Coming Soon: BulletProofLinks

April 24th, 2008 by Matt

BulletProofLinks.com is coming soon! You may remember the old site, which I developed with Peter MacDonald. When it was released, it actually gained popularity very fast as a good resource for web designers. Our goal with the re-release of BPL is to provide the same resource that the original BPL did, with the added bonus of a completely new back end, new design, new catagories, new admins, new moderators, new blog and so much more…

Right now, I need to reach out to the community for help. We’re currently working on a beta version of BPL, and need some testers. These testers get a user name, complimentary @bulletprooflinks.com email and free access to the beta version. In return we ask that they submit all of their resources to the database so we can have a base of links and make sure that the site has no bugs. We’re also looking for four more moderators to help with approving links when they are submitted. If you are interested, just leave a comment to this post.

As BPL is developed, we’re looking to add new features on to it. Some of these features include editing links, purchasing sponsored links and creating a list of favorite links to be displayed in the manage section. We hope that with these features BPL will become an even more powerful resource for the community.

The Sponsored Link is a feature which aims to give users extra exposure while also allowing BPL to make a small profit in order to keep up with the cost of running the site. Sponsored Links appear at the top of each category with brighter styling. They also get a screenshot displayed with their description, which is twice as long as that of a normal link. When your link is first submitted, it gets a week on the front page about the top ten links for the site. Sponsored Links are not going to be implemented with the beta release or right after the site releases. We want to try and let the site get popular enough so that having a sponsored link actually makes a difference with your sites traffic, hence, you get what you pay for. The cost will be a minimal one for a year, giving you great exposure for a low cost.

The new Manage area is going to allow for admins and moderators to approve links while users will have an area to manage their experience with BPL. In the beta version it will simply be where you go to submit a link, requiring a username and password to get to. As the site develops it will be where you edit your links, buy sponsored links and manage your favorite links.

The Manage area is going to allow BPL to expand its interactivity to a point where the original version of BPL could not go. Having usernames will make the moderator’s job of maintaining link quality much easier, as users who are constantly violating the rules can be singled out and if needed, banned.

I just wanted to give the community a heads up on what is soon to come. The release date is unknown at the moment, but it doesn’t hurt to volunteer to been a tester now! The current categories are:

• RESOURCES:
• HTML
• CSS
• PHP
• JavaScript
• CMS Theming
• TOOLS:
• Software
• Color
• Validation
• Browser Ext.
• CMS
• Graphics
• GRAPHICS:
• Icons
• Background
• DESIGNERS:
• Blogs
• Portfolios

If you have any other suggestions, feel free to post them.