How did you find out about eSyndiCat?

[Greg]

As eSyndiCat is a new script, we were curious where you heard about it?

I really can't remember where I did to be honest. I was looking for something else and saw eSyndiCat as a new directory program listed at some website. But I'm sure glad I stumbled across it. :)

Thanks :)

[disenioweb]

I was reading other link directory program forum, and someone suggest in one thread to people, why dont you use eSyndiCat....in this moment i saw the light....THIS VERY USEFUL SYSTEM ( esyndicat ) and better than the other :lol:

[echopulse]

You forgot the most important option: Powered by esyndicat link on the bottom of another directory.

Anyways, I found the best directory in the world on the Hotscripts website.

[vkaryl]

A friend, bj of kickasswebdesign.com, had "someone" post about it on her blog. We were both fairly fed up with phpLD and had been digging and looking for something better.

SynCat is IT!

[cgc0202]

Simon, when exactly was the Links Directory initiated?

I think I caught eSyndicat when it was quite new, but echopulse was already a veteran at the time, and he was just ahead of me by a few days. *smiles*

I have been asking people for a good links directory. And, I have looked at many. There are good and bad points for DMOZ, I am also familiar with Yahoo, and many non-commercial links directory. But, there are features I could not find.

Prior to going to Hotscripts, one of the developers of PHP Link Directory

http://www.phplinkdirectory.com/

posted a thread in the forum of my existing webhosting service. Then I posted in their forum, checked how active it was. Compared to the first version I saw, they made quite a lot of progress.

Honestly, I also liked the simplicity of the Demo layout. Very clean. When I downloaded their latest version. It was quite easy for me to wrap my own "pageheader and pagefooter" into the "main page", so that my page was running immediately. So, those were some of the good points (there are many actually).

Then, as I was trying to study the database structure and admin layout, i found some security leaks.

(1) the password of registered users is not encrypted.
(2) the layout of the admin page was not optimized
etc., etc.

And so, I posted my observations there, because I thought it was really good. I am not sure how many postings I had there. One of the problems was my username kept on getting a message that it is not recognized (no such user). I was not a paying customer, because I was not prepared to buy the program, until some key features were added or the flaws were corrected.

Then, I noticed, except in one section, manned by volunteer moderators -- my other posts were ignored by everyone, but they seem to be answering the others. Some of the postings they (i.e., the key people there) were responding to were really simple "How to do this, and that..."

I figured finally that they were mainly catering to "paying customers".

So, I decided that however much I like the program, I better explore if there are something better.

eSyndicat Links Directory was one of those featured in Hotscripts. I had found many good programs advertised in Hotscripts, including the complex calendar program I bought.

I tried (downloaded and setup) all those that seemed credible -- commercial (demo version) and Open Source. I tried many that I found in Hotscripts, but some stuff still were missing. Then, I also registered in those with a forum. I essentially elimited all those scripts without a forum.

The forum is critical for me. [For example, one of the reasons why I like my webhosting service is that they have a good forum -- very active, and many very good people who try to help others.]

Anyway, among those with a forum, eSyndicat was "most friendly" -- mostly because Simon was very welcoming. Then, I saw echopulse name everywhere, trying to help others too.

I posted some of the stuff in my wishlist -- surprise surprise, I was getting responses for a change. Then others joined after that, like pgolovko, and more. So, it was picking up.

I was looking at the history of eSyndicat. It looks that they were fairly new, and yet, they have already addressed some of the stuff that were critical for me. Simon actually included some prototypes of the stuff I would want.

So, I was thinking, if eSyndicat can do this now, imagine what could be possible in a year or two? Super Links Directory -- with all the features I really wanted?

I stopped all further developments of my other Links Directory, including that from http://www.phplinkdirectory.com/

[I also like many features of the TikiWiki Links Directory, but I prefer a specialized links directory because its development is most likely much faster.]

At present, eSyndicat's Links Directory is not yet ready for me, as I do not know exactly how to manipulate the templates. I found it confusing -- that is how stupid I could be sometimes. Nonetheless, I decided it was worth investing my time and effort in following its development, and perhaps helping it on the way also, until it is more or less ready for my purpose.

