At The 11th Hour...

As I madly run through the site one last time, trying to ignore the Super Bowl in the background, desperately seeking out the last few bugs that still need squashing, I ask myself: Why did I give myself such a short deadline on Super Bowl weekend?

The answer, of course, is simple. I work best under a deadline, and the impending launch of the updated FPZ platform has me nervous enough that I'm looking extra-hard for those last-minute show-stoppers. It looks like the Steelers and Packers are making this a great Super Bowl (based on what I hear my wife yelling at me from the living room once in a wahile), but I can't afford to get distracted.

I had some pretty grand plans for FPZ 2.0. A kick-ass Gallery application, free blogging for all, an advanced Critique application that would draw crowds, and many other ideas. The greatest photography community ever devised!!! But after a couple months of work, reality set in. If I ever wanted FPZ 2.0 to see the light of day, I needed to cut down on my ambitions and just get the basics right. The old site was a major limitation and needed to be replaced ASAP, and my grand plans had to take a back seat to a solid platform.

I sifted through my plans with a fine-tooth comb and figured out what absolutely needed to be in place to launch a new version of FPZ.

Our biggest problem with the old site was the separate forum software, which prevented me from integrating new features easily and made member management a nightmare. So priority #1 was a new forum application which was more integrated.

Our other problem was the resource-intensive appearance of the site. Sure, it looked great, but it ran poorly on many people's desktops and was a burden on our server. That meant priority #2 was to clean up the appearance and make the site run better for everyone. This also meant a complete re-organization of the site to make everything accessible within 1 or 2 clicks, since drop-down menus are being eliminated.

In addition to those priorities, I wanted a more dynamic front page that shows off everything we have to offer and gives returning members a quick overview of what's new on the site. Fresh new content every day, all easily accessible.

I think I've succeded in those goals. There will be some bugs to iron out once everyone starts pouding on the new site. I still have to resolve things like email notifications of new forum posts, and customtize the appearance of each application to make them more photography-centric. But I figured it would be more fun to do these things as a community rather than as a lone web developer sitting in his office pecking away at a keyboard. So while the new FPZ may not be as perfect as I'd dreamed, I hope we can work together to make it a photography community we can all be proud of.

P.S. There WILL be free blogging for all (very soon, most likely). There WILL be a kick-ass Gallery application. And there WILL be an advanced Critique application that will draw crowds. I just need to concentrate on each of those things one at a time and make sure they're done right.

P.P.S. If you'll forgive my indulgence, the last 2 minutes of the Super Bowl are starting to run down, and I'd I'd like to see this potentially exciting endling.