Webtix provides customers with an integrated platform to sell tickets online via the internet. It provides real-time integrated internet sales and reporting. People in your office will have access to the same seats at the same time as everyone on the internet.
Webtix is a collection of PHP functions to connect the internet to your sales files. The usual way is to think of Webtix as another clerk on your network – with severely limited privileges. However, it is a “clerk” that works 24 hours a day for less than the minimum wage.
Webtix is supplied as a set of PHP scripts. The scripts are actually small programs that are interpreted by PHP. These scripts can be modified by an HTML editor or text editor.
Ticket delivery methods are included. These are things like Will Call, Mail, UPS, Fed Ex. Each one has a separate price and separate date range.
System requirements:
The easiest way to get up and running is with a hosted server. The cost starts at $30 a month.
If you want to do it yourself, you need a LAMP stack and a static IP. You need Apache 2, PHP 5 and MySQL5. You must be able to bring up the default web page from a browser. A 256K DSL connection is fine unless you have a lot of graphics. A 1.5 GHz computer with 1G ram is the minimum.
You can have your web site at one ISP and Webtix on a local machine. This makes a lot of sense for the organizations that use a lot of graphics. They keep their site at a local ISP on top of a large pipeline with lots of bandwidth. The Webtix computer usually has a lower bandwidth requirement and can be kept locally. All the customer sees is a button that says, “Click here to purchase tickets.”
Webtix can be put on the same server as your database, however:
Other things that are handy to know:
You will want a firewall with ports 80 and 443 open. Navicat is a simple MySQL program. They have a commercial as well as a trial version. It is the easiest way we have found to back up and restore a database.
If you install phpMyAdmin, you need to be aware of the lack of security. Do not run it as root in the default directory. Rename the phpMyAdmin subdirectory to something else. A good practice is to move the directory to another part of your disk until you need it.
You will want a site certificate. You don’t need it for Webtix to function, but lots of people will want you to have it (including your bank). This certificate is what gives you the little lock on the bottom of your screen. Certificates are available from companies like Comodo.com, Thawte.com, RSA, Verisign and Geotrust for a fee.
Handling credit cards puts you at risk. You must follow the guidelines of the PCI standard. If you don’t, you can be put out of business in a matter of minutes. Click here for PCI Security Specifications. Among other things, you need a firewall with “stateful packet inspection,” anti virus software, security procedures and a policy manual. AmbironTrustWave has a short list for data security standards.
Because complying with the regulations is so difficult and important, a service like Authorize.net or MerchantPlus.com makes a lot of sense. You avoid the regulations by not keeping the card numbers on your computer or in your office.
To install Webtix, you need to do a few things:
The whole process can take a couple of weeks.
If you have a service that emulates a static IP (domain forwarding service), this will probably not work with an SSL certificate. You will need to use Webtix with the NoSSL option turned on and processing directed to the Simple Integration Method (SIM) from Authorize.net.