So, I placed the Links Directory component of my website, until I could make eSyndicat work for me -- with many features I wanted. Personally, I find it a pain upgrading.

cgc0202

[cgc0202]

A friend, bj of kickasswebdesign.com, had "someone" post about it on her blog. We were both fairly fed up with phpLD and had been digging and looking for something better.

SynCat is IT!

I thought I recognized your name -- but when I saw phpLD something finally clicked.

I don't think you remember me (I was one of the "idiot" newbies -- who was ignored in phpLD), but I believe you were one of those who tried to help me in phpLD. I should try to find the email you sent me privately. At the time though, I was already getting frustrated. So, I did not have a chance to take you on your offer to write to you, if I needed further help.

I forgot now, if you were one of those who came to my defense also, because one of moderators sort of belittled my attempts to create a layout -- it was not 100% CSS compliant, and I was using tables partly for layouting and that was a "no, no" to some purist webdesigners.

I remember a very nice Chinese guy there, who I know definitely came to my defense.

Actually, the guy who belittled my attempts with layouting had some good links on CSS templates, that helped me a bit, so it was not a complete loss.

cgc0202

[vkaryl]

Well, no loss without some gain, I guess. Sorry you had such a miserable time there, though I know you aren't the only one. I would have helped more, but I kept running into the brick walls of "cross my palm" folks if you know what I mean.

As I said, no loss without some gain - had I not got so unhappy with the other guys, I wouldn't have looked so far into this!

[Simon Gooffin]

hey guys, my vote for 'other' :lol:

[cgc0202]

Sorry you had such a miserable time there, though I know you aren't the only one.

vkaryl

It was not actually that miserable, since I have spent maybe only two weeks or so there, but I had a feeling i was going nowhere -- so there was no sense banging my head on the wall.

cgc0202

[kickass]

Actually, vkaryl, the truth is much stranger - it wasn't my blog, it was an email that came through my website's mailform, and MAYBE someday someone will own up to it . . .

PHPLD Forums Lurker wrote:
Hi,

I'm now using the script from:

http://www.esyndicat.com/

in place of:

http://www.phplinkdirectory.com/

Lurker

Website:
IP: 210.246.74.63

This email came through my webform after I had sounded off on the phpld board about their thickheadedness, bad code, and refusal to strengthen the foundation of the dang thing before adding ten more stories to the top, not to mention numerous cantilevered wings hanging offbalance every which way. When I validated the demo here I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Then when I saw it was smarty templating I KNEW I had.

So anyway, Lurker had posted (under a different username) in answer also on that thread and on a couple others. The Devs there were pretty upset with this person, pulled his or her sig. Personally I got quite the kick out of it. The attitude over there is appalling so for someone to get a bit back on them was great fun to watch. I'm so glad that you folks over here are so much more progressive and so much more willing to help not only the paying customers but also the freebies. That's smart, since those are the people who are gonna leave the links in. Like I gladly will!

So that's how I found my way to Esyndicat . . . and now that we have Private Messaging, if anyone wants to fill me in . . . :D

[cgc0202]

Hey kickass,

Were you one of the moderators in phpLD? If you were, I think you might be the one who "kicked my ass" there. Of course, I was nobody and so new there, so I do not think you would remember me. :D

Although I could be mistaken. And sorry, if I did mistake you for another.

I did not feel hurt though, since I knew I had to learn stuff. And, based from your other postings I have read, I think we could use your expertise here also.

Anyway, I had so many ideas I wanted to share there, I stopped when no one even was answering me because I was a non-paying member.

Then I found eSyndicat, I posted some of the stuff I wanted to post there. And, Simon actually liked them, (e.g., the featured links concept) -- some prototypes were included right away. Of course, Simon might have been just tickling my ego and have thought of it himself already quite some time ago, even before I posted my suggestion. But, no matter how, what was important is the Links Directory had the feature that I considered important.

cgc0202

[kickass]

Yes, I was a mod there for a short time- actually a lot shorter time than the title stayed up, I didn't want to be dealing with the attitude and had told them so.

You were probably a victim of being caught in the crossfire re all that, and if that's the case, I'm sorry. That forum was not exactly a fun time. And they're still playing the same damn games. For the record, I blasted both David and Casey for just the sort of treatment you complained about. So did Vicki.

