

There is a csv data source - https://matrix.squiz.net/manuals/data/chapters/csv-data-source - which creates shadow assets and you can point asset listing / search assets to display.

We have several. One of them frequently generates warnings in the logs because there’s too many records - and causes the occasional server error as well.

(Jennifer Weiley) #3

Thanks @Douglas, I understand that we’ve had similar issues with csv files that frequently break as well.

I would love something like a SharePoint custom list in Squiz Matrix for building simple databases. It’s a common requirement for us.

I’ll also have a hunt around to see if there is something else we have in our technology stack that we could build and plug in.

(RylieGordon) #5

OMG! How did you survive before? 1K suppliers! You definitely need a database or some sort of organization for all this. Consider the fact that now all suppliers are active or provide the same goods.

(Timotee) #6

I totally feel your pain when it comes to displaying a large list of suppliers in a user-friendly way. It can be quite a challenge to make it look organized and easy to navigate.
I came across a website that specializes in database design and development. They might have some helpful insights or tools to improve your database display and search experience. You can check them out at https://www.cosource.com.au/database-design/
If you come across any other suggestions or plugins that could enhance the display of your supplier list, feel free to share.

#7

Why not convert your list to JSON, and upload into Matrix. Then simply use SSJS or even plan JS or a JS library like Datatables to display and filter records. We have done this many times.