Need help with taking in user inputs
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Hello, I am trying to take in user input for my website, to read my google spreadsheet and return data based on user input. I noticed that maybe wordpress.org might be easier for what I am trying to accomplish. Have I messed up by picking wordpress.com over wordpress.org? I am trying to make my website look like this: https://thedbwleague.com/season-2-roster/
Basically the user would input the data in a box (Not a search box) and once they hit GO it would populate below with a picture on the left and data on the right.
Is wordpress.org where I should be doing this? and if so is it possible to refund what i spent for wordpress.com?
Thank you in advance :)
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Hi there,
Hello, I am trying to take in user input for my website, to read my google spreadsheet and return data based on user input. I noticed that maybe wordpress.org might be easier for what I am trying to accomplish. Have I messed up by picking wordpress.com over wordpress.org?
I should probably point out up front that your site under the WordPress.com Business Plan has the same capabilities of a self-hosted WordPress (aka: .org) site. The same ability to upload plugins or themes, to access source code and/or site database, etc.
Switching to .org would essentially be no change, and would not unlock different capabilities than you have now.
Basically the user would input the data in a box (Not a search box) and once they hit GO it would populate below with a picture on the left and data on the right.
Do you happen to have any sites (does not have to be WordPress) that you are drawing inspiration from or trying to emulate? This functionality sounds unique enough that I can’t think of an example that I have seen.
Generally speaking, connecting to and fetching data from an outside source would be considered advanced functionality for any website, something that typically requires hiring a developer to create a custom-coded solution.
The other option would be to use an off-the-shelf plugin, which I see you also got advice on from one of our staff members in live chat. If you have an example of a site doing something similar to what you are trying to set up we’re happy to take a look and see if we can determine what they are using.
Is wordpress.org where I should be doing this? and if so is it possible to refund what i spent for wordpress.com?
You’re still in your refund period so we’re happy to help with that. But as I mention above, I don’t think that switching to .org would get you closer to that goal. The site you have under the Business Plan is functionally identical, but what you are trying to set up is technically complex regardless of the website platform you are on.
Thanks for the additional info!
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I suppose then that the easier method may be to do something similar to this: https://www.nfl.com/players/
and i would have to make a separate page with the data? and then i can somehow take in a specific cell for the data on each page that is only accessible through the search method?
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Hi there,
The main issue here would be getting the data on the site in the first place, and in a database that’s structured the way you want it. Once the data is in your site’s database, querying it using a search page like that is the easy part :)
I see from the live chat you had that this is for a Pokemon Go league you run, and you want to display pictures and stats of individual pokemon. Are we speaking static data here, or will the stats change as pokemon win battles, power up, and evolve?
One option I can think of is to just repurpose any existing business directory or classifieds plugin, just listing Pokemon instead of businesses/ads. And it should also allow you to update “listings” as you go. These typically come with good search functionality as well, and you should be able to both have a kind of index, similar to the alphabetical selection on the NFL page, and to search by name.
It might even be possible that some of these plugins have the ability to bulk-import listings – if so, all you’d need to do is convert your spreadsheet into a CSV file compatible with your plugin, and then you can import your data without having to recreate everything manually.
To be clear, I’m making an educated guess here on what might be possible – I’ve never tried making something like this myself, so I don’t know for sure it will work. But I think it’s a good place to start.
You can find directory plugins available on WordPress.org here:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/directory/
Each of those plugins has its own forum on WordPress.org if you want to ask the plugin developer questions about how their plugin works.
You can also ask for more suggestions in the general WordPress.org forums – the users there are more experienced than us in custom WordPress development, and what plugins might available to do this. But as Jerry explained above, anything they suggest you should be able to do on your Business Plan with us, so you don’t need to switch your hosting away from us :)
You can find the general WordPress.org forums here:
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