The best directory on the web?

We've recently updated http://paloweb.com/ with the aim of making it the best directory on the web ( a tall order... ).

It combines ODP data with improved navigation plus news and articles from a variety of sources. It now covers 86,000 topics in a total of 76 languages.

We would appreