While I think offering the hosting for such things is a neat angle, I don't know how relevant it is(or how you plan to make money). A default Wordpress install now allows you to search both its theme and plugin directory and install them without ever leaving the comfort of your administrative backend. I'm not quite sure what is available for drupal and the others in terms of plugins and such but it might be a good idea to market to those users in your screencast as apposed to the wordpress users who already have the features you offer available to them.
Most of the other services you have listed are also offered as 1 click installs by many web hosts with similar $/month price points for the paid hosting.
I agree, WordPress is not the best example now that it has the "plugin installer" in the administration control panel. I will probably change the app used in the video tour.
However, WordPress is the exception, not the rule when it comes to automated plugin installation. Even for apps like phpbb3, which have a mod called "automod" which installs mods automatically, the user still has to download the mod, and then upload it to their server, unzip it, put it in the right directory etc... Flooha eliminates all of that busy work.
The real exception is apps like MediaWiki (which runs Wikipedia) and osCommerce. The add-ons (extensions, contributions, etc...) for those apps often modify core code files and it is not as simple as uploading and unzipping. It can be extremely painful to install the easiest add-on for some users who aren't extremely comfortable working with source code.
Yeah, at first I was like "another free host, WTF." But then I realized that you're really closing the "last mile" of open source web site deployment and hosting by automating the process. It is pretty ambitious.
One benefit to the user is that the add-ons/ plug-ins are sort of "Flooha-certified" which is helpful as there are a lot of junk/insecure modules floating around out there.
Another cool feature would be the ability to auto-migrate between different CMS.
I think the general idea has been out there for a long time. Many people have written app specific "add-on installers", myself included. I wrote one in php for osCommerce, then realized that the real opportunity was for all apps. Thanks again.
:) Yeah, that's one I've debated a lot about. It came about when explaining the site to a designer who was working on the logo. It was getting wordy trying to explain the concept through text and I just ended it by saying "In other words, you don't have to be a programmer to have a kick-ass website." She latched on to it and when I got the logo back, it has the tag-line attached. I kind-of liked it, so I kept it...for now.
The funny thing is that I've had mostly great feedback from it. It makes people laugh a little and they tell me they think it's great. It's not the best marketing material for business users though, I agree.
I thought it might capture a bit of what we're trying to accomplish. To make users feel comfortable and I can imagine a lot of them saying "Why do I have to know all this programming stuff just to have X on my website?".
Thanks for the advice. I'd love to hear some other opinions on this from the HN crowd.
It struck me as off-note as well. I mean, if you are investing in a web host there needs to be assurance that it is a serious effort that won't disappear and take my site with it.
Having said that, I ate dinner at a popular joint called Ray's Hell Burger last night, so maybe attitude is the right way to go!
A bigger issue in this vein is lack of pricing-- I'd feel better about the service if I had to pay a monthly fee, or if there was at least a freemium model so I'd know somebody was subsidizing my free kick-ass site.
Great idea. I could see myself using this as a quick way to start new projects... especially with Drupal, as downloading & installing a bunch of modules can be a long process.
That said, I think the interface for adding modules could be more efficient if it functioned a little more like the iTunes search bar - just pull stuff in as I type.
Also, there's no reason to take me to a new page when I add a module - it's a waste of time. Try some sort of lighter-weight confirmation... maybe just add it to a sidebar panel that lists the modules I've added and give me a little flash so I can see it popped up there. Otherwise, I have to wait for this page to load that doesn't tell me anything new.
Thanks, great comments. I've put off adding a lot of javascript goodness simply to get a working beta out faster. Is it just me or is debugging ajax stuff annoying?
"I could see myself using this as a quick way to start new projects"
Exactly. It is also fantastic for testing add-ons. Create a free site with the add-on you want to test, play around and then uninstall it...all in a few minutes.
"With the plans starting at $5 a month I imagine you aren't using amazon EC2 to host the virtual machines. (I'm assuming each user has their own VM)."
You are correct. The paid plans will probably not be on Amazon EC2. We're looking at dedicated servers for those accounts. Have fun with the site. If you enable email alerts in your account profile, we'll let you know when the paid accounts are available.
To the user who signed up as "bobbob", your activation email was returned. You can't use your account without activating yourself. Email me at [email protected] if you typed your address wrong. Thanks.
Nice presentation. I need to make a website for a group of mine, so I was kind of interested, but when I saw that Drupal was being used, my enthusiasm dropped. It seems that all CMSes have big security flaws. We got hacked about 40 times when we were using Joomla!, so I'm wary of anything similar.
There are an insane amount of add-ons on the page after you select the app. I don't think this is good; there are just way too many options. They should be categorized, or something.
Drupal is the only CMS currently offered, but hopefully this will change in the near future. Drupal is considered MUCH more secure than Joomla!, which is one of the reasons why I started with Drupal. All CMSs will have security issues at one point or another (or any software for that matter.).
"There are an insane amount of add-ons on the page after you select the app...They should be categorized, or something."
Maybe there should be less per page, so the user isn't initially overwhelmed. You can drastically reduce the number of results by using the search box at the top. Also, you can use the "filter & sort" box on the right to filter by category. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
[+] [-] mgrouchy|16 years ago|reply
Most of the other services you have listed are also offered as 1 click installs by many web hosts with similar $/month price points for the paid hosting.
[+] [-] flooha|16 years ago|reply
However, WordPress is the exception, not the rule when it comes to automated plugin installation. Even for apps like phpbb3, which have a mod called "automod" which installs mods automatically, the user still has to download the mod, and then upload it to their server, unzip it, put it in the right directory etc... Flooha eliminates all of that busy work.
The real exception is apps like MediaWiki (which runs Wikipedia) and osCommerce. The add-ons (extensions, contributions, etc...) for those apps often modify core code files and it is not as simple as uploading and unzipping. It can be extremely painful to install the easiest add-on for some users who aren't extremely comfortable working with source code.
Thanks for the tips!
[+] [-] geoffw8|16 years ago|reply
The UI could be a bit better, but that will come with feedback and time...
[+] [-] ckinnan|16 years ago|reply
One benefit to the user is that the add-ons/ plug-ins are sort of "Flooha-certified" which is helpful as there are a lot of junk/insecure modules floating around out there.
Another cool feature would be the ability to auto-migrate between different CMS.
But, what is the revenue model in all this?
Good luck and keep us posted!
[+] [-] flooha|16 years ago|reply
I think the general idea has been out there for a long time. Many people have written app specific "add-on installers", myself included. I wrote one in php for osCommerce, then realized that the real opportunity was for all apps. Thanks again.
[+] [-] rriepe|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] flooha|16 years ago|reply
The funny thing is that I've had mostly great feedback from it. It makes people laugh a little and they tell me they think it's great. It's not the best marketing material for business users though, I agree.
I thought it might capture a bit of what we're trying to accomplish. To make users feel comfortable and I can imagine a lot of them saying "Why do I have to know all this programming stuff just to have X on my website?".
Thanks for the advice. I'd love to hear some other opinions on this from the HN crowd.
[+] [-] NoBSWebDesign|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ckinnan|16 years ago|reply
Having said that, I ate dinner at a popular joint called Ray's Hell Burger last night, so maybe attitude is the right way to go!
A bigger issue in this vein is lack of pricing-- I'd feel better about the service if I had to pay a monthly fee, or if there was at least a freemium model so I'd know somebody was subsidizing my free kick-ass site.
[+] [-] tripngroove|16 years ago|reply
That said, I think the interface for adding modules could be more efficient if it functioned a little more like the iTunes search bar - just pull stuff in as I type.
Also, there's no reason to take me to a new page when I add a module - it's a waste of time. Try some sort of lighter-weight confirmation... maybe just add it to a sidebar panel that lists the modules I've added and give me a little flash so I can see it popped up there. Otherwise, I have to wait for this page to load that doesn't tell me anything new.
Keep at it!
[+] [-] flooha|16 years ago|reply
"I could see myself using this as a quick way to start new projects"
Exactly. It is also fantastic for testing add-ons. Create a free site with the add-on you want to test, play around and then uninstall it...all in a few minutes.
[+] [-] kristianp|16 years ago|reply
With the plans starting at $5 a month I imagine you aren't using amazon EC2 to host the virtual machines. (I'm assuming each user has their own VM).
[+] [-] flooha|16 years ago|reply
"With the plans starting at $5 a month I imagine you aren't using amazon EC2 to host the virtual machines. (I'm assuming each user has their own VM)."
You are correct. The paid plans will probably not be on Amazon EC2. We're looking at dedicated servers for those accounts. Have fun with the site. If you enable email alerts in your account profile, we'll let you know when the paid accounts are available.
[+] [-] aw3c2|16 years ago|reply
On the signup page there is "Capcha" (with no noscript), it should be "Captcha" (I think, that word is terrible).
No other comments because I did not check out the rest.
[+] [-] flooha|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] flooha|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TheSOB88|16 years ago|reply
There are an insane amount of add-ons on the page after you select the app. I don't think this is good; there are just way too many options. They should be categorized, or something.
[+] [-] flooha|16 years ago|reply
"There are an insane amount of add-ons on the page after you select the app...They should be categorized, or something."
Maybe there should be less per page, so the user isn't initially overwhelmed. You can drastically reduce the number of results by using the search box at the top. Also, you can use the "filter & sort" box on the right to filter by category. Thanks for taking the time to respond.