Archive for July, 2012

ProofBuddy as a WordPress plugin?

July
3
2012
30 comments

A few months ago we put together a semi-solution for getting ProofBuddy wrapped into a WordPress site. Worked, but wasn't quite there.

We're looking ahead to what changes need to happen for ProofBuddy 3.0 and had a thought, but need to get user input before we head down that path.

What are y'all's thoughts on making ProofBuddy entirely into a WordPress plugin? That is, instead of making a plugin for WP that just interfaces with ProofBuddy have a ProofBuddy be a full plugin with everything done inside of WordPress and ProofBuddy requiring WordPress to be installed?

Potential downsides

  • WordPress would have to be installed. We used the WordPress install as a starting point for our install. WP is about as easy to get up and running as any web application I've ever used.
  • Don't want WordPress installed. It's possible to install WP and have it with just a single page.
Realistically, I can't think of too many downsides. ProofBuddy and WordPress already have very similar server requirements so if you have a hosting account that runs ProofBuddy, it will also run WordPress.

Upsides

  • The database and user system inside WP is outstanding, and ProofBuddy could piggyback off of that.
  • Themes would be handled through WordPress, and there are thousands of themes.
  • The plugin architecture inside of WP is very strong and relatively easy to use. Plugins like Facebook Like, Jetpack, or any of the other few thousand plugins would interact with ProofBuddy.
  • ProofBuddy could be rewritten in such a way that it was receptive to WordPress plugins as well.
  • One less web application to install. If you're using WordPress already PB would just be a few clicks to get up and running. Many hosts already offer a one-click install for WP.
ProofBuddy 3.0?
Other than knowing that a 3.0 release will happen at some point in the future, we haven't made any plans. We know that we need more plugins and more themes, and they need to be easier to work with. While I was sketching out ideas for how to improve the theme system in ProofBuddy is when the idea of making it into a full plugin came up.

Thoughts?

This is something I've had running through my head for a few days and wanted to get input before starting up. After all, y'all are the ones that use ProofBuddy to sell to your clients.

If you have an opinion one way or the other, please leave a comment and let us know.

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