Whypark suggestion thread.

[firefly]

OK, with the idea of keeping the other thread on topic i.e. helping those who use the platform by giving advice, suggestions, and tips, I've decided that maybe a Whypark wishlist should be here along with ways *you* see that could improve the platform. This will also make it easier for Donny to sift through and see what the punters want, or consider important.

All suggestions are welcome and I don't think there is anything that is above asking. Voice your concerns and what you would like to see on the platform.

Above all, please lets keep it civil.

I'll get the ball rolling.

I broached this subject with Donny last week and Kelly a few days ago. A preview page for images. Cut down on the time looking for em'. I know there are more on the way, so this will be important.

The second thing was people wanted articles that recieved comments to stay on the site instead of being rotated off. I agree that a user comming back to see his comment and the article has dissapeared would feel a little let down and that the comment was considered worthless. It would help build a trusting relationship with the user

That's just a couple for me. I have more but it's your turn.

 

[joned]

Thanks for starting the thread Jason

I'll kick-off with the RSS feed issue, which I think is taxing a few brains at the moment

Firstly, could we get clarification from WP as to exactly how it works at the moment. That way we can at least work better with the current implementation until changes are (hopefully) made.

- How often do the feeds update? And at what times? This will allow us to do our feed-tweaking just before an update, so we don't have to wait hours to see the changes

- How is the system treating different "flavours" of RSS (RSS 2.0 and Atom)? Sometimes you get the summary, sometimes an excerpt, sometimes the full post.

- What is the system stripping out at the moment? Sometimes links in the text show up, other times they don't. I also tried to use an RSS feed from Youtube last night - tried three different formats, but none of them would display the embedded video in the WP page (this could be a real winner for Google rankings if we could get it to work!)

- What's the process/timing when you add a new feed (for the first time to that particular site)? Sometimes it shows up in a few minutes, sometimes a couple of hours. I added one last night and it didn't show on the homepage of my site til about 12 hours later!

- What's the process/timing when you change a feed in a site (when you delete the old one and add a new one)?

Ideally, I'd like the system to work like a feedreader does (eg. GoogleReader) -

- If you add a new feed it pulls it in straight away (you may have to wait for the next update, but the initial import is instant)

- If you delete a feed, it disappears straight away. So when you change feeds the old one is gone and the new one imports straight away.

- ....errr... that's it for now

Cheers, Jon

 

[firefly]

I got the ball rolling and it turned into a snowball:lol:

Good. Thanks Jon.

I thought of another one and I'm not sure of the logistics of it. I was wondering if they could implement some sort of link exchange market into WP. I'm not sure if this is achievable or would work well but I've noticed some other platforms have implemented it.

Of course with the option of approving or denying particular link requsets.

 

[AndyO]

joned: I don't know much about RSS feeds (hmm wonder if there's an RFC for them? - I might have to do some digging around) but if you view the source/contents of the xml files, do the ones that have full posts have the full articles in them?

I'd like to see placeholders for the dynamic images be able to be used in style sheets without the parsing putting in the full html tag.. It'd allow for some funky layouts to be made. layering, CSS image effects (transparency, borders etc)

Also maybe some more placeholders for different things (date/time/domain name)

Content is a small issue, I'm slowly seeing my sites getting direct article traffic from SEs, but I have noticed a large number of articles with different character sets, and some articles with masses of links through them to the authors site (ie linking keywords in the article back to pages on the authors site).

FTP if we want to upload our own images would be ACE.. Being able to organise your images via folders/custom filenames would be really cool, and if a domain name placeholder was provided, allow people to call images in templates referenced like http://www.wpimg.com/username/[domain].jpg so you didn't have to hardcode every template, and could apply the same template across every one of your sites easily.

Being able to set custom placeholders would also benefit with the mass-template thing, being able to define text blurbs or ad code/affiliate links (which can be done via the text links bit already) and insert them where needed etc..

I'm more thinking along the lines of a system where for each domain you could have your chosen colour scheme worked out, and set/stored differently to the main html page, and then ONLY apply a template (say, without applying the change to the CSS for each domain) to change the layout/custom placeholder content of multiple sites at once... It'd make maintaining/keeping sites fresh easier, but would add a layer of complexity to newbies. You could place all the placeholders you have on your account into the template, and only the ones which were configured for that particular domain would show up..


It's late and I don't know if that make total sense to everyone, but it does in my head! haha... I'll clarify it further in the morning if need be.

 

[gten]

Article exclusion

I'd like to exclude certain articles by using a dash in front of keywords or article numbers I don't want like -reflux or -a363190.

