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Fed up with all the trial end error please, please help.

0

Hi,

I have been a member since 18 November and despite trialling almost every option you offer, I am still no further toward getting my site finished.

I am becoming increasingly dismayed that no matter what I do, I just can’t seem to get any of your solutions to work.

I have asked this many times and have had many different pointers which have come to nothing so here is my last attempt and my last hope.

Please could you answer two questions.

1. is it all possible to create a simple site with paid for pages that will list a few contact details in a directory manner. I would like customers to sign up, fill in a few pr-determined fields (url, email tel), pay for the listing and job done. These pages are then available to view on the www.

2. If so how?

I have tried everything you offer to do this and have got nowhere as there always seems to be a bug, or something not quite right.

Is this a limitation of your products? Do they almost do the job but not quite, requiring developer skills to complete? Am I at fault somehow?

I have just finished trying out Directory and classifieds but neither seem to provide a simple template for displaying ‘standard contact details’ as default if at all? Why no page offers these standard directory details?

What am I missing? Every other directory plugin I have tried loading on wp.org seems to have this as standard? Isn’t it the point of a directory that it provides details?

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 7:03:38
  • Philip John
    • DEV MAN’s Apprentice

    Hiya!

    I believe the Directory plugin should provide what you ask for. It will allow visitors to sign up, pay for a listing and then enter a title and details about themselves, in exactly the same way as you would add a post.

    To make it super easy Directory comes with a pre-built theme so you should have no trouble displaying those listings on your site.

    If you wanted to provide specific questions for them to answer you would be looking at adding them in with some custom development.

    Thanks,

    Phil

  • harryhayes
    • The Incredible Code Injector

    Hi Phil,

    Thanks for answering my early hours rant.

    You can probably tell I am becoming a bit frustrated with the plugins, none of which seem to actually work usefully ‘out of the box’

    Can I suggest that the Directory plugin/theme comes with pre set, configurable fields for the likes of Tel. URL, etc instead of having to get involved in custom coding and mucking around with themes.

    There are loads of other plugins available that offer a much more comprehensive set of pre configured options. I am trying to stick with WPMU due to the built in payment options but there seems to be a severe lack of instruction for how to ‘ Complete” what are in effect the bare bones of what could be a really great plugin.

    More detailed instruction would save so much time for everyone. I, and I am sure many other members, repeatedly have to refer to the forums when most of the answers could or should be an integral part of the installation instructions.

    Details such as, what should you set the default wp user registrations to may be common sense to seasoned developers but me, for one, has no idea.

    +1 for a step by step guide.

  • Philip John
    • DEV MAN’s Apprentice

    Can I suggest that the Directory plugin/theme comes with pre set, configurable fields for the likes of Tel. URL, etc instead of having to get involved in custom coding and mucking around with themes.

    Yep, that’s a good idea – I’ll mark this as a feature request and pass on to the developer.

    Directory is actually getting a bit of an overhaul at present so feedback welcome. I’ll include our video expert here too to get the idea of new instructional videos on the radar.

    Thanks!

  • harryhayes
    • The Incredible Code Injector

    Thanks Phil.

    The Beta is looking good but we are not all developers so the easier the better. If the fields could be clickable (especially on mobiles) this would be very useful too.

    Most Directories I use are pretty standard. Image, Name, blurb and contact details. If your includes this as standard with easy to add extra fields for custom, I think it will be a winner- especially with the payment modules built in.

    Failing this better instructions would be a useful addition for newbies and self builds.

    Thanks again.

  • harryhayes
    • The Incredible Code Injector

    Hi Andrey.

    Apologies in advance for my lengthy response but I would love some useful feedback and I wanted to speak up about my experience of your plugins as a newbie.

    My requirement is simple and yet a simple solution seems to be impossible.

    All I want to do is allow users to sign up and pay for a single page that displays standard contact details. (clickable url, email, tel, etc). The project is specific to mobile users and is intended to provide a simple contact page, reached by scanning a QR code. It need to be fully automated – ie user controlled.

    I have tried WPMS, Buddypress, Blog directory, pay to blog, membership, pro sites, classifieds and many more.

    I have recently been trying the Directory plugin but have not yet tried this with the Custompress plugin due to the fact that Directory is still beta.

    I am now trying out the Classifieds plugin but am finding this is also too limited to begin with and have several problems I can’t resolve. Specifically, you don’t seem to have created a useful default listing layout which I find incredible.

    As a newbie, I am finding all of your plugins very difficult to implement and this is almost entirely due to the instructions being so vague. There is simply not enough reference or explanation about the effect or use of the numerous options available. (I guess I am used to having useful hover ?’s next to options to guide me). Back and forward to forums is very time consuming for both of us.

    I can plainly see the benefits of WPDEV plugins which is why I trialled a membership, however, there is simply not enough instruction for how to take many of the plugins from their very basic default installation and make them useful and workable. For example, I am sure I am not alone in expecting a classifieds plugin to have some pre-configured fields/labels and layouts as a standard, a leats offering a starting point which could be explored.

    All of the ones I have ever used with Joomla and many of those available for WordPress seem to do this as standard whereas yours only provides a basic text field and some custom fields which does nothing but display input text – ie you cannot enter a clickable email. Pointless!

    I am now 2 months into trying your plugins and could probably have saved most of this time if instructions were more detailed.

    I will try Custompress but feel it is not worth the effort until there is a release date for the public version of Directory.

    In the mean time, If you could suggest an easy route for my project it would be great help.

    I would love to here your thoughts about my comments generally.

    Best regards

    Nick

  • harryhayes
    • The Incredible Code Injector

    Hi Phil,

    Apologies, as it seems I may have come across in a way I did not intend.

    I have no problem with the support I have been getting.

    Indeed, the main reason I have stuck with WPMUDEV is that your support has been the best I have had from anyone. I cannot fault it in any way whatsoever and commend you for this.

    I am just struggling with understanding the process of getting the various functions of the plugins to work as expected and this is simply down to the fact that the instructions seem a little lacking. This is causing me to lose an great deal on time with trial and error and time is something I do not have at the moment. (I am out of work and reliant on finishing this project for my income – hence the frustration).

    Please accept my apologies as I realise many of my questions and complaints are a direct result of my lack of knowledge of WordPress in general. (I am trying to learn but am finding it quite difficult to get answers to various questions from any source. Catch 22 when you are missing something crucial).

    Anyway, I did actually answer Andrey in my response. I quote;

    I will try Custompress but feel it is not worth the effort until there is a release date for the public version of Directory.

    I guess I am looking for reassurance that I will not spend the next week trying out something else, only to discover I can’t get it to work or it is not fit for public release.

    Than you again

    Nick

  • harryhayes
    • The Incredible Code Injector

    Thanks Phil,

    Good to hear about the info but it’s amazing how much easier everything becomes when it installs intact.

    I am now revisiting my previous attempts with other plugins as I suspect much of my confusion could be down to the same problem.

    You live and learn.

    lol