Over the last few months I have tried many plugins and purchased several.
However, I have to say I have not only been disappointed but frustrated with the lack of documentation provided by plugin builders.
Providing a link to a demo or editor example app IS NOT and I repeat IT IS NOT plugin help documentation. It neither helps promote your plugin or help build a positive reputation as a plugin builder.
You can have the best plugin in the world, but unless you take the time to build the skills to understand how to provide consumer (no programmer) orientated instructions and documentation it is pretty much useless.
Standard expected
This has to be one of the best in this community of plugin builders: http://chartbox.co/charttools This plugin provider has spent the time and energy, listening and documenting the plugin and is one of the very few that meets a commercial standard.
If you haven’t yet figured it out, most of the builders on here are not programmers. We don’t expect to be spoon fed, but we do expect to find documentation which is clear, concise and understandable.
You never know, it might even help more of the Bubblers purchase your plugins.
Hey @StevenM,
You’re right and and as a plugin developer i’m guilty as charged.
I don’t have a single documentation page for any of my plugins though i try to create a forum thread where i explain every single property and answer questions.
The good thing with using a forum thread is that other users are able to read past posts to similar questions they may have. The bad thing is that as the thread grows it becomes difficult finding information.
But i think this is something the bubble could help in a way to address. In the plugin editor, bubble requires plugin developers to add a documentation to every single property that is defined.
Unfortunately i don’t know what bubble does with all that documentation.
My thinking was that, bubble will automatically generate a documentation page (similar to the bubble’s own plugins) from all the documentation they asks of us to write when creating the plugins.
But this hasn’t happened so far.
And oh yeah the chartbox documentation is amazing. Kudos to the creator.
It’s something we can all learn from.
I think that would be a start, but that infomrtion then has to be turned into usable instruction. The forum is great for trouble shooting, but as base we need know how to set things up.
Having worked with many development teams, I understand not everyone is able to think outside the developer box, and it takes some practice and a good understanding of user behaviour. If developers are unable to do this then they need to seek some help from the community, after all that is what we are here for.
I am talking about non programmers here, and we will tell you pretty quick if we don’t know how to use it.
But like said use above example as a standard to shoot for, and one we are willing to pay for!
