In the 89th issue of ProcessWire Weekly we're taking a look at the latest blog post at the processwire.com blog, introducing some new tutorials and one new module, and more. Read on!
Instead of new core updates, this week the focus is on the things that happen outside the product: article, social media, and the "growth plan" we've devised in order to let a wider audience know of the "secret weapon of the few" as Ryan described ProcessWire in his latest blog post.
Thanks for being here with us, and hope you enjoy our weekly news. If there's anything we could improve or should otherwise consider for our future issues, please let us know; the feedback form is always open and we're happy to hear what you folks have to say!
In the ProcessWire blog this week: growing ProcessWire in 2016
The focus of the latest processwire.com blog post by Ryan is on something quite different from his usual posts. Instead of introducing new features, this week Ryan discusses the topic of expanding the reach and visibility of the ProcessWire project in 2016.
Complete with facts, figures, and hands-on suggestions, this post is a comprehensive growth roadmap for getting more designers and developers to know ProcessWire. The post lists various key areas of interest:
- Improving our link profile by increasing the amount of external articles, blog posts and tutorials focusing on ProcessWire and just generally speaking making it easier to stumble upon ProcessWire even for people not specifically looking for it
- Cranking up our social media activity by advocating ProcessWire where and when it makes sense, letting influential people and organizations in our industry know of ProcessWire, and contributing to reviews and other publications if and when possible
- Getting our references in line by adding more sites directory entries, showcase thread posts, and case studies – unless there's a strong reasoning behind not letting the world know that you're using ProcessWire for a specific project, consider contributing in this area if you're an active user!
- Improving our conversion rate by polishing our brand image and making sure that our documentation is in a top-notch condition in order to give new visitors a proper impression right from the start.
Personally, I would love to add one item to this list, and it would be providing world class support for our users via the support forum. I'm well aware that we're doing a great job in this area already, but this is one of the things we get a lot of positive feedback from and it's good to keep in mind that there's always room for improvement.
We have an exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable community. That's one of the most important assets for any open source project out there, and it's also a good way for even new users to start contributing to the project: when you see a question on the forum that you can solve, don't hesitate to step in and help your fellow users.
Check out Ryan's latest blog post for a more in-depth view on this whole topic. Together, as an active community, we can make 2016 another exceptional year for the whole project. Let the growth hacking begin!
Brand new ProcessWire tutorials at Tuts+ by Ben Byford and Francesco Schwarz
Ryan mentioned these two in his blog post also, but we wanted to give a proper welcome to two new ProcessWire tutorials, both published at the Envato Tuts+ site and both of exceptional quality:
How to Install and Setup ProcessWire CMS by Ben Byford walks the user through the first – and perhaps most important – steps on the road to mastering ProcessWire: introducing the system, installing and setting it up, and explaining what each specific section in the Admin area means and how ProcessWire "themes" work.
4 Reasons to Choose ProcessWire as Your Next CMS by Francesco Schwarz explains the reasons why one should consider ProcessWire as their tool of choice for new projects. I may be a bit biased, but in my opinion Francesco is doing awesome job altogether. Definitely one of my favorite ProcessWire introductions so far.
Tuts+ is a notable site and while getting their attention is a good thing in itself, our primary goal is reaching out to actual users. Thanks to aforementioned articles we've seen a lot of buzz in the social media during this week – typically a good sign that an article has hit the spot, so to speak. Hopefully we'll be seeing some new faces on the forum too.
Both Ben and Francesco have done a great job at promoting ProcessWire – not only by posting the articles mentioned here, but also by being active and outspoken community members. Huge thanks to both authors, keep up the good work!
Modalception is a new module for making nested modal windows more user-friendly
Aptly named Modalception is a simple yet often useful module that has one goal in mind: it removes the unnecessary empty spaces around stacked modal windows in the Admin.
For most use cases this empty space is not an issue, but once modal windows pile up, it starts to eat away your precious screen estate. Modalception makes each child window expand to the size of the parent window, allowing almost unlimited stacking of modal windows. The support forum thread includes an animation showcasing this in action.
We'd like to note that stacking modal windows on modal windows on modal windows is usually not an approach you should take, but for those rare cases where it makes sense, Modalception is a real lifesaver.
Big thanks to Mike Spooner for making this handy module!
Site of the week: Immobilienagentur Schandow GmbH
Immobilienagentur Schandow GmbH is a small property management company located in Munich, Germany. They offer services for both private and commercial customers, and the site is also split accordingly into two separate sections.
The site is fully responsive, responds quickly, and partly thanks to AIOM+ feels light despite obviously having quite a bit going on. The layout is logical, typography is well thought out, usability is on a very good level, and overall we're very impressed with the way this site has been built and designed.
In the sites directory entry the creators of the site mention using the latest ProcessWire version and "all good modules we needed". They also explain that the biggest challenge was the property offers in the private section. Seems like this would be a good candidate for a more in-depth case study, don't you think?
Big thanks to the creators of the site, typneun Designbüro, for sharing this site with us. It's a great example of using ProcessWire to power a diverse and well designed site and we're more than happy to have it in our sites directory!
Stay tuned for our next issue
That's it for the 89th issue of ProcessWire Weekly. We'll be back with more news, updates, and content Saturday, 30th of January. As always, ProcessWire newsletter subscribers will get our updates a few days later.
Thanks for staying with us, once again. Hope you've had a great and productive week, and don't forget to check out the ProcessWire forums for more interesting topics. Until next week, happy hacking with ProcessWire!
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