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Hey folks,
A few UK-based designers and developers have grouped together via a small twitter discussion and come up with the idea of having a site specifically for Genesis UK related information. The domain has already been purchased, and we've been given the go ahead to use it and proceed with the site, so long as we add a disclaimer to ensure that the site is not seen as an official StudioPress / Copyblogger Media site.
The question then comes down to what information we think should be included on the site. It's up for input from anyone who has a vested interest (UK designer, developer or Genesis user, someone who might want to hire one of the above etc.), but I'll start the discussion to get things going.
* Small bio pages
If someone wanted to hire a UK-based designer or developer to work on a project that should use Genesis, then being able to point to a list of names with contact details would be far easier than having to repeat them / use an email template as a reply.
I see a list of names, perhaps with a one line description of what they do ("Designer", "Developer" etc.) that links through to a bio page that gives a bit more detail, links through to their own personal / company / portfolio sites. Each of the folks with bios would have their own login, and we could add some custom fields to the User Profile section of the admin, so they set some of this information up themselves, including whether they are "Currently Available for Hire" - so if their details or status changes, they can manage it themselves, rather than having to get an admin to make the change.* Meetups
If the community can grow, and be more recognised, then some Genesis-specific meetups might be able to be arranged. If so, then a page that lists / links to upcoming events would be good.For me, that's really what I see the site being for - an index of UK Genesis folks with one or two extra bits. I'm not adverse to extra information being added, but I wouldn't necessarily want to try and implement a community around that site itself, as that requires more time to commit to it (which people rarely have), and would be taking away from the StudioPress community.
I don't imagine there would be a need to charge folks to be listed, but if there was, then £5 / £10 per year from each person should cover hosting, domain names and any other setup costs.
If we can get a good and sustainable model going, then it could be used as a template for other country-specific sites, or maybe even turned into something official (uk.studiopress.com or community.studiopress.com/uk anyone? 😉 )
So, what would you like to see from a community-run Genesis UK site?
WordPress Engineer, and key contributor the Genesis Framework | @GaryJ
Hi Gary
As we discussed on Twitter I also think that having a UK list of designer and developers that work with the Genesis Framework would be valuable to me. Always good to know people to turn too if I need to outsource any work or get assistance on a project. And I love the idea of having a Genesis meet up in the UK at some point in the future.
I'm happy to help put the site together.
Cheers
Jo (@CalliaWeb)
This sounds good, I'm moving away from other frameworks and using Genesis more and more on client projects.
Some kind of website where you can list yourself/services would be pretty cool and to be honest I wouldn't mind a small (yearly?) charge to list myself and my website as well as the services that I offer.
Like @magentasky says, I'd love some kind of Genesis meetup in the UK.
Great idea guys!
A UK based directory for people who need a Genesis professional to work on their site, but also a directory for Genesis developers/designers who want to outsource some of their work..
And if we had meetups at some point in the future that would be icing on the cake 🙂
I'm more than happy to contribute..
> I wouldn’t mind a small (yearly?) charge to list myself and my website as well as the services that I offer
Tomos - what sort of amount were you thinking would be fair?
WordPress Engineer, and key contributor the Genesis Framework | @GaryJ
Going on what someone like my local chamber of commerce charges, I'd say £15-£20 a year.
I think it's be a small price to pay, after all your getting your details out there on a website with the possibility of landing several gigs, and you'd only need to complete one gig to cover the charge you've just paid.
Plus, if there's money left over in the pot after taking out hosting costs e.t.c then that could be put towards a meetup or something like that.
I'm not on twitter (hate it but don't have time anyway) and don't come on this new forum much so must be fate that I just happened to come on here this morning!!
Sounds great and I'll be watching with interest!
Shame it is restricted to the UK! This does seem like a great idea. I too am pretty much sticking with Genesis for everything, using child themes and custom plugins to meet client requirements. But as an Antipodean I don't think there are enough of us to form a community.
I like the idea of being able to list myself in a directory of WordPress Genesis framework specialists, although the clients really don't seem to know much about the whole framework thing.
Sounds like a great idea. I'm 100% Genesis now for all of my builds. As I'm sure most of us on here a smaller businesses or freelance it would be great to have info swaps with other like minded developers.
Paying sounds fair too, we are all busy people who may benefit from this by extending our network of suppliers or clients. I think we all have a lot to learn from each other too - meets up sound great.
@navitasdesign on Twitter
Hi!
I'm new to wordpress and have chosen Studiopress and Genesis as the platform I'm running with (just started my first site for a Client using the Executive child theme). I'd welcome being involved with your initiative.
Great idea. I've been looking for a UK based designer who can work on my Genesis sites since it's sometimes difficult working with a US based person due to the time differences.
James
Great to see folks showing their support, and willing to make a financial contribution too, which I wasn't expecting.
Jo has agreed to lead the development of the project, so until the site is up and running, we'll keep this thread as the source of information. If you are on Twitter and Jo hasn't added you to her https://twitter.com/CalliaWeb/genesiswpuk/members list, please give her a nudge 😉
What information should be available on a profile?
My initial suggestion: Name, company name, website URL, Twitter link, skills taxonomy (designer, developer, etc.), general blurb, some sort of note about whether they work with end clients / other web professionals / both.
Any other points of information that the listing should have, for which the majority of folks would want to fill-in for their profile?
WordPress Engineer, and key contributor the Genesis Framework | @GaryJ
I don't think you'd need anything more on the profile page. You have the most important information there for the potential clients to see: if they want more information they have the links needed to do that research.
Having said that, if at some point a meetup was to happen, you could have an additional field on the profile indicating if the person has given a talk or not, and maybe link to those talks (slides, external video e.t.c).
Aha! I know see why I've been getting requests to add to my list. Thanks Gary.
Any suggestions on what to use to to handle the membership and create a directory of members? I've been playing with BuddyPress but it doesn't give the directory listings as I think they should be.
Cheers
Jo
@CalliaWeb
For those watching the thread, I answered Jo off-board regarding the set-up. We've gone for BuddyPress member profiles, with a plugin or two to customise it. If any of you have lots of experience with using BP, please make yourselves known 🙂
tomos - I like that idea - a checkbox field or two for "Has been to a WordCamp", "Has presented at a WordCamp" or something similar. Not sure that end clients looking for a Genesis designer or developer will all care about that though, so may be better for members to include that in their bio, if they wish.
WordPress Engineer, and key contributor the Genesis Framework | @GaryJ
It would be nice for location to be shown, not necessarily for prospectives but each other, especially in regard to possible meet ups. On the other hand, whilst I love the idea meet ups and would love to attend I couldn't unless they were very local to me as I'm disabled.
I'd like to be included too. We are a Genesis only shop and are located in the UK. I'll connect with you on Twitter. @lizzydiy
ATD2009 - I've directed one of the SP staff to your post, so they should be getting in touch with you about our account.
I think an optional location might be useful to some of the target audience, so we could include it as a field.
WordPress Engineer, and key contributor the Genesis Framework | @GaryJ
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