Hey, Vicki, did you ever get a refund for that abortion called the Regional directory that they had the cojones to charge money for?

[vkaryl]

Nope. Never even got an attempt at a polite "sorry" response. I've reported them various places (like the BBB and my state's Attorney General for Business Practices - a probably this-locale-only sort of thing), and of course I'll write it off taxes, but the bottom line is that they're simply not worth doing business with since they seem to not have a clue about the reality of business....

All they do is pimp for money without providing a reasonable facsimile of quality product in return for same. And as pointed out by cgc0202, if you weren't a "buyer" you got bupkis.... (Of course, I was not only a buyer but a MOD - yeah right - and got bupkis anyway. I don't cross palms and kiss *ahem* though....)

[Simon Gooffin]

Of course, Simon might have been just tickling my ego and have thought of it himself already quite some time ago, even before I posted my suggestion.
:roll:

and.. we will try you never get bupkis here

[kickass]

Simon, it's why we're here- You've already proved to me and to a few others that you're in this for the long haul, even though you're the new kid on the block. You've also shown, by your answers on this forum and in email, that you care about the code you produce, you care about the way the script works for people and you care about how to best develop this for the future so that user needs and viewer needs are met.

A year from now, when you're thriving, and this site is thriving, and that other site is nothing but a black hole, you will have proven to everybody that if you give the world a quality product and back it to the hilt, the people will come.

[lsb]

As eSyndiCat is a new script, we were curious where you heard about it?


Hi RadioGuy, hi all,

I do not exactly remember where I have heard about this script at first.
I was searching for a good script to start my own project, started at Google, went to directories of php-scripts, and somewhere I found it, this great script, and I am happy about that.

Best,
Lars

[Simon Gooffin]

thanks for positive words ;)

[Greg]

167 views and only 7 votes. :shock:

[vkaryl]

Does make one wonder....

[kickass]

There's more than one forum that's loaded with lurkers . . .

[Simon Gooffin]

I also wonder why our visitors do not say how they found us.. to be honest, this is a very interesting question for me

[vkaryl]

Some may truthfully not remember. I myself will find sites, bookmark them, not got back for a few weeks and never remember where I got the link....

[Simon Gooffin]

I myself will find sites, bookmark them, not got back for a few weeks and never remember where I got the link....
:roll: the same to me.. I have lots of bookmarked sites but sometimes I can not even remember why I bookmarked them :)

[subseo]

167 views and only 7 votes.
Doesn't the number also include bot visits (googlebot. msn bot, google mediapartners bot,....) .... just wondering....

[Simon Gooffin]

hmm, I'm not sure.. but I think phpbb guys are too serious to allow bot visits counting

[joao]

Hum i voted in the "powered by" but now i remember it wasnt.
Dam, i cant remember! :?
Maybe hotscripts... :roll:

[Simon Gooffin]

quite possible as statistics shows we have lots of people coming from hotscripts.com :) you could be possibly among them :)

P.S. I added additional poll option - hotscripts.com..

[Mel L]

I did several searches for "directory script". I checked out a few, but they didn't have the features I needed. I searched again, found one that has features similar to this one for the exact same price....So I checked out their forum and it was completely dead. I looked further, and at the bottom it says they sold the script and support can be found here. So I said forget that, lol. I searched again and went to hotscripts. I've been there before but forgot the link. Found the link on hotscripts, and glad I did! Features and Support hooked me. Awesome job, you guys should do well. :wink:

[Simon Gooffin]

thanks :) I really see most people come from hotscripts.com

[Greg]

Simon did you get some from sitepoint?

[Simon Gooffin]

Simon did you get some from sitepoint?
this is the short stats:
*ttp://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/Link_Indexing... - 89
*ttp://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php 37
*ttp://www.hotscripts.com/Detailed/52080.html 37
*ttp://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php 10

these sites are always leaders by traffic. but now there are some other sites :) and one of them is Portuguese forum. I could not understand what they were talking about but I saw positive(IMHO) words about our script

[joao]

and one of them is Portuguese forum. I could not understand what they were talking about but I saw positive(IMHO) words about our script
PM me the site and ill translate it if you want ;)
And if you want a portuguese version of esyndicat i can also translate it 8)

[Simon Gooffin]

And if you want a portuguese version of esyndicat i can also translate it 8)
wow, that would be fine :))) thanks a lot.. I've just PMed you the link to that forum, you can simply search for esyndicat and you will find the thread.
You kind offer is greatly appreciated

[joao]

And if you want a portuguese version of esyndicat i can also translate it 8)
wow, that would be fine :))) thanks a lot.. I've just PMed you the link to that forum, you can simply search for esyndicat and you will find the thread.
You kind offer is greatly appreciated
Ok ill translate next week. :)

About the forum there was a guy searching for a directory and he found esyndicat. Now guess what is saying?

