I just feel like every other IPB product works so freaking well, and they are all fairly easy to deal with both front & back end. Then you get to pages & it's a complete mess, it feels like having to code a whole website from scratch... Lets face it, you have to code the template you want, code how you want fields to display... You may as well code the whole thing.... Why need pages. If Pages was made more like Wordpress, Joomla etc... It would make IPB perfect. What annoys me more is that every question I ask in support about pages is replied with... This requires custom code so I can't assist. You will need to ask on the forums. I then come on the forums and I see tons of Pages threads with 0 replies, people asking for help yet no one can. Please IPB, just look at pages & make it easier. We aren't all code genius's. Plus if it's so easy, why can't you provide some tutorials or walkthroughs? It can't be hard to provide some templates right, or do you guys struggle to use it too... Every other thing you do is amazing. It's just when it comes to pages, no one cares that noobs are struggling. I know that we could use Joomla or Wordpress, but why when we have something created by you guys thats intregated with the forums.
Hi, Before I complain, I want to start off with a nice note. Since joining IPB my users have loved the website, commented on how nice it works compared to VB & I have loved your support. When ever I have a bug or problem you guys usually reply pretty fast, sometimes during the night! But here is where I am confused, angry & very, seriously sad. I love IPB. I think it is one of the most solid products in the market, I think it is also the most professional both company wise (how you guys release things when it's ready & not before) and also product wise, it's very professional. For over a year now, I have STRUGGLED to get to grips with pages. I look at the documentation & it's longer than the bible & not very user friendly at all! For over a year now I have messaged support asking how to do things in pages & they say I have to come to the forums as it requires custom code! For simple things like adding the article image in the listing page! For over a year now I have Tried pages, given up... Tried again, given up. There is so much potential in pages - I have seen it on professional website (websites with coders & budget!) but people like me CANT use it.
Why.... WHY can't IPB make pages easier. Why can't there be a wizard or Pre made templates! Front page templates... Do you wanna display articles like a blog (photo to the side with description beside), or like a polariod (image with description below), or like a grid. 1 main article & then smaller articles below etc. Joomla asks you things like... Display title, date, time, author. Main article: 0-10, Secondary Articles 0-10. Its so easy! Listing pages... Do you want to display the first image in the article, do you want to display article rating, do you want to display article sorting bar. Article pages... Have a page builder, similar to what you do with blocks. Where you can create fields on a preview page & move them around/edit them. Currently if I want an image uploaded in an article and displayed to the right of the content, I have to custom format it, look up HTML guides on Google etc.
I just wish IPB could make pages & frontpage more like Joomla. Joomla frontpage is so easy. Then also keep the difficult custom options for people who are more pro & who know what they are doing. I am so annoyed by the fact I can't easilly create a beautiful looking frontpage & article area, that I am considering going back to another software. Your forum software is so easy to use, but pages is rocket science.
Support won't help me, I have seen users here struggle to create things even when working together and helping eachother, and the only other option is to pay someone tons of money... Please consider making pages easier for noobs. PLEASE Danny
