Latest update on the site. I've had a number of ups and downs with the site. As mentioned before, I had hired a developer to assist with the coding of the site. He has been a great help on a number of fronts.
However, as we neared the February beta, the front-end work he was doing for me, was not up to the quality I was seeking. Part of this is my fault for not monitoring closer, relying on his work. Toward the end of February he checked in the code and when I reviewed the front end, it was horrible. I opted to halt development on the UI. I have since hired a UX Designer and have created a uniform look for the site. This first pass has a blue light tone to it.
Work resumed on the UI, converting the Figma design into the actual HTML, CSS and Javascript that makes up the UI, and tying the backend work to it. A solid UI is important, as I feel, if the site has a poor UI, not intuitive, looks crappy, it won't draw members to use the site. I have made that investment to improve the overall look. Should I have hired a UX designer earlier in the process, sure. However, none of this is free and is currently being paid for out of my pocket for the benefit of all of you. At current tally, I have spent about $8,000 on the site development.
Unfortunately, the speed of getting these items fixed and right is taking a bit longer than I expected. In January, my developer assured me that we could meet the end of February beta. But, he let me down.
I'm still using him, as I haven't found a replacement, but I'm scrutinizing the produced work a lot more than I had before. To date, the individual profile information is complete, though there are some additions which I plan to add later.
The gallery is working, allowing members to upload content and see the content. I'm finalizing the permissions model which is fairly in-depth allowing members fine granular control over the content and data.
I have sent off my next bit of design layout to the UX designer for the Island layouts and the multitude of support pages. This is the next big push. Islands are my interpretation of groups.
Although it may seem silly, one aspect I have seen and disliked with groups, is a naming convention that has a group name, and a handful of groups with the same name, but with a number after it. It loses it's uniqueness, IMO.
As part of this design, Island names will have a selected prefix or postfix, as an island type.
Our main Peril group for example; is named Peril Key. The main Dolcett group is named Dolcett Island.
When a member creates a group, known as an Island, there are up to 38 descriptors, of which, one is selected to give the island a unique name.
For example, a creator can create a Peril group, and it could be named Bay of Peril or Peril Reef, etc. This eliminates the duplicate sounding names.
I hope you understand this concept. Personally, I felt this was a cool and unique way of dealing with naming of groups. If you don't agree, let me know.
Once again, I would love to discuss details with anyone interested, and share what has been done.
I truly appreciate the patience shown and my gratitude for allowing me to continue this venture.
Thank you