Easy! He says its great and free hehehe. A lot of them installed the script to test and liked!

Simon the new version is for both free and PRO or only for PRO?

[subseo]

Simon the new version is for both free and PRO or only for PRO?
New version is PRO only. I think Simon posted somewhere that new free version is also coming, a bit later though.

[Simon Gooffin]

thanks for your translation
yeah, it's only Pro version. I think I will fix all the bugs in our free version and release a bug-free version soon. Also some new features will be added.

[Bryan Ex]

I suppose I should add to this thread Simon... I found eSyndiCat through your copyright link in a free version install. I wanted to do a link list site myself so I was watching to see what others were using while I was submitting one of my other sites to directories. After collecting a few links I next went to hotscripts to compare features and user reviews with eSyndiCat really coming out ahead of the others. As of May 1 you will have made a sale (possibly two) directly from offering a free version and getting your link out there on the net.

[Alex Ignatkov]

Found it at digital point forum.

[Simon Gooffin]

Thanks guys :) This information is really important for us

[tisoy]

same here, I see some lot of forum members @ digitalpoint & namepros selling their directory using esyndicat..really a nice script! :)

[Simon Gooffin]

I hope they use our free version at least :D

[snerd]

I'm another convert from PHPLD. It just seemed like there were so many little things that needed fixing, and had been that way for months. I think they just have more on their plate than they can handle at this time.

[Simon Gooffin]

:offtopic:
2 snerd:
you made a right choice I think

[tina]

As a few others have replied I employed a great deal of effort trying to find a good SEO friendly directory system. I tried in one form or another every script I could find. Interesting enough I did not find or perhaps somehow over looked eSyndiCat in my initial quest.

I initially settled on phpLD because it was the only I found that came close to meeting my requirements. I don't know about others however I found the process of trying to find a good directory script very similar to dealing with used car salesmen. It seems that 99% of the options out there have some sort of "catch" involved.

Anyway I got phpLD set up on my site and had begun to accept submissions. phpLD worked for me however I can't say that I was completely jazzed about it. It simply had a few little quirks that didn't allow me to feel completely comfortable with the system. Although let me say that I am not particularly knocking phpLD. It does the job and I know there are many who use it. I just wanted to see if I could find something better.

So I posted a message in the forum on the SEO Friendly Directory List site, http://info.vilesilencer.com/, asking for some recommendations on a directory script. Someone responded that I should take a look at eSyndiCat, so in answer to this poll that's where I found out about it.

The thing that initially impressed me was the ease at which I was able to modify the template to match my sites design. it took me around an hour to do so. And that task required make several modifications beyond colors and fonts. For example I wanted my Adsense to appear in skyscrapper format along the site of the page, not in banner format as is the default. As well as the Featured Links section I wanted to appear above the regular links and only to display on the main page and the particular category where those links fit in.

Beyond the basic display I wanted to add a "Terms of Service" and "Contact Us" pages. These were all accomplished in short order. The thing that made these tasks go so smoothly is that I found the code very easy to follow which is testament to the excellent job done to design the system.

Remember at this point I was still just "testing"" the system. Normally when I'm in the trial period of some new software I wouldn't go through all of these steps, however eSyndiCat made all of this so simple, I thought why not push it through all the paces. I was very happy with the way eSynciCat performed.

I did all of that before I even logged into the support forum for the first time. Once I did however my already high confidence level burst through the bubble. I was more than impressed at the quickness questions were answered and the openness of the developers. Shortly there after I moved it from my test environment to production.

At this point I've been running eSyndiCat for about two months. It's not perfect, it still has a few what I consider minor quirks, however I feel it is absolutely moving in the right direction. And from all that I've looked at is the best option available.

