Critique / Suggestions

It doesn't matter if you do all the error checking in the world, or if you have the most beautiful graphics, if your site or application design isn't usable, it's not going to do well. Get input and advice on usability and user interface issues here.

Moderator: General Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
infolock
DevNet Resident
Posts: 1708
Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2002 7:47 pm

Critique / Suggestions

Post by infolock »

Hey all. I'm currently building a project aimed at php developers of all skill levels. I basically am trying to create a 1-stop shop for developers to come to in order to gain information about php.

The current goals in mind are the following :

Offer ability for users to post useful links they have found that has made their lives easier for specific jobs (ie, a link that explains how to use the date function).
Based on clicks, it would order the links as most popular, and users could vote on the links they feel was the most helpful.

Same concept in dealing with news, events, forums, communities, scripts, and more.

I would probably create a forum on there, but I would be more interested in advertising other forums' communities (like devnetwork and phpbuilder and the many others).

I also want to allow developers to go to one site in order to get the latest news for php, their database server of choice (mysql, orcacle, mssql, etc...), web server, and os.


Now, some of you may say "hey...that sounds like slashdot". Well, the concept is the same, but i'm makin git like slashdot on steroids.

Currently the site i have up is http://www.phpingenuity.com/. If I could get some comments on what you, the developer, would like to see a site give them, please let me know! I'm building this for not only myself, but for every developer out there. No suggestion will go unread. I want to know what you would like to see in a website that would make your life easier and more entertaining when it comes to php and the open source world. Thanks!


(again, the website is http://www.phpingenuity.com/ )

Thanks.


Edit: I guess i should also say that the site is still under construction. I'm only building the foundation at the moment and the design could change based on the information left here.).
User avatar
veridicus
Forum Commoner
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 9:16 am

Post by veridicus »

Very good start. I put together an aggregator to cover news relating to all of software development, but it didn't work out. Partly because the information covered too many topics (where something like slashdot is better). You're smart to focus only on PHP and directly related topics.

How do you plan on handling code snippets and other information? Is everything simply a summary with links to the source?

You might want to consider adding a "social bookmarking" feature where others can add tagged links. Possibly allow voting for those links, also. I often find it extremely helpful when looking for information. Plus if it's on a PHP specific site the tags can be more specific, as opposed to general tags we see on the big social bookmarking sites.

The aggregator I had built was recently repurposed as a wiki (see my sig). I'd be happy to exchange a link with you from my PHP page (also see sig) once your site's ready.
User avatar
infolock
DevNet Resident
Posts: 1708
Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2002 7:47 pm

Post by infolock »

Very good start. I put together an aggregator to cover news relating to all of software development, but it didn't work out. Partly because the information covered too many topics (where something like slashdot is better). You're smart to focus only on PHP and directly related topics.

The same thought crossed my mind about multiple languages but I eventually came up with the same conclusion you ended up with. In order to make my site appealing for a user, it has to be focused to their interest. All languages is such a broad subject, the site could inadvertently focus more on one language than the others. Thanks for the postive feedback though. It's good to konw there is an interest for it.

Plus, php has become my primary language and I have become biased towards it.
How do you plan on handling code snippets and other information? Is everything simply a summary with links to the source?
I plan on going about it the same way hotscripts has. I'll allow a description, title, author, and voting for each script. The scripts will bundled into parent and sub categories to make finding a specific type of script easier. The same will go for links users submit, news, and informative forum sites they post.
You might want to consider adding a "social bookmarking" feature where others can add tagged links. Possibly allow voting for those links, also. I often find it extremely helpful when looking for information. Plus if it's on a PHP specific site the tags can be more specific, as opposed to general tags we see on the big social bookmarking sites.
That's a great idea. I'll definately have to see how I can work that in.

The aggregator I had built was recently repurposed as a wiki (see my sig). I'd be happy to exchange a link with you from my PHP page (also see sig) once your site's ready.
Very cool. Thanks for the offer as I may take you up on that.
Post Reply