Need Help Testing A New Plugin
I just built my first plugin (yeah!) and was curious if I could find some beta testers?
Plugin name: A BungeeBones “Distributable” Web Directory
Description: The plugin delivers a complete web directory with categories and links to a WordPress site from a repository (i.e database/central website). For the WordPress operator/host it works very much like a RSS or news feed sending a maintained and managed web directory and is maintenance free. Visitors that want to add a link do so into the repository and the one submittal places the link on all present and future plugin installs.
Features: In addition to being distributable and sharing the category and link repository it has pagination for both the categories and the link displays. The top half of the real estate is for the categories and the bottom half for links so both have pagination. And perhaps its a quirk (or worst) but I can’t stand going down empty trails. The category pagination is dynamic and reports in both numeric and alphabetical. There may be only five subcats, for example, in one but maybe 45 in another so the 2nd is paginated. But where are the subcats beginning with the letter “m” hiding? Alphabetical pagination solves that problem by displaying the starting and ending letters of the subcats names. There is also dynamic population reporting telling how many links there are in a category as well as all its subcategories. Also, there is a “speedy” nav using AJAX dropdowns that both filter results to any geo region (continent, country state or city) and also to a cat or subcat. Both results are integrated in a “Go To” link. For database fiends the original script came with a Modified Preorder Tree Traversal which I’ve found pretty cool once I got my head wrapped around it.
Needs: Any way, it is pretty far along and there are just a couple real minor glitches so mostly what I need is a bunch to download and install it and see how it works in the real world. There is a link to download the plugin zip at the bottom of the web page also.
Possible Uses: Web directories are a dime a dozen so why a new one? The ability to pull from a repository and the front end display to be distributed makes this directory very much like an Adsense ad so it really is different. I always say that, while Adsense wants to rent the side bars of your content , I’ll be happy with a whole page. So one possible use is as an Adsense alternative. I see possible use as a potential new web advertising paradigm. If the system scales (which I believe it will) then it is a Web2.0 app that gets better the more that use it. As more directories get installed, those new portals bring even more traffic in which, then, cycles back to get even more installs etc. I see it as a great tool for web designers and hosting companies. Every webiste needs traffic so if this can deliver some at lower cost that’s great. I think content providers such as bloggers may find it to be just what they needed in order to generate a little income from their writing. Eventually I hope to “pool” the traffic enough to where the income gets serious..
So if you would please mosey on to my wordpress install at BungeeBones.com/blog you’ll be at the install. The download link for the plugin is towards the bottom of the page as I said. I hope you all find it of interest and can give it a good test run. The more the merrier.
Thanks,
Robert Lefebure