Draft Guidance 3 - Application Specification

Posted by Barry Griffiths on January 29th 2007

There is a vast array of proprietary, free-to-download and open-source blog, forum and webchat software available.

Each of these applications can be referred to as ‘social software’ or ‘participatory media’ and broadly share some core functionality. It is when content and design come into play that these applications begin to diverge and take on unique characteristics.

The pace of development and the choice available make it impossible to provide a definitive list. The following lists basic and desirable functions for blogs, forums and webchats.

  • Simple content management system for static and dynamic pages;
  • Changes to design templates or entries with no need for regenerating static pages;
  • User commenting and moderation;
  • Choice of hidden and open comments/password protected posts;
  • Optional user registration;
  • User account management;
  • Multiple authors – levels of users, with configurable privileges;
  • Text formatting/WYSIWYG text editor for authors and users;
  • Create, maintain, and update any number of static link lists;
  • Embedded links in posts;
  • Content upload via email or external device;
  • Word and PDF document upload;
  • Capacity for audio, video or photo content (either as imports or directly on site within size limits);
  • Content scheduling;
  • Creation of surveys/polls;
  • Spam protection;
  • Printable pages;
  • Threaded/unthreaded posts;
  • RSS;
  • Trackback;
  • Archiving and search facilities;
  • Site statistics;
  • Create, maintain, and update any number of static link lists;
  • Full compliance with accessibility standards;
  • Content and data export.

Each product will have a particular range of functions and associated costs. Suppliers and/or web teams should be consulted before procurement. Some products will have a set functionality range and will cheaper as a result; customisation will increase costs.

Some off-the-shelf proprietary systems will allow administrators to create instances of blogs, forums or webchats within a day. Some well-known free blogging sites allow users to create blogs within five minutes. However, contractors should be given a minimum of 10 days to produce a site. Ideally, there should lead-in time of a month before launch of any site to allow testing. Where possible, attempt to integrate a new application into an existing site rather than creating a new one.

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