Hey Developers..help yourself out

Dev Discussion
#1

Today I was searching for Bric and Blocs to purchase that I might want to use. This isn’t the first time.
What did I find…
I found ads in the Blocs store with broken links, no previews of what a bloc os bric does (need to show me) and links that don’t work.
I also see messages in threads that go unanswered and have been sitting there for years.
I send msgs to developers and get no responses. With some, it is unclear if you should use the “contact me” link or not.
Obviously, this isn’t the case for ALL developers, but many in the store don’t seem to keep up with their store fronts.

So, today a message to developers:

I WANT to give you my money! I want to purchase Bric and Blocs, but you are not making it easy.
I WANT to see more developers in there, I WANT to buy your stuff!

I would simply ask that developers go look at their storefronts, click on the links…see what we see.
I do see updates with some of the Bric and Blocs…but if you didn’t update your Bric or Bloc, does it work with the latest Blocs application? Bootstrap 5 or whatever?

I look at some of these and wonder if I want to give you my money? Will you be around for the next Blocs update? Are you actively refreshing your offerings? Frankly, it doesn’t look like it in some of the store fronts.

Finally, we WANT to support you…can you make it a bit easier?

My rant is done…I DO APPRECIATE the work all developers put into their offerings. Help me spend my money. :heavy_dollar_sign:

Thank you

Rich

6 Likes
#2

Well, that’s a proper rant! :rofl: Developing Brics comes down to supply/demand. I WANT someone to give me a million Dollars tomorrow…Awesome but its not going to happen. Same with custom Brics. Guys like @Whittfield, @Jannis, @Malachiman, @Norm and all others need a ROI for developing Brics. Thats how simple business works. More users means more developers who create more Brics. So you know what to do! :grin: :palm_tree:

EDIT: In all fairness. Today the API of Blocs is very limited for developers to create awesome Brics. I understand its not easy but support from @Norm is needed for this.

2 Likes
Developing Blocs and Brics - What's Missing?
#3

I am not a developer, so I cannot address your point directly. From a user’s point of view I can certainly see there are aspects that could be improved.

I do believe the developers are waiting on some improvements though in the API that would allow them to do more. From the limited discussions I’ve had I gather it is quite time consuming and can be tricky, so I doubt anybody is becoming rich from this.

We all want a better experience though so I think this was a worthwhile thread to create and I don’t consider it a rant.

#4

Is your main gripe with the store product listings rather than the actual functionality of products?

#5

I love the Blocs store and I would love to see so many more Brics!

I do think the blocs store design is brilliant and works well - and love the work all our amazing developers are doing.

I also do get where @WeatherguyNH is coming from. Sometimes i do download a bric and puzzled on how it works!..id love to see more videos on how these things work - and I would love to see them updated for the latest version of Blocs.

But this is all in an ideal world - so I guess if a bric is not selling them why should a developer support it , as long as it shows what versions of Blocs/framework it supports then we know if its supported or not.

I love the videos @Malachiman , @Whittfield, @Jannis and now @Norm are showing on their brics, and the great thing is - these guys are all amazing contributors on this forum, so fire a question to them!

One thing id like to see on every Bric in the store is a link to see each bric in its working form. No better way to test than to see!

Looking forward to many more Brics coming!

1 Like
#6

While we are all talking about the store - I would like to fire a question or 3 to the master himself! @Norm if this is ok (sorry to hi-jack your thread @WeatherguyNH - but wanted to ask while its a store post!)

Norm - the Blocs store, this is all made within Blocs… if so can you let us know what you used to achieve the below:

  1. The login for the page? How does this work…

  2. The search bar at the top, is this Site Search?

  3. The filtering on the menu again works really nice and is really tidy - is this something that can made into a bric of some sort?..how is this done !? - again…love this !

Cheers!

1 Like
#7

The Blocs store is a WordPress site. You can see that if you look at the source code. Blocs could be used to create the theme though.

2 Likes
#8

Aha!

Thanks @Flashman - never looked to be fair, always thought it would have been 100% blocs

#9

Don’t forget Blocs can create Wordpress themes now :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

4 Likes
#10

I need to dive into it at some point!
I will do…when I get chance!

#11

Norm:

I don’t want to be mis understood.
I quite LIKE the brics/blocs store. I think this central hub is a GREAT IDEA. The Bric/Blocs in there, that I have purchased thus far, work fine, no arguments about quality etc…or getting support.
I wish there were more. More blocs and brics, and more developers.
I invite anyone reading this thread to go click on a few of the store fronts. I think you will see what I mean…

If I was completely new to Blocs and I went to some of the storefronts, that might be a turn off. Want more folks here like me (not developers), since that is Blocs main tag line, then I would hope for more tools and a better experience when I click on some of the storefronts.

Rich

1 Like
#12

Not a Blocs Developer but I do have a few templates (All of which were migrated to Blocs 4 and one that comes with a fun extension :snowflake:).
My support inquiries usually come through my site’s contact page or Paddle Support but try to respond as soon as I see them.
My main focus is on the clients I have locally for freelance work though I currently wouldn’t neglect anyone who pays for my work.

Perhaps, in the future, I will look into making blocs for the community :man_shrugging:

#13

Please join us…we are a growing community.

Rich

#14

As I say before, I wold love to have a manual for creating bricks, but as some know probably the thought is: “if they know you go and find yourself”.

#15

Definitely not me.

https://help.blocsapp.com/article-categories/developers/

1 Like
#16

Hopefully not me either. I try to respond as quickly as I can.

I have a Bric in beta, soon to be released :grin: so hopefully that adds to the tally. And another one In the pipeline. For me, I work on these in my spare time, and I’m no where as advanced in coding as @Whittfield and @Jannis who have created some great Brics, so I probably take the scenic route.

There is a learning curve with everything, I had never made anything like a Blocs Bric, but I started somewhere, used the docs, asked, and also spent time figuring it out. I started off simple, then did something more complex like a Easy Burger to stretch my skills.

3 Likes
#17

@webplus created a video couple of years ago which helped me to understand better the structure of how a bric works. Visualising makes it often much simpler. The developers’ documentation is a bit tough for a noob like me. :upside_down_face: :man_student: :woman_student:

2 Likes
#18

When does your new bric come out @Jerry :grinning:

#19

I’m halfway through the video. Any fancy for something easy? :crazy_face:

1 Like
#20

@Malachiman I am not sure the Blocs community is ready for my custom bloc I told you about.

1 Like