[Plugin: SharePress] Better solution than Sharepress; how to auto-send posts to Twitter and Facebook

Hi @websta. The developer for SharePress here. First, let me say it’s awesome that you took the time to explain how to create similar behavior to SharePress using another plugin. I’m sorry that it was frustration that drove you to do so, but WordPress is about community, and I’m glad you took the time to support it.

Now, a few reactions to your post

1. You’re right. The language in the plugin description should be clearer about there being differences between the Pro and Free versions. It used to be that way, but you’re the first person to ever bring it up.

2. Without you being more specific, I’m not sure which of the setup instructions are wrong or in the wrong order, but I would be happy to know so that I could fix the problems that are there. I do have a short list of things that need to be updated, e.g., the fact that you have to have a personal Facebook account to access the Facebook developer’s app (in order to make an app of your own). Increasingly I get bug reports from people who can’t setup a Facebook app because they only have a Business Page account. Given the rate at which Facebook changes things, it wouldn’t surprise me if there were other issues (in the docs)…

3. Posting to Facebook via Twitter <i>is</i> an option. I’m not a big fan as it places one more layer of “oops it failed and I don’t know why” between your blog and Facebook. For the majority of my customers and for my own sites in particular, Facebook traffic is far more valuable than Twitter traffic. SharePress was originally ONLY for Facebook – adding Twitter support was an afterthought. Neither the Twitter API nor the Facebook API are terribly reliable, so stacking the two on top of one another isn’t a good architectural decision, but hey, you get what you pay for (FREE versus carefully architected and constantly maintained).

4. Different social networks (Twitter and Facebook) attract different kinds of Fans. Again, that’s why SharePress focuses on Facebook – the network that was more important to us when we wrote it, which continues to be so today. The next major release of SharePress will provide this capacity for “care in crafting your message” to each social network we support.

5. Posting from WordPress to Facebook via SharePress creates a data trail that connects how those posts perform (in terms of their reach and the traffic generated by it). The next major release of SharePress combined with another offering soon to be released by my company Fat Panda will leverage this data trail to provide awesome insight into the performance of your content. Imagine the ability to measure your content decisions from the comfort of your own blog. I suppose it’s not a feature set everyone needs or wants, but that’s the roadmap, and we’re REALLY excited by it.

6. SharePress allows you to schedule reposts of older content. This is great for folks who have content archives, and want to use them to increase traffic. If there is any feature of SharePress that hasn’t gotten it’s due, it’s the reposting feature.

7. Finally, but most egregiously, the free version of SharePress does <i>not</i> post to some arbitrary page. In fact, it doesn’t post to any page at all. The free version posts to the personal wall of the user who sets it up – plain and simple. But given your confusion, there are probably ways I can improve this language as well.

So thank you @websta for the feedback. If you have any more, please feel free to post it here, or e-mail me at [email protected]. And if you would like to give SharePress another shot, I’d be happy to send you a complimentary pro key. All you have to do is send me an e-mail address.

Have a great day!

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” – Doc Emmett Brown

Also feel let down by your plugin. I searched and found it through Google. Nowhere on the Plugin page on www.ads-software.com does it say that you need to pay to publish to pages. I spent time installing and going through setting up, only to find it doesnt do what you say it does without me having to pay you. Yes its your right to charge, but I cant see why your charging for such a very basic feature. Ill jog on and find another. Hope others read this before wasting their time.

Dear @kilpatrick, I’m sorry you felt letdown. As the developer of SharePress it makes me sad (truly!) whenever anyone has a less than amazing experience with SharePress. Setting up SharePress is made difficult by needing to setup a Facebook application – this is true. But the control you have over your operation is well worth the effort. I’m considering offering a setup service has part of licensing the PRO version.

I’m also getting ready to release version 2.1.23, fixing a couple of issues, and correcting the parts of the plugin description that confused you and @websta.

Good software is worth paying for friends. The “basic feature” of posting to a Facebook page is actually an “essential feature,” which is why many, many people have paid the small registration fee to enjoy this and SharePress’ other and more valuable features. This small registration fee also includes e-mail based support

As I told @websta, if you decide you want to give SharePress PRO a fair shot, just e-mail me at [email protected], and I’ll send you a complimentary license key. I’d love for you to give SharePress a fighting chance, instead of poo-pooing what you haven’t experienced for yourself.

Cheers!

Hi @ Collegeman, just a quick note to say thanks for your quick reply and your generous offer, i have been playing with the plugin for a bit now, absolutely love it. why would i want to add another process as suggested by @websta when this plugin just does what it says and does it so effortlessly. i was concerned that it would take a bit of time to work it out but no, its as simple as wordpress itself.

many thanks again and i will be recommending this plugin to friends and clients, just makes my wordpress – Facebook life so much easier.

cheers, Gus

What would be the benefit to using SharePress over a free solution like SFC? I have a network of sites, so I would need to buy the $120 version, which seems like a lot for a plugin that has free competitors. Can you give me an idea of what the top notable difference would be and why this plugin would be a better option? Thanks so much.

Dear @moregood, first, please realize that as the developer of SharePress I’m a bit biased. One of the major differences between SharePress and SFC is complexity. Facebook itself is a pretty complex beast, but for the time being, SharePress is highly focused on two tasks: coordinating publishing between WordPress and Facebook (and Twitter, to a less sophisticated extent); and scheduling reposts of previously published content. More features do not make for a more valuable plugin, anymore than more lines of code make for a more valuable plugin.

For $24, SharePress is as reliable as Facebook allows it to be, and is as easy as using WordPress. (Don’t take my word for it, refer to @gusmoore’s comment, or the testimonials of satisfied customers.) That $24 gets you support – as much as you need. And that $24 keeps me committed to making SharePress better, and keeping it bug free. (With a partner like Facebook – with the motto “Move fast and break things” – you need a developer mending the fences.)

Thanks for the questions.