Hello everyone!
Great to see that you are joining me once again! This is already the 6th blog post about the SEO package that I am creating. This week we'll talk a bit about prototyping! If you are not yet up to speed on what I am doing with this series, then here is a quick summary.
I am creating an SEO package within Umbraco. The SEO package will have many different functionalities like:
- Sitemaps
- Robots.txt
- Meta tags and hopefully much more! Currently, I am working towards a first version and I've been sharing my progress with these weekly blog posts. So, let's get started!
Prototyping
This week I wanted to talk a bit about prototyping. This is mainly because I don't really have a lot of progress to talk about with the current project, so I'll just talk more about that next week.
So, prototyping! Prototyping is quite important, especially if you have multiple ideas and want to use your time effectively. Usually, prototypes of an idea should be quick to build so you verify your idea to see if this is something that you want to continue your time with. With the SEO package, this has gone a bit differently...
I started building the package somewhere this year, stopped a long time, and then started working on it again. While I did show off my package to some colleagues, I am still not 100% sure if this is a package that is actually wanted in the community. The last thing I would want is to spend a lot of time on it and see it not getting used within the community. Especially because I also have some other ideas that I would love to get started on!
This was my first version of the meta tags. It has changed a bit, but is still mostly the same.
The plan that I am currently following is to release the first version as soon as possible. This version will have two working functionalities:
- Meta tags
- Script Manager
These will both be combined in a package, but can also be downloaded separately. I will mostly see if the Meta tags package is something that people want as that feature has taken the most time so far. I also think that the meta tags functionality is the most powerful feature in the package. After gathering some feedback on the functionalities, I'll see how it goes. I don't think I'll just quit the project, but it should tell me what functionalities I should focus on.
Another reason why I think a prototype version is quite important is to keep yourself motivated. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult working on something that just doesn't feel like it will ever be finished. Especially when you get feedback from the community, it can be very rewarding and give you a lot of motivation to keep on working on it. It is just much nicer to have something to show instead of "It will work.. Eventually".
Improvements
If I would start a new project, I think I would try to aim for a prototype version in the first few weeks. I'll then be able to discuss it with colleagues, as well as share it within Umbraco communities to see what the reaction to it is. After all, time is always limited and there are always enough things to work on.
I had not expected this post to be this short, but I don't really have anything more to say about prototyping. I do want to share this amazing podcast episode from the Package Manifest podcast: packagemanifest.fm/episodes/002-ideas. They talk about coming up with new ideas and also about validating your ideas. And if you haven't listened to the podcast yet, I would urge you to start listening to them. They give great insights into the world of package building!
Thanks for reading everyone! And I'll see you next week.
Happy Christmas!