[Gayle]

Hi, I am looking at connections to put together a family directory for our school rather than code a new solution from scratch.

If it works well, it is something that we will implement / recommend to other PTA’s / schools in our area. There really is no “out of the box” PTA/school solution except “just between friends” which is a HORRIBLE system.

I plan to purchase the full extensions package to ensure maximum functionality & security.

I am not sure about the templates. I’m assuming that some sort of template comes with the system, but since this is a school directory, I am not sure that the standard templates will be a good match. If needed, would you be able to provide a custom template?

OK, so here are the functional questions:

– Can connections integrate with mailchimp so that we can use the emails to send emails to parents and/or teachers, by class, by grade, or to the entire school?

– There are a number of custom fields we need (grade, teacher, etc). Does connections support custom fields?

– I already have coffeecup software form creator, can I use this to make forms, or is it better to create forms within connections?

– One of the challenges is that we have a number of multi-household families (one child lives between 2 addresses). Can connections support this?

– Each parent will need their own account that they can maintain themselves (and also that an admin can update), but parents will need to “connect” to their children and update their kids’ info as needed. Does connections allow people to update their own info? Is there any other WP plugin that is needed for this?

– Part of the purpose of having an online directory is to help families communicate with each other for playdates, birthdays, etc. Is there a way for parents to view the directory & contact info for other families, search by child, etc?

If it’s easier to give me a call, please email, and I’ll send you my mobile phone.

Thank you in advance.
Gayle

[Gayle]

Oh also, this directory CANNOT be viewable by the general public. This must be a private directory, that only logged-in users can view.

[Steven Zahm]

@ Gayle

Well, the short of it is that I do not think Connections would be a good fit for you as it doesn’t seem to have some features that would be a must. I outline the areas Connections will not meet your needs…

A custom template could be done for you. I have a dev I could recommend that has plenty of experience working with Connections and its templates.

Currently Connections does not support custom fields. This is implement in the dev version and will be part of the next release. However, it would still require a dev to add the fields as there is no point and click method to add them yet. It is just the under laying ground work support that is complete.

Connections does not have a form builder and it does not integrate with other form builders. I does have an extension, called Form, but this is more or less a “static” plug and play form. Sections can be turned off, but that is about it is as far as customization.

An entry can have multiple n-addresses. Not sure that would completely meet you needs because you could not really define or notate which address is which parent’s home.

There also would not be a way to enable a parent to have editing access to each of the children’s entries. They would only be able to edit their own entry (if the Link extension is installed) if one exists.

There is no integration with mailchimp or other bulk email service.

There is not a method for entries to communicate with other entries within the directory.

At some point in the future Connections may be a fit because much of this could be done with features I have planned as well as extension I want to develop for Connections. But this will not happen in any time frame to be of use to you now, sorry.

It almost seems like you need a custom BuddyPress setup. Have you thought about tackling the problem from that angle?

[Gayle]

Hi Steven,

I genuinely appreciate your candor, and for the suggestion about BuddyPress. I had not considered that, but it seems like it could be a good option. Any other ideas are welcome as well.

One thing to note is that there are NO out of the box solutions for PTA or school/family directories. If you ever wanted to develop that kind of solution, I would be delighted to help out with the spec. With as many PTAs that are using WP these days, I think offering an option that is easy to integrate and has solid features could be a profitable venture. The only thing out there is “just between friends” which is a HORRIBLE system (but that is a topic for another day and a huge book).

Thank you!
Gayle

[Steven Zahm]

@ Gayle

I keep very good documentation of user requested features and extension ideas. I have well over three dozen already. There is a very distinct possibility that I may be taking Connections full time soon and I’ll need these extensions to help found on going development, so, if you would take the time to spec this out more fully I will definitely take a very close look.

[Gayle]

I will be happy to. How is the best way to get it to you?

[Steven Zahm]

@ Gayle

You can post it here, I referenced this thread in my issue tracker. Or, you can send it via the contact link at the bottom of the page.

Many thanks!

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