I'd also like to be able to enclose keywords in quotation marks because right now only a single keyword gets relevant articles in many instances.

I set up a site at folic acid tablets .com last night and every time I added folic acid as the keywords it would add articles about acid reflux or stomach acid.

I had a similar situation with Praxis Study guide .com

There are many articles on teaching certifications but I had trouble getting them to appear while excluding articles about MCSE, Cisco or similar subjects.

 

[joned]

joned: I don't know much about RSS feeds (hmm wonder if there's an RFC for them? - I might have to do some digging around) but if you view the source/contents of the xml files, do the ones that have full posts have the full articles in them?

I'd like to see placeholders for the dynamic images be able to be used in style sheets without the parsing putting in the full html tag.. It'd allow for some funky layouts to be made. layering, CSS image effects (transparency, borders etc)

Also maybe some more placeholders for different things (date/time/domain name)

Content is a small issue, I'm slowly seeing my sites getting direct article traffic from SEs, but I have noticed a large number of articles with different character sets, and some articles with masses of links through them to the authors site (ie linking keywords in the article back to pages on the authors site).

FTP if we want to upload our own images would be ACE.. Being able to organise your images via folders/custom filenames would be really cool, and if a domain name placeholder was provided, allow people to call images in templates referenced like http://www.wpimg.com/username/[domain].jpg so you didn't have to hardcode every template, and could apply the same template across every one of your sites easily.

Being able to set custom placeholders would also benefit with the mass-template thing, being able to define text blurbs or ad code/affiliate links (which can be done via the text links bit already) and insert them where needed etc..

I'm more thinking along the lines of a system where for each domain you could have your chosen colour scheme worked out, and set/stored differently to the main html page, and then ONLY apply a template (say, without applying the change to the CSS for each domain) to change the layout/custom placeholder content of multiple sites at once... It'd make maintaining/keeping sites fresh easier, but would add a layer of complexity to newbies. You could place all the placeholders you have on your account into the template, and only the ones which were configured for that particular domain would show up..


It's late and I don't know if that make total sense to everyone, but it does in my head! haha... I'll clarify it further in the morning if need be.

Hi Andy

Yes I've been digging round the RSS specs. Seems like for Atom feeds Whypark is deciding to display the excerpt/summary even if the full article is also in the feed. Not sure yet on RSS 2.0. The problem is finding examples to test - and then waiting 6-12 hours before you see the results, by which time you've forgotten what you were testing!

Not sure if I follow your last para but the rest makes a lot of sense!

Cheers, Jon

---------- Post added at 12:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:27 PM ----------

I'd like to exclude certain articles by using a dash in front of keywords or article numbers I don't want like -reflux or -a363190.

I'd also like to be able to enclose keywords in quotation marks because right now only a single keyword gets relevant articles in many instances.

I set up a site at folic acid tablets .com last night and every time I added folic acid as the keywords it would add articles about acid reflux or stomach acid.

I had a similar situation with Praxis Study guide .com

There are many articles on teaching certifications but I had trouble getting them to appear while excluding articles about MCSE, Cisco or similar subjects.

Hi gten

Two thumbs up on me for both "negative keywords" and "exact match keywords/phrases". Wrestling with keyword combinations has taken me hours on some of my more niche sites

I'd also like the option to exclude articles from your site. There are quite a few spammy articles in there that have obviously been written just to generate backlinks. And sometimes you get one that is OK, but doesn't fit with your site.

For example I have a site about online banking. Most of the articles are interesting news and press releases about the latest new systems. But then you get one called "Saving Money in a Bank" which explains, (for people who have never heard of a bank, it seems) what a bank is and why you should put your savings in one! Might be useful on a kids' education site, but it looks silly on mine

Cheers, Jon

 

[netmeg]

Including the ones already listed above, I add these:

• improved bulk editing capabilities, preferably by spreadsheet, for those of us with many (1000+) domains, including the ability to upload keywords, the names of layouts, titles & descriptions.
  
  
• failing #1, an improved user interface. It's very pretty, but not at all efficient for quickly working with multiple domains - you have to go through far too many clicks to get everything set properly.You should be able to go *straight* to the settings from your account page (click the box on the domain, click a link called settings, and that's it, instead of having to go to a separate page first) the popup isn't handy either, if you want to keep the account page underneath. You should also be able to set the layout from the same page. TOO MANY CLICKS.
  
