Construction, Family and Friends - Whiteyonder.com

The modern world makes communication between far parts of the earth as easy as one click of a mouse. Long distances became short and the vibrant life of an extended family spread all over the world became an everyday reality. John Spencer is a general builder doing construction and refurbishment of residential properties in the UK. His family and circle of friends constitutes a classic case of such a family.

"I wanted to start an online community primarily because I have friends and family in many different parts of the world, and it seems to be one of the best ways of keeping in touch on a regular basis, i.e. interacting, sharing photos, videos, emails, etc," explains John.
It turned out that such a site could become a home for others too, and the domain name fell into place.

So, if I could do this for myself and share with others and make new contacts socially and business wise it's so much better," continues John. Whiteyonder comes from the saying "wild white yonder" which as I understand it, means unknown in terms of distance".

So, John started development of such site. He studied number of content management systems and due to lack of programming knowledge faced problems administrating them. Additional training to learn managing skills of such software required time, which John did not have.

"Before using the Dolphin software, I tried a few other packages which I found cumbersome and difficult in terms of use with little or no support. I had no previous knowledge of CMS or even coding in any form, but I wanted to start an online community. So, all work on my site has been done in my spare time," explains John.

Dolphin

This is when Dolphin was discovered.

"I discovered Boonex Dolphin software in late 2007 after reviewing many others CMSs. I found it to be the most adaptable in terms of modifications, upgrades and support through the forums and interaction with other users. Also, the cost of the ad free licenses was very reasonable," remembers John.

The small amount of time that John had available on daily basis was enough to become familiar with Dolphin and even turn out to be self-dependent for the technical part of the software. Advanced issues were solved by simply searching the forums on Expertzzz and Unity.

"After just over a year of using the software, I am now very familiar with it and have no problems upgrading, adapting and installing new mods," says John. "When I have had problems, I have nearly always solved it by searching the forums on Expertzzz or Unity or posting the problem and receiving a solution from another user. The reason I will stay with Dolphin is because of its adaptability and the fact that the Boonex team is constantly striving to improve the software."

Whiteyonder.com is a vibrant community of almost 500 members with high a level of online presence. Most of these joined his site this year. This is a good result considering a zero advertising budget. John sees the future with precision.

"I know that a community site of this nature can take quite some time to develop, but I am very happy with the results so far," he points.

Interview

Tell us more about yourself and your team. What do you do? Tell us about the history of your team coming together. What are you good at? Provide us with any information that can introduce you in the best possible way.

I am just a one-man team and not in the computer industry. I am in the building trade. I am a general builder, i.e. construction and refurbishment, of residential properties in the UK. I wanted to start an online community primarily because I have friends and family in many different parts of the world and it seems to be one of the best ways of keeping in touch on a regular basis, i.e. interacting, sharing photos, videos emails etc. So, if I could do this for myself and share with others and make new contacts socially and business-wise it's so much better.

Regarding the domain name "Whiteyonder" - it comes from the saying "wild white yonder" which as I understand it, means unknown in terms of distance.
I am a general builder, i.e. construction and refurbishment, of residential properties in the UK.

What did you use before? How did your idea come to mind?

Before using the Dolphin software, I tried a few other packages which I found cumbersome and difficult in terms of use with little or no support. I had no previous knowledge of CMS or even coding in any form, but I wanted to start an online community. So all work on my site has been done in my spare time.

Now (current status of your project).

My site is now PR2 in Google and although the membership level is still low, I am now getting new members on a daily basis and have spent no money on advertising.

Why Dolphin?

I discovered Boonex dolphin software in late 2007, and after reviewing many others CMSs I found it to be the most adaptable in terms of modifications, upgrades and support through the forums and interaction with other users. Also, the cost of the ad free licenses was very reasonable. After just over a year of using the software, I am now very familiar with it and have no problems upgrading, adapting and installing new mods. When I have had problems, I have nearly always solved it by searching the forums on Expertzzz or Unity or posting the problem and receiving a solution from another user. The reason I will stay with Dolphin is because of its adaptability and the fact that the Boonex team is constantly striving to improve the software.

What did you change in the default version?

I have modified the site quite heavily with the help of some Expertzzz by adding things like private photo albums, activity feeds, points system, referrals and much more.

What are your expectations?

I have made little revenue from Google ads etc. but I expect this to improve with time. At the moment, I am concentrating on getting quality backlinks and improving exposure. I know that a community site of this nature can take quite some time to develop, but I am very happy with the results so far.