Koozali.org: home of the SME Server

Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server

Offline morpheusx

  • *
  • 35
  • +0/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« on: January 18, 2006, 01:06:35 AM »
There are eight sentences on the 'Welcome' page at contribs.org, which is the first page all potential users of SME will see. Of those eight, exactly one tells you what SME is, and it isn't even the first one. The other seven sentences are mostly irrelevant comments about sponsorship, the GPL (almost 50% of the page) and donations.

Marketing 101 tells us that you only have one chance to make a first impression, and the home page as it is today does not do that very effectively. It seems to be more tied up in the details of how SME is developed than what it might do for the potential end user. I think everyone agrees that increasing the user base is the best way to advance the project, especially with the excellent progress made on 7.0 to date.

I'd like to suggest we rewrite the page to make it clear what SME Server is and why it is ideal. I'll post my suggestions in this thread shortly.

Offline gordonr

  • *
  • 646
  • +0/-0
    • http://www.smeserver.com.au/
Re: Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2006, 07:01:15 AM »
Quote from: "morpheusx"

I'd like to suggest we rewrite the page to make it clear what SME Server is and why it is ideal. I'll post my suggestions in this thread shortly.

Sounds great. This has also concerned me for quite a while, so I made a quick stab at rewriting the top block. To me, that block needs to say:

- What the server is and why you should use it
- How to get it, the manual and where to report issues
- How to get help
- Who contribs.org is
............

Offline morpheusx

  • *
  • 35
  • +0/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2006, 06:18:24 PM »
That's a great improvement!

Here are some further tweaks.

--

Welcome to contribs.org, the home of the SME Server

The SME Server is a simple, powerful, secure Linux server used by thousands of individuals, companies and organizations all over the world. SME Server provides a friendly, free alternative to expensive proprietary software.

SME Server provides:
   ?     Sharing of a single Internet connection between multiple computers
   ?     A network firewall to protect against Internet intruders
   ?    A robust email server, which includes virus and spam filtering and webmail
   ?    File and print sharing
   ?    Web application server, including support for MySQL, Perl and PHP
   ?    Secure remote access
   ?    Support for over XX languages
   ?    and much more
 all managed through an intuitive web interface.  

The menu bar at the left provides easy access to the SME Server documentation, software downloads, a place to report any bugs, and vibrant user community forums.

Many individuals and corporations contribute to the ongoing development of the SME Server, which is made available freely under the GNU General Public License. This license requires the public release of any modifications to the server, and allows these to be used to improve later versions.

If you find SME Server useful, we ask that you make a donation in order to keep this project alive. To make a donation please go to This Page

Offline mrjhb3

  • *
  • 1,188
  • +0/-0
    • John Bennett Services
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2006, 05:44:07 AM »
Could you add a link to this page as well?

http://no.longer.valid/phpwiki/index.php/SME%207%20Features

It probably needs a little updating like changing centos from 4.1 to 4.2.

JB
......

Offline morpheusx

  • *
  • 35
  • +0/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2006, 09:20:55 PM »
Well, the home page lasted for a while.

Unfortunately the new smeserver.org home page is a step backwards again and does not make a good first impression. It talks about a leading distribution with common functionality and contributions. Unfortunately none of that actually addresses any of the points in this thread. If I was a non-sophisticated SME IT admin looking for a low cost server, I don't think that paragraph is speaking to me.

Offline CharlieBrady

  • *
  • 6,918
  • +3/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #5 on: November 04, 2006, 03:39:43 AM »
Quote from: "morpheusx"

Many individuals and corporations contribute to the ongoing development of the SME Server, which is made available freely under the GNU General Public License.


Unfortunately this isn't true. Really only a few individuals and a few corporations contribute to ongoing development.

Offline robwellesley

  • *
  • 92
  • +0/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2006, 01:01:05 AM »
Quote
Unfortunately this isn't true. Really only a few individuals and a few corporations contribute to ongoing development.


Charlie,

We make a part of our living from 'selling' and supporting SME Servers.  IYO What's the best way we can contribute?

Rob[/quote]

Offline raem

  • *
  • 3,972
  • +4/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2006, 01:59:32 AM »
robwellesley

I think that is answered (at least partly) in the server manager, to quote:
 
Welcome to SME Server, the leading Linux distribution for small and medium enterprises. SME Server is brought to you by SME Server, Inc., a non-profit corporation that exists to provide marketing and legal support for SME Server.

SME Server is freely available under the GNU General Public License and is only possible through the efforts of the SME Server community. However, the availability and quality of SME Server is dependent on meeting our expenses, such as hosting costs, server hardware, etc.

As such, we ask for a small donation to offset costs and fund further development.

Please visit http://www.smeserver.org/donate/ to donate.
...

Offline robwellesley

  • *
  • 92
  • +0/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2006, 02:06:23 AM »
Quote from: "RayMitchell"
robwellesley

I think that is answered (at least partly) in the server manager


Sure, but I'm hoping to get a priority from Charlie.  Does gold help development more than, say, bug verification?  Having someone 'do' bug verification costs us time and therefore gold.

So, which serves the cause better?

Rob

Offline raem

  • *
  • 3,972
  • +4/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2006, 04:56:53 AM »
robwellesley

> Sure, but I'm hoping to get a priority from Charlie.  

Are you suggesting something like a "smeserver.inc membership category" for business users ie for a certain contributed amount you get a certain level of support ?
...

Offline robwellesley

  • *
  • 92
  • +0/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2006, 05:04:16 AM »
There's a 'poll' somewhere here asking about such stuff which seems like a useful idea - but we're just looking to be effective really

Offline morpheusx

  • *
  • 35
  • +0/-0
Contribs.org home page doesn't sell SME Server
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2006, 01:59:58 AM »
To get back to the original point about improving the marketing message, can the webmaster adopt some of the original ideas above for an smeserver.org home page that sells SME Server more effectively?

The current page doesn't do that but it hasn't been updated since I posted a month ago. I'm happy to help write and/or edit copy. Who is responsible for SME marketing anyway?

Offline FrancisT

  • *
  • 23
  • +0/-0
Donate
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2006, 08:51:33 AM »
Quote from: "RayMitchell"
robwellesley

As such, we ask for a small donation to offset costs and fund further development.

Please visit http://www.smeserver.org/donate/ to donate.


I have attempted to make a donation on several occasions.  If I use the Paypal option, after logging in & clicking the Pay button, it comes back immediately with a time out & I need to log back in, but it continues to time out again.

Not using Paypal, it comes back saying something is missing (nothing is) and appears to be the code at the bottom.  It comes up with a new one.  After several unsucessful attempts, I give up again!
...

Offline raem

  • *
  • 3,972
  • +4/-0
Re: Donate
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2006, 09:57:38 AM »
FrancisT

> After several unsucessful attempts, I give up again!

I suggest you enter a bug report in the website category.
...