But as users of the app we have concerns about longstanding issues and when we might see fixes for them. Not saying your priorities are not correct. But I for one would like to see some polishing of the app as ultimately it is also a reflection of your commitment to delivering the best possible solution.
I for one fully support all your efforts to create a sustainable business. Just realize that we as customers are in a similar position, we are trying to sustain OUR businesses using your software.
I’d like to point out one thing that seems to be missing in the Store: documentation.
I’ve bought several things and then had to spend considerable time figuring out (a) what I actually got; (b) what I should absolutely configure immediately; (c) any assumptions the creator/designer made I should know about; and (d) step-by-step how I should approach using it; and (e) much more.
It doesn’t appear to me that there is a documentation component to the DevPack that’s easily accessible to the purchaser. Instead, we’re just dropped into the product and then have to figure out how to best use it.
As an example, I’ll use Ben’s Portfolio project. There are both hard coded things about the artist, as well as stub for Author in the CMS. That seems unfinished to me and results in a lot of hard replacement. The four image spread near the top of the home page seem to have a presumption of 1:1, which would have been good to know (or how to change that). The project settings are pre-filled with Rapidweaver IDs, not placeholders, and the user of the project should probably have a (1) change project settings, (2) do x, (3) do y kind of step list for things that you know would need to be changed.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice project. But I’m wondering if I’ve caught everything I need to change. The Extras is nice, but it took me awhile to notice it and come to grips with it. I wish I had understood Extras before I started making some modifications to the main bits.
I’m not sure what the best solution is (perhaps this has to happen on the Store Web site in the details, e.g. each thing should have Documentation, FAQ, Getting Started, What’s Included sections that the developer needs to populate).