Fused Nation - UK SEO Blog

I’ve been all over the place recently looking for various scripts - mainly because I’m not a particularly skilled or talented web designer and I’d much rather a web based admin control than having to update content manually.

I have to say - it really is starting to piss me off, so I thought I’d write a little rant on some related issues…

Wordpress

I like WP, I really do, but it is very basic and other than blog type sites there’s not a great deal that you can do with it - well, to be honest I haven’t looked into mods for it in any great deal - I just felt like checking out some other pieces of equipment.

Drupal

Pretty functional - but had a major fecking headache trying to install it on a Fasthosts account.  Spent hours on it then realised that FH don’t support current versions of PHP.  So installed an earlier version, spent hours messing around with it (loving some of the features I have to admit) just to find out that FH’s anti email spam feature screwed with the user registration (and the version I had installed meant I couldn’t use the SMTP mod)….

So after this I thought I’d spend some time checking less well known scripts and even contacted a few web development agencies about getting some custom scripts built.  Been the bane of my week!  I’ve looked at main link directory scripts, but also browsed various forums and news scripts as well to see what they can offer.

Here’s my top 10 beefs with the development industry (in no real order of importance):

1. Sooo, you want me to buy your script then?  Then take the fucking Adsense off your site!  Seriously, is that extra $40 a month really making a difference?  Because what it tells me about you is that you are an unsuccessful developer and so few people have bought your script that you need to supplement your income.  Ditch it, ditch it now.  This really only goes for people charging for scripts - freebies are fair enough - monetise your generosity by all means, I’m all for that.  But if you run a business, then do it properly.

2. Hotscripts - Overall a pretty useful site, but need to reassess their review procedures - too many unrelated listings in their results (ie just adverts for SEO services, dead links, etc).

3. Call me! I submitted so many enquiries to various companies (both agencies and developers) and so many didn’t bother responding.  Too bad guys - you lost a sale and the dev agencies lost a few £k worth of business.  In this day and age is it really that difficult to have some peon responsible for actioning enquiries?

4. Sales pitches on websites.  OK, let’s think about this logically.  I’ve already made the decision to come to your little 5 page website to see what you have to offer - I don’t need a sales pitch here.  I don’t need to hear about search engine rankings or time saving.  I need to see a features list.  I need to see a demo (front and back end).

5. Don’t preach SEO friendly scripts then generate the same title and meta information for every page the system generates.  I checked out dozens of link directory scripts and only a few actually changed title and meta for each page.  I’m not a developer and tbh I’m not very tech at all, but ffs is it so much trouble to dynamically pull this info from category name, etc?  Come on guys - you are in a heavily saturated market that even high school kids can compete with you from their bedrooms - put a little effort into it, even if your script is just a little bit of link bait.

6. False promises or the perception of them at least.  Don’t claim that your script is highly customisable then post examples that look the same (with different headers)!  If I am going to pay you the I need to see a good example of what can be done with your product.  Take notes from the success of WP and Drupal.

7. Support and satellite functions.  This is a major selling point for a lot of potential customers - people using scripts may be tech savvy but a lot (like me) aren’t too hot with coding and that’s why we look for these scripts.  Know your market!  You need to clearly state what support is provided and likely to be provided in the future, especially if you are charging a decent fee for your script.  Even if you are selling it relatively cheap, but have other services to offer - a happy customer from a small sale can often lead onto to more business.

8. Don’t over complicate the sales process.  Too many options can be confusing and put off potential sales.  If your feature list is extensive, then your landing page should summarise key features and lead off to a full list.  I’ve seen way too many scripts that have a 5 page long feature list, which may be very well for end users, but for potential customers a lot of that information is ignored and not only that, it can act as a barrier to the final sale.  Yes, you need to highlight the ways that your product is better than others, but don’t overload the user too soon.

9. Demos are invaluable to the sales process.  Only a few sites I went to didn’t have demos (I left immediately) - I need to see how the front end is displayed - I need to see how the back end works and what functions I will have.  Ideally, I need to see the changes I make and how they are reflected in the front end.  Do this and you are closer to a sale.

10. Do some research and find out what users of your script actually want.  Link directories without category descriptions, sufficient SEO implementation, etc are becoming antiquated and won’t be as widely used as they may have been.  Change with the times people!

I ended up short listing the following scripts:

- http://www.in-portal.net - very nice looking and other modules integrate well - seems pretty customisable and their support were quick to respond and very helpful - I ended up putting in an order.

- http://www.phpmydirectory.com/ - I did like it, but favoured In Portal simply due to the supports response and the news / forum features from In Portal met my needs more.  But would consider PhP My Directory for a stand alone site.

- http://www.tolranet.co.uk/software/directoryscript/index.html - nice little script from a UK web dev agency - I liked the features and it ticks all the SEO boxes I wanted, but again, I went for the more advanced option of In Portal.  But would certainly consider this for a link directory within a site.

Anyone know of other decent link directory (or any script) that stand above the rest and are a must have for your site(s)?

MG