Need help with developing a help site

They have: 36 posts

Joined: Oct 2002

so here goes, i started producing a site that was for webmasters, realising there are thousands of these about, something different was in need, so now i have come up with the idea of developing a site that offers things from help with writing word documents to those who are more developed and would like some advice. Obviously this would be a large project and i would like to collaborate with some other web designers and developers online and possibly create an online portal.Any helpers or ideas? i do have a domain http://www.bluesquare.me.uk but it is currently pointing at the wrong ip address. thanks

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

Just a hint, but I think you might have better luck if you ask people specifically who you think would be strong contributors to your site. I often tend to ignore these requests, and didn't accept any offers until someone asked me specifically to write for their site, partially because I didn't feel I was qualified. I felt flattered that they thought I had something worth sharing to their audience and ended up accepting. This way, you'll also have more control over the people you're working with.

Oh, and there are loads and loads of sites trying to do this - both with general computing help and with webmaster sites. There have been two or three posts on this forum alone talking about creating new webmaster sites and looking for people to help. I think you really ought to be more specific about what your site is going to cover, and it might be a good idea to narrow down your range and target more of a niche audience. As with anything, though, if you can do a better job than other sites on the same topic, you're sure to be successful.

And another thing - your domain is Blue Square - how are you going to tie that into the idea of computer help? You could tie it into the windows blue screen thing but that's kind of lame. A better idea could be to make the square into a little cartoon character would be your site's mascot. You could make this character into a make-belive computer expert. You could have an "Ask BlueSquare" column, and use him to add little tips and tricks to different parts of the site or something.

They have: 36 posts

Joined: Oct 2002

ok so who do i ask?do i just ask random people to help me do stuff or is that me being simple?
do you think it would work, had a look at your site too, like it a lot.
cheers
henry

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

No, no, no. Ask people who you think would be good contributors to the site. You want people who are knowledgable in the topics your site is going to cover, not just random people.

I don't know if you noticed, but I edited that last post a couple of times so you might want to look at it again.

I'm glad you like my site Smiling

Mark Hensler's picture

He has: 4,048 posts

Joined: Aug 2000

Moderators for TWF are all invited to join the staff. Before sending the invite, I (or other mods) will keep an eye on someone for a while (weeks to months) to get a good idea of the person's personality and/or knowledge in a given subject.

Before you bring someone onto your staff, you should have a good idea of what they can do for you and what quality to expect.

Mark Hensler
If there is no answer on Google, then there is no question.

They have: 36 posts

Joined: Oct 2002

ok well thanks for the advice guys, i'll get to work on some ideas and when i have more of an idea i'll let you know and maybe you could review it for me?cheers
henry

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