Be well,
Tina

[Simon Gooffin]

At this point I've been running eSyndiCat for about two months. It's not perfect, it still has a few what I consider minor quirks, however I feel it is absolutely moving in the right direction.
Thanks, tina. We are trying to get rid of these bugs. B)

[tina]

I know you are Simon, as I've said many times before I think you are doing a great job!

Be well,
Tina

[Simon Gooffin]

Thanks again

[jeremy90]

a friend told me about this great product

[4css]

Minstrel recomended this one to me. I had just purchased a different software program for my directory, so for now I will just use the free one. Though will love to purchase the pro shortly. Nice directory.

After looking at your demo, i can see that it is a really neat directory to use.

[Simon Gooffin]

welcome to our support forums 4css
Thanks. You are right. You should try our free script, check its template system. It has exactly similar structure

[movingknowhow]

Hotscripts.com
As a rule of thumb, before I purchase software I check that it has a forum otherwise I don’t purchase it. I entered your forum, found the support great and no complaints from customers so I purchased it.

[4css]

welcome to our support forums 4css
Thanks. You are right. You should try our free script, check its template system. It has exactly similar structure
Hi Simon,
It is just now the point of getting around to installing it.

I have a database already since I am runing the phpld. So I just have to read through all to install and get it going.

Thanks for the welcome!

[kiwigurl]

I found EsyndiCat from hotscripts. This directoy would have to be one, if not the best directory script I have come across. Great for people who aren't quite familiar with php aswell!. Keep up the good work EsyndiCat creators ;)

[Simon Gooffin]

Hi
thanks for your positive feedback about our software, kiwigurl :)

Hotscripts.com is still leader.. I wish we had similar number of votes for search engines. It seems to be strange.. We have good positions in SERPs but there are very few persons who come to our site via SE.

[4css]

Hi Simon,
What you are getting right now is word of mouth from people that are pleased with things. Soemtimes word of mouth is better because it is those with experience with your product that are gettign it out.

Give the serps time to get it out. I would prefer word of mouth as that is most important over an engine that doesn't use your product ;)

[LightStyle]

found esyndicat through hotscripts just now. i was wondering about the differences between paid and free version, does paid version has better features than free? thanks.

[WTM]

found esyndicat through hotscripts just now. i was wondering about the differences between paid and free version, does paid version has better features than free? thanks.

Yes, Pro version has a lot more features and options.

Also there are many modifications available for Pro version which will not work with free one.

[subseo]

Just voted, but frankly don't remember for sure. Either it was the powered by link or some forum (DP?).

Also reread the older posts by kickass and vkaryl on the start of the thread...brings a bit of nostalgy about old times :).

[Vincent Wright]

Good ole days! ;)

[pipc01]

I was looking for a directory script on a very large search engine, and have tried others, but I have found esyndicat to be the best by far, the support in this forum, the friendliness and script make it a 100% plus vote for me.

[ganodan]

I was looking for a SEO friendly directory, as the script I am currantly using has the same descrition on all pages, while making changes, these have to be done with every upgrade, I came across a post with a poll, asking to to vote for your best directory script, while eSyndiCat was not at the top of the list, it was voted as the best for SEO friendy and here I am.

[Sharon]

I got it through search engine .....


Sharon
http://freshwater.blogtopia.com/

[PeekHoles]

I bought another directory script it would not do a true directory stucture like mysite.com/1/2/3 est..

Searched on yahoo and saw your script and new I had to have it. I bought the pro version last week and love it.

[joelemon]

I found it by GiorgioTave's forum!

[Simon Gooffin]

Btw, just some statistics

eSyndiCat has rather good positions in SERPs

directory software (http://www.google.com/search?q=directory+software&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a) - #1

directory script (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=9OT&q=directory+script&btnG=Search) - #2

free directory script (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=14n&q=free+directory+script&btnG=Search) - #3

and so on. But the leader is still hotscripts.com

[draggar]

I found it though Google and realized it was a lot like some of the directories I had used in the past.

The first time I went with it I went elsewhere with my download but I'm trying it out for another directory I'm testing the waters with.

[pmr21uk]

I found esyndicat by google using the search term "free php directory script" it pop up about third on the first page. :good: