Ideal Software Archive Website

How to build the ideal website for software archives. View from developer.

Advantages for developers

Why developers come to your archive? What do they want to find?

They wish to make their software popular!

  • Be open! Easy and quick submitting is the best way to attract the developers.
  • Do not ask for money from the developers for submitting. Sell software, sell advertising, and sell deep reviews - that's your source of income. And never demand for the back link!
  • Use Portable Application Description (PAD)! PAD is an unlimited resource of the up-to-date information about software titles. Read and display to visitors as much information as possible taking it from the developer's PAD: the version history (recent changes), brief and full description in several languages, keywords, the application logo, etc.
  • Use the categories structure from PAD. Do not create a self-made tree of categories at first levels - the program branch should be readable from PAD automatically.
  • But! Expand the PAD categories to the deep. The term File Management is extremely wide, it encompasses thousands of titles. Refine it and offer this option to the submitter.
  • Sell the advertising as an option - and remove the "Google adsense" and "Sponsored link" from paid pages. If I pay for advertising, I do not want to see the competitor's URLs on my page!

    • Advantages for visitors

    Why people come to your archive? What do they want to find?

    They wish to find, learn, and discuss the software covering their needs!

  • Let your first page be easy: easy to open, to read and to understand. I want more white space. I want scalable fonts. I want a big search field, evident categories tree, last updates, news and postings.
  • Let your archive be searchable. Search - that's the way to find what you need. Browsing by categories is hard and slow - each branch of categories tree includes dozens of pages. Only first rows are accessible, others are "dead weight". Few popular titles have an amazing downloads count - others have nothing. It's no good! Submitted software - this is a pure capital. It should not waste. Turn it ON - let this wealth do its work! Use the standard categories with detailed sub-branches. Use search queries. Build complex search functions, with pictorial rendition of results. Visitors are shocked when they type the "dvd player" in the search field and get 183 titles. It's a wrong way! I want to see the advanced search with checkable categories, including and excluding keywords, with filters by file size, price, and date. I want to see the visible result statistics for huge results instead of a full results list. Use the experience of data visualization techniques - like business statisticians or strategy game developers do!
  • Visitors want to see reviews, opinions, ratings, and discussions. And they also want to write it. Each software title should be something like a forum topic: a field for discussion, a place for communication. Use the forum moderator's experience - visitors love the avatars, posting statistics, cross-postings and quoting. We want to participate in a show - not just viewing rough facts!
  • Visitors want to be up-to-date! Provide the RSS or e-mail notifications for each software, category or discussion.

    • This is a feedback to software archive owners from the developer who is visiting the 5-10 software sites per day, and really has something to say. Use these tips and grow your site to the most powerful shooter on the Internet market. Good luck!

    About the author

    Software developer and vendor with 10 years experience. Visit http://www.qunom.com for contact information.

    In The News:

    pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    Methods of Website Promotion

    Promoting a Website is not an easy task. New Website... Read More

    Outsourcing Website Services - Can Your Business Benefit?

    Would it surprise you to know that Compaq Computer? outsources?... Read More

    A New Twist To The Signature File Idea

    After the incredible success of Hotmail.com, the use of signature... Read More

    Web Site Promotion-Advertising Your Website For Profits

    Making money with your web site is the dream and... Read More

    Your Internet Marketing - What It Could Be Missing

    How would like to have an email list of thousands... Read More

    Improve Your Website In 3 Simple Ways

    You may already have thought about the following 3 ways... Read More

    Website Promotion: 10 Electrifying Tactics To Boost Your Profits

    Is your business lagging behind?Are you frustrated?Cheer up.Here are 10... Read More

    Web Site Promotion: 10 Reasons Why Your Web Site Is Not Making Money

    Do you know why your website is not making money... Read More

    Grassroots Marketing Campaign

    Many people, in a rush to spike sales through the... Read More

    So You Have A New Website But The Phone Isnt Ringing Off The Hook?

    So you have a new website but the phone isn't... Read More

    Ten Free Ways To Promote Your Website

    Often, website owners would like to promote their new business... Read More

    Discover How To BOOST Your Website

    Don't you just hate the process of exchanging web site... Read More

    The 7 Habits of a Successful Web-Marketing Plan

    What is web-marketing? Why does your business need it?The best... Read More

    Learn How To Use These Six Explosive Marketing Techniques To Explode Your Website With Traffic

    Learn How To Use These Six Explosive Marketing Techniques To... Read More

    Ten Heavy Duty Online Sales Grabbers

    How to improve conversion rate for your website? How to... Read More

    Avoid These Common Mistakes With Your Links...

    Links are the main pillar of your website. To navigate... Read More

    Online Website Promotion: How To Expand Your Business By Staying In Touch With Your Customers

    If you want your customers to keep coming back To... Read More

    Promote Your Website Using Articles

    Promote your website using articles - Internet is all about... Read More

    7 Ways to Promote Your Website Locally

    Now that you've built your new website you can sit... Read More

    7 Must Knows for Measuring Web Site Activities

    Record keeping measurements for Internet marketing Record keeping tracks money... Read More

    5 Reasons Why Link Swapping Is Killing Your Website

    I created my first website in 1995 - it was... Read More

    Online Promotion: Five Extraordinary Online Promotion Secrets To Sky-rocket Your Sales

    Do you want to achieve extra-ordinary success in your online... Read More

    Online Website Promotion: Five Fantastic Breakthrough Marketing Ideas To Enrich You

    Good Ideas.They are the stuff that form the foundation of... Read More

    Has Your Business Hit a Wall? What to Do When Business Slows Down!

    I doubt that anyone reading this article hasn't at one... Read More

    Easy Content Building for the Lazy Webmaster

    Free content builder. Articles are the best way to add... Read More

    Online Promotional Strategies For Start Up Entrepreneurs

    As a small business owner are you looking at promotional... Read More

    6 Ways to Keep Them Coming Back

    It is estimated that it can take the average consumer... Read More

    Increasing Link Popularity WITHOUT Exchanging Links

    Yes, it can be done. Here are 7 ways that... Read More

    How To Improve Your Conversion Rate

    Hardly a day goes by that I don't get an... Read More

    3 Super-tips To Build, Promote And Profit More From Your Website!

    Are you happy with your website? (Does your business even... Read More

    How Building a Fanbase will Make You Sales

    If you've ever been to a popular forum hosted by... Read More

    About Testimonials and Customer Focused Sites

    Think about it, when you browse any web site, you... Read More

    How to Make Your Website Sticky!

    Five Nifty Ways to Make Your Site Sticky!'Stickiness' is one... Read More