Still got a bit of work to do on the header (move the search etc at the request of an acquaintence who helped me). ;)
But I would love to get your comments on the site so far before I push it live and start promoting it.
I have some custom code in place to show different images and pages depending on if you are Anon, logged in as a registered user, or logged in with your account upgraded to VIP (using the paypal integration).
So far I am happy with the site, but I would love any comments you may have.
Additionally I am still having a hard time getting a gallery in place than enables user ablums. I tried the latest contrib module of the album module, however it doesnt ever seem to show up in the "create content" menu when the module is active.
Anyway, go over, sign up, play around etc, I look forward to your comments.
Regards,
David
Comments
Nice
Looks very good. I would change the text on the create content link (Stories are articles ....).
Otherwise it looks really good. How about releasing a template?
Andre
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http://www.opentravelinfo.com
http://www.aguntherphotography.com
Looks good
Looks good. Colors go well with each other.
The primary links have a little bit of a dent to the left of Home and the right of Email. I am not sure if that is intentional or a graphics artifact.
I would change the default Drupal bullet points for list items, so the site looks more distinct.
Now for question time:
- For the Stop sign and News/Discussion/Upcoming, did you use frontpage or flexiblock or another technique.
- Tell us more about Paypal, since this is a question that comes up a lot. Is this recurring subscriptions, or one time shot? If it is a subscription, then did you use Paypal Framework/Subscription, or e-commerce recurring invoicing, or a third technique?
Good work overall.
--
Drupal development and customization: 2bits.com
Personal: Baheyeldin.com
--
Drupal performance tuning and optimization, hosting, development, and consulting: 2bits.com, Inc. and Twitter at: @2bits
Personal blog: Ba
Thanks for the kind
Thanks for the kind comments.
The indents on the menu are intentional, however I will probably update the header soon.
The images like the stop sign etc came from a stock service that I pay for. They are displayed using 2 items:
The font page module
And some custom code I wrote that displays content dependant on roles.
Front page module is set to display that graphic for non logged in users. Once a user is logged in it loads the alternate front page code, however within this I included PHP code to check for the role, then it displays different items depending on if they are just a normal user, an admin or a VIP.
I did this so that anon users will see the register. Once they register and log in they see an image telling them about becoming a VIP with benfits etc. Then once they upgrade via the VIP page / paypal they get made into a VIP and start to see graphics and content for them, such as blog promotion tools, points information, special offers etc
If you register for an account and log in you will be able to see the upgrade image and get to the page made for upgrading to a VIP, this will also give you the link to paypal (which has also been customised) and you can click the button to see that.
You obviously dont have to upgrade unless you feel like it, however the first month is Free then its 3.50 a month after that using the paypal subscription service. Once paid you get directed back the site and the account is automagically upgraded via the papal notification service.
I now have to start adding more valuable content, but the VIPs also get free stickers, key fob, access to the PM system, downloads, more permissions etc and more will be added as time passes. The free stickers etc are NOT sent to users within the free trial period, they only get sent once they have gone into the first 'paying' month. This means neither they nor HSC lose any money for no reason. :)
Does anyone have any suggestions for VIP only content that I should / could look to include. I want there to be as much value as possible in being a VIP aside from the status and a few freebies.
Anyway, register for the free account to see the image change and take a look at the VIP reg area.
Thanks again
Dave
Thats what counts
Well thats the art of running a business, isn't it.
One thing is for sure. None will pay if they can get the content somewhere else for free. Most people won't pay for online subscriptions.
Try being unique enough, so that people want to sign up.
If you find the holy grail of selling your content, let us know.
If you offer webspace for VIP, let them have their own blog and share their little mini videos of their tuned engines you may actually convince someone to pay for that. I don't know.
Andre
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http://www.opentravelinfo.com
http://www.aguntherphotography.com
The site is free, all
The site is free, all content is accessible, forums etc.
The membership is to join the club, this includes entry to physical events that are to be organised, discounts in the online store that is on the way, access to the points system which rewards them for contributing content, access to the PM system, buddy lists, and blogging tools, then they can 'spend' the points on stuff in the store.
Essentially everything is free, but the club side of thing and extra bonuses are what you join for. Think of it being like a fan club for music, but it costs a coupla quid.
As I said, this goes all back into the site for the meets and advertising etc to help build the community and the meetings that they enthusiasts can have.
I know this is going to take time to get up to speed of course. :)
Dave
Oh
Sorry for my previous posting then. I have misunderstood your subscription sytem.
Well how about the webspace then? Seems to fit your club. Also you could have events, meetings of club members and so on. But that only will work if there are a critical mass of subscribers.
This brings me to another topic. I guess we are all a bunch of people starting new projects that need some traction. Maybe we should all work together an trade links to each other to build page rank. Should we start a topic on that?
Andre
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http://www.opentravelinfo.com
http://www.aguntherphotography.com
One more thing
Consider running your site for free for a long time to attract loyal readers and try making money later.
Here are things that make me want to come to a website:
-No Flashy ads
-Good Content
-Good discussion
-no popups
And I only sign up if the site looks like something that does not spam me or give away my emails.
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.opentravelinfo.com
http://www.aguntherphotography.com
Consider this
Check this out:
My wife surfs around a lot on another "clublike" website. Belonging to the club (which is free) makes her come back and discuss stuff. She gets userpoints and online credits for this. So what.
But when she was going to buy some DVDs on amazon, she did it through the referal on that site. Amazing, I told myself. She was that loyal. So the site made money by having her come back all the time and finally buying and clicking on some ads.
The longer you can bind people on your site, the more likely it is they click on an ad. Esp. if the ad looks like content of some sort, or like added value. For this the amazon module is great. I am offering travel books, since my site is travel related. So you can say I am giving hints on good "further reading".
If the club incures a lot of cost to you (webspace), it is absolutely normal for people to pay (aka flickr). If your cost is almost nothing, then I would consider running the site for free for years. Check out craigslist.org. He sold his site for millions to ebay. Still no ad there. It became popular because it was free.
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http://www.opentravelinfo.com
http://www.aguntherphotography.com
As I mentioned. The site is
As I mentioned. The site is free. It will remain free too. :)
The VIP status is for people that will be turning up at physical events and meetings. It covers organisation costs etc.
The use of the site, forums, reading the content etc is and will remain free :)
Paypal integration
So, as I understand it, there is no Drupal code invovled for this, just a button from Paypal's site that redirects the user to Paypal to pay the membership fee.
Also, regarding News/Upcoming ...etc., I assume that you are using snippets in front page, as I expected.
--
Drupal development and customization: 2bits.com
Personal: Baheyeldin.com
--
Drupal performance tuning and optimization, hosting, development, and consulting: 2bits.com, Inc. and Twitter at: @2bits
Personal blog: Ba
No the paypal framework is
No the paypal framework is being used within the drupal site for role management, upgrades, payment status checking and to demote accounts that no longer pay. :) Paypal is used to process the money :)
UPDATE: VIP AND PAYPAL
We have decided to REMOVE the paypal side of things for now as well as the VIP side. Instead we are simply going to charge for the events that are run so that everyone can benefit from everything.
A registered role now has all the permissions, and we are just looking into updating the template of the site quite dramatically so stay tuned.
Dave