  
• there needs to be a better way of adding back names that were previously in the system. Either delete these "ghosted" domains once and for all, or let us add them back in in bulk. I currently have several hundred that were in WhyPark before and then removed, and the only way to get them back in is *one at a time*
  
  
• Improved stats interface. With a large number of domains, the stats as they are now are pretty much useless. I can't sort them by earnings, nor can I download a CSV file I can pull into Excel. Since the bots are still counted as visits, that means I have to scroll through 1000+ domains every day to figure out which ones are getting searches and clicks.
  
  
• text boxes on the site settings page should be longer. Too difficult to select and delete. Add a few more lines to each one.
  
  
• should be a one-click link to zero out all existing information in the fields. Since I do have domains that previously had AdSense or old stat cold or titles - I would like to be able to one click, zero out all the fields so I can start over.
  
  
• the ability to choose an image for a template (apart from uploading a custom one)
  
  
• it would be great if when you moused over a template, a box would pop up that gives the standard measurements for that template - main column is X pixels, sidebar is Y pixels, and graphic is A x B pixels.
  
  
• the ability to set a standard page size for the account page and have it stick. If I want my standard page at any point (viewing groups or domain management) to show 100 domains instead of 25, I should be able to set that and forget that.
  
  
• the ability to set the main page to 0 articles (and use a custom page for the home page) while setting the related articles to minimum 1 or more. I realize there are kludges that will get this effect, but let's just make it easy.
  

I'll have more, when I get more time.

I'm sure WhyPark would prefer to have all this stuff in THEIR forum. The problem is, I don't have time to join yet another forum, and then peruse it each day for updates. Google is pushing us into groups for support for more and more of their products, and I already have to spend at least an hour a day in forums as it is. Can't do another one. Maybe every now and then, someone from here can copy and paste items from this over there.

 

[joned]

• the ability to set the main page to 0 articles (and use a custom page for the home page) while setting the related articles to minimum 1 or more. I realize there are kludges that will get this effect, but let's just make it easy.
  

How about the option to have zero articles for both? Sometimes you might want some on the mainbody but not the sidebar. And sometimes you might not want any at all, just your own custom content.

Another thought - would be great if you could transfer templates between accounts. You might want to help someone out. Or you could even get to the stage where there's a trade in "premium" templates (like there is with Wordpress and Joomla). It might encourage some designers to come on board, if they see they could make a little cash from it?

Cheers, Jon

 

[ZOX]

Don't get mad firefly, but BETTER STAT reporting.
(i.e. Ascending/Descending revenue, RPC, etc. views)

 

[dbtbandit67]

yeah, the people that promote it on this forum should stop acting condescending because that was probably the biggest reason why i went with noomle instead

 

[BizBot]

I would like the ability to set my own "Related Searches" or links that are shown on the pages. Bodis and Fabulous allow this. I seem to do better with related links I select on my own then automated ones.

 

[AndyO]

Not sure if I follow your last para but the rest makes a lot of sense!

Cheers, Jon

Wow, I really should not post when I'm tired.

Essentially, what I mean to say is when you do a bulk layout change, an option to change either the HTML OR CSS portion only, or to change both the HTML and CSS at the same time.

 

[firefly]

Don't get mad firefly, but BETTER STAT reporting.
(i.e. Ascending/Descending revenue, RPC, etc. views)

LOL dude.

I agree, better stat reporting would be good. I'm just not big on the whole rolling stats thing. I do agree with you about improving that particular area though.

I think netmeg came up with some great ones too. I agree that they would probably prefer it on the WP forum...but there are a lot more people *active* here.

 

[teatime]

Lots of good ideas have been given here - agree with all of them.

That's an excellent idea about having a link exchange area; many times you see that somebody has a site relevant to your own on 1 of the WP threads, but hesitate to PM them to suggest a link exchange, because it seems a bit spammy to do that.

 

[teatime]

When you add a custom article, sometimes the link to that custom article gets kind of lost, visually, in the main body. Besides showing it there, I would like an option to show a short link to it as part of the top menu, next to "Home" and "Site Map".
I know we can do it ourselves by customizing the template, but I am one lazy human being.
Anybody else think that this would be good?

 

[the_poet]

WhyPark, please make the domains' homepage a bit more customizable!

 

[firefly]

Ok..I have had a few thoughts.

The main one would be to be able to place the search box under the first set of of related searches. I would have thought the ability to search should be front and center, not at the bottom of the page.

Also...I think Netmeg mentioned this...Bulk editing of the layout. It would cut time by less than half if we could just do bulk changes in the layout.