The problem is, after 15 years of working in this field (mostly custom PHP coding/involved SQL work), I feel like a complete moron with this set of plugins.

After installing twice, the default theme has blocks all over the place and looks virtually nothing like the relatively crisp demo. Trying to figure out how to move anything is a chore, and it appears no one is hanging out on the jobs board for hire. I’m willing to pay fairly for support, but we’re directed to the jobs board for paid assistance – and it seems no one is home.

My point is, for someone new to the theme and in need of getting up and running, it appears GeoDirectory is very much a no man’s land where you throw money into the general fund but are very much on your own.

It would be very wise for the publishers of this product to actively cultivate a support team which can offer expert level assistance, for pay, to assure someone who needs the product working and needs support can get it in a reasonable time.

It appears we’ve thrown some money down a rat hole here, and that is unwelcome news.

I’m not saying the product isn’t what it claims. I’m saying the support via the forums is completely hit/miss, and when you’re told to “go to the jobs board” where there is no one willing to work (even for pay) and the tickets are all unresolved… is that a product which is well managed for actual competitive deployment?

Unfortunately, this has been money wasted. We can’t build a business on a project with a very haphazard support method and no experts who can assist for market rate pay.

I’m not angry, but I seriously wish we had not bought into this product. I think GeoDirectory means well, but is going to gather a number of people like me who buy it based upon the promised feature set – then toss it aside in disgust. When you can’t even beg to pay for legit support, it’s not a product.

It’s almost like playing a version of Sims… SimsDirectory, where you spend the entire day building for points but accomplish nothing in the real world.

I’m really disappointed. Throw out the flames and tell me I’m an idiot if you like, but this product is not a mature contender in a commercial services marketplace. Perhaps I should have used GeoTheme which may have more knowledgeable people accessible, but GeoDirectory as it is seems to exist as Beta vaporware.

If anyone knows if actual paid support people exist for this product, please let me know. Aside from that, I feel this is not ready for prime time software and I’ve been duped into investing in it.

Debate me on this. I want this project to work, but as of yet it’s been completely terrible and unfit for any actual purpose.

After reading your post, I had a search for any of your earlier posts.
I found two support posts you started and both are waiting for your reply.
Support will only know that further action is required on a topic, when you reply after they ask questions that would allow them to further assist.

The team behind GeoDirectory are the same people as GeoTheme, so you can expect the same dedication and support.

The jobs board is mainly to let developers that are familiar with GD (but who are not part of the GD team) know that you want a hand. Please see the Jobs policy on the right hand side of this page. The jobs forum is not to get paid support, support is free for premium members, see https://wpgeodirectory.com/support-policy/

Please see also my post in the jobs forum.

I couldnt agree more with this statement – maybe someone will take notice. Its been a total waste of money, time and effort so far. Its run like a hobby not a business – with fixes maybe happening when the developers feel like it.

Unfortunately, this has been money wasted. We can’t build a business on a project with a very haphazard support method and no experts who can assist for market rate pay.

I’m not angry, but I seriously wish we had not bought into this product. I think GeoDirectory means well, but is going to gather a number of people like me who buy it based upon the promised feature set – then toss it aside in disgust. When you can’t even beg to pay for legit support, it’s not a product.

Let me assure you we are dedicated to this and you have not wasted ur money. We have just taken on a new full time develpoer and we will be releasing updates ever week from or as needed.

Our support policy is to support our products functionality but customisation is not support and we try to avoid this so we can concentrate on making our products better. I will however try and find a good developer to man the jobs section off his own back, thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Jason if you can reply as a private message with your Skype address on Monday I can work through any problems you have and hopefully get you in a better place.

Thanks,

Stiofan

I’m a serious developer who is trying to use your software to customize a directory. That’s what you build, directory software.

If you open your own demo on an iPhone 5, the map is so large and unwieldy no one can actually use it for an actual application. When I installed the GeoDirectory core theme on my own host, the blocks are all out of whack and I feel stupid trying to find out how to move them. It’s as if someone put all the ingredients of the world’s best apple pie in a pan and forgot to bake it.

The end user, both those of us buying GeoDirectory, and those who would use the resulting applications, must be considered. As it is, I’ll put a $500 reward out for anyone who can use GeoDirectory as it is and actually build a working model which would be competitive in the marketplace for any real world purpose. Right now it’s a bunch of coded toys tossed in a box, and I’ve yet to see a demonstration of it that I can point to and say “Yes, people will use this to actually connect with my business.”

GeoDirectory is marketed as a mature solution, natural successor to GeoTheme and has a great looking landing page that tends to fall apart when you try to dig into the nuts and bolts of the demo.

Now, caveat emptor. As a customer, I have a responsibility to purchase products fit for a particular purpose. I saw “Geolocation” and “Directory” and bought into the GD (appropriately lettered at the moment) because I wanted to believe it would be useful.

Your own demo throws “Sorry, no record were found. Please adjust your search criteria and try again” ALL the time, and the demo theme I installed looked nothing like I expected. Attempting to modify it is a pure lesson in frustration, and I was coding in Perl at 15 years old. I’m not the smartest person in the room, but if I can’t make sense of a theme product for WordPress either I need to retire and shoot myself or the product is faulty.

The bottom line?

GeoDirectory should not be in the marketplace. Not yet. It’s a high minded product with lots of potential bells and whistles. It’s not baked yet.

What do I need as a customer?

I need a directory which takes less than 45 seconds to load which enables me to create locations, attach products and services to those locations, sort by distance from me, have reliable review functions and reasonably adept administrative features.

I need people to be able to find products and services via a location aware directory. That was the promise of GeoDirectory, and it was released perhaps a year too early.

Unfortunately, I have work to do. I have wasted perhaps a dozen hours trying to tool around GeoDirectory and make sense of it. Having thoroughly failed, I have to find another set of tools, spend more money, cross another learning curve and put a project together for a client.

Your home page says, in some bold letters, “… location based business directory portal you always dreamed of.”

I’d take that down in a hurry, put up a Coming Soon page, and visit the nearest Catholic confessional until this product can live up to that slogan. Right now it can’t, we know it can’t, you know it can’t, and if GeoTheme is the wonderful product it’s reputed to be you are doing it a disservice with this catastrophe.

At the end of the day, I’m your cheerleader. I’m a guy with ten projects in the works who NEEDS YOUR PRODUCT and WANTS TO PAY FOR EXPERT HELP to make it work like the proverbial charm. I could not be any more excited about GeoDirectory, yet business is business and we have to be extremely honest from the heart about where our projects lay.

When it’s not a buggy mess with inaccurate marketing slogans, I’ll come back. When I can actually hire someone who knows how to make it work, I’ll be the first to jump in and pay whatever is necessary and fair to support the project and those who build it.

You have done a disservice to me by wasting my time and accepting payment for a project which isn’t anywhere near valid as a functional directory portal.

Jason Kibby
Chattanooga, Tennessee
423-544-1801

I am not sure what has gone so wrong for you but i would love to hear first hand and I am happy to chat about it on Skype, I don’t want you wasting anymore time, it would be best if we could chat and figure it out what’s going on.

I will be off for the rest of the day but we can chat on Monday and hopefully get you in a better place.

Thanks,

Stiofan

Thanks

stiofan

There are several compatibility plugins already developed which do this, so you may want to glance at those to get an idea of what is needed.

Alternatively I will happily look at helping you to do this for your particular theme.

There are also some new themes being released very shortly (one for GDF and two for Genesis) which should see you up-and-running very quickly.