GD Architecture

After I bought the plugin membership in March this year, I did a few questions for the support trying to implement my plan with GD plugin.

I had problems because my perspective on building a web directory cannot be executed with the architecture imposed by the GD plugin.

For a moment a put the question aside and set up the directory the best I could, considering the limitations imposed by the platform in front of what I think is ideal.

In that process, I consulted this support forum many times and realized that my criticism of the plugin architecture also affected other users.

To explain this difference, I have to address issues with marketing strategies that, I believe, are common to many of us who are dedicated to managing web directories.

If you visit Yelp or TripAdvisor, it’s easy to see that both directories are exactly the same in the type of information they make available to site visitors: address, phone, description, website, and etc. It does not matter if you are looking for a restaurant in Sao Paulo or a museum in New York, the information provided is the same, they are generalists, they say nothing about the specificity of that type of business.

So, I see that GD follows the same path and ends up tying in its closed architecture other conceptions of web directories.

To illustrate what I’m saying, just think about the structure between CPT, categories and custom fields delineated in the GD architecture. If I can not use specific custom fields for each category, I am required to delimit my web directory for general information that is common to all listings.
But you can tell me that if I want to use different sets of custom fields, I can create other CPTs. At this point, however, we encounter another problem with the GD architecture. If I create a CPT for each specific listing in my web directory, the user experience is greatly impaired, having to pre-select the CPT drop-and-down menu to then select a category and then filter with the advanced search.

It’s a usability disaster!

Following the reasoning, what is the problem of having a general web directory, with the same information for different types of listings? You even said that Yelp and TripAdvisor do it!

The problem is that if any of us had the same conditions as Yelp or TripAdvisor, we would not be spending a measly $ 200 on a plugin here.

Of course, I’m not saying we can not get to that level. I am saying that the present situation is not this.
So it was in several parts of the web, that the idea of ​websites focused on specific niches was agreed. And niche websites need to bring specific information to that niche. If we continue with web directories of basic information, common to any type of listing, we will always be competing with the already established websites. But if we can provide that more detailed information of the niches we like and know, we have a chance to be noticed.

This post is intended to constructively critique the GD. I think the work you do is very good. But I believe that the plugin’s architecture is not according to the purpose it’s been used by its clients.
To conclude, I would like to know the opinion of the other users of GD and, of course, Stiofan and Paolo.

The day is being born here in the city of drizzle. Everyone have a good day!!!