Introducing The Aquarium Store Directory
April 4, 2009
Myself and John are always on the lookout for things which may be useful to the aquarium hobbyist.
We were recently discussing how it would be good if there was an area where hobbyists could locate either online aquarium stores or local fish shops which are near to them. As we were discussing it we got quite excited about the prospect of being able to offer this service on Aquarists Online so we had a look to see if there was a script we could use to create one – which we found and as the title of this post says – the Aquarium Store Directory was born!
What is the Aquarium Store Directory?
As the name says it is a directory where people can list local fish shops in their area, local fish shops they have visited as well as online aquarium stores that they use or have used in the past.
The directory is categorised into two areas. The first being for local fish stores and the second being for online web stores. Each of these two categories are broken down by country and the first is then broken down further into regions whilst the second is broken down into the types of products the web store sells.
How can this be beneficial?
We believe that the directory can be useful to aquarists for a number of reasons.
How many times have you been on a day trip and thought to yourself why you were there ‘I wonder if there is a fish shop anywhere’?
Quite a few times I’m sure – I know I have!
With the directory you can have a quick check in the directory before you go to see if there are any listed stores in the area. Dependant upon the details in the listing you may be able to find out what items the store sells, what days/times it is open, pictures etc. You will also be able to find out how to get there as we have incorporated Google Maps into the application so you can find out where it is and how to get there at a glance.
Another benefit is the listings of online web stores. If you are looking to purchase online then you can have a look in the directory and see what stores are available.
In both of these categories we have also implemented a reviews and ratings system so that people who either use the online store or visit the fish shop can rate it and leave a review as to whether it was good or not.
There is also an enhanced search function which has been enabled. This enhanced search function allows you to search for entries by post code. Therefore you could enter your post code and search for listings which are within a certain distance. You never know there may be a fish shop quite near to you which you didn’t even know was there!
Here’s the thing though…….
For obvious reasons John and I can’t populate this directory therefore for this area to be a useful resource stores need to be listed by people in the relevant areas.
Therefore, if you have used an online store, have a local fish shop nearby or have been to a fish shop on your travels then why not pop over to the Aquarium Store Directory and enter the details. It is really quick and easy to do. You will need to be a member of the community area to be able to submit a review however again this is easy and simple to do. The reason we require people to be a member before being able to submit items is an attempt to combat spam listings. Even though we have enabled moderation on all listings there will still be some people that will attempt to list spam entries. If we left it open and it became full of spam entries then we feel that this would reduce the value of this area and it would quickly become a pointless area – which we feel would be a shame.
Anyway please pop over and list the stores you know or have used. The more listings we can get the more use it will be for other aquarists.
So there we go – another service provided by Aquarists Online.
Here’s the link
Introducing – Aquarists Online Reviews
January 24, 2009
We are always looking for ways to expand Aquarists Online and one of the things which both myself and John have been thinking about is reviewing aquarium related products.
Initially we thought about providing reviews in the blog area however we decided that the problem with that is that we can only review items which we either physically use or have used in the past and there are a lot of items which we have never used.
So we had a think and John asked if there was any sort of way in which we could have an area on the site where anyone could leave reviews. I had a look and identified some software which was suitable for the task and after a bit of implementation and modification Aquarists Online Reviews was born.
So what is it?
It’s a really simple concept – anyone anywhere can leave reviews of products about which they have an opinion. Other people can then read these reviews when researching a potential purchase. It does not have to be one review per product though – each product can have many reviews assigned to it. Various criterias are assigned to each product and when a review is left each of these criterias can then be scored. This criteria is then converted into an average and if multiple reviews are present an average of all is taken.
At present there is just over a thousand products loaded into the system for which reviews can be made. The software has been setup so that you need to login to leave a review. The reason for this is spam and unrelated content. If the system was configured to be a free for all then quite quickly the area would become full of useless information which would make the area useless to anyone.
Even though we have loaded various products into the system I am sure that there are quite a few that are not there. For this reason we have configured the application so that any registered user can submit an item into the area. When an item is submitted information can be input about the product, plus images, from where it can be purchased as well as an editor review. All submitted items are then put into a moderation queue so that John and I can ensure that they are aquarium related – if not they will be deleted.
Both myself and John will be leaving reviews for items that we either use currently or have used in the past and would like to invite you to leave reviews of the products you use as well.
We believe that this area can be a useful resource for many aquarists, especially aquarists who are researching products prior to making a purchase. However, this type of area does require input from website visitors. As said, myself and John will be leaving reviews but we can only realistically leave reviews for products we have used - otherwise it will be a false review. Therefore this is a resource for anyone to use and it is driven by the users of this site.
With this new addition we now have the following services available here at Aquarists Online:
Articles Section – This is where John and I load our most informative articles for others to read, rate and share. It is also an area where other people can submit their articles for others to enjoy.
The Blog – The area where we post our daily information which ranges from short pieces to informative articles.
The Forum – If you have a question or a desire to help others the forum is the place to do this.
Aqua Compare – A price comparison site purely for aquarium products.
Reviews Section – The section where aquarium related products can be reviewed.
Electronic Book – A downloadable book produced by John and I to assist beginners progress in the hobby.
So there we go – another addition to Aquarists Online! If you are researching products then this area is for you – you can see what other people think about the product prior to purchasing. Then when you are happy to purchase you can always pop over to Aqua Compare and compare the prices of the relevant product and save some money. Once you have purchased you can always pop back to the reviews section and leave your review on the product – the more people that leave reviews the more useful it will be.
Both John and I are quite happy with Aquarists Online and John jokingly calls it the A to Z site for marine aquarists. However, as we always say ‘if there is something you would like us to do on Aquarists Online let us know and we’ll see if it is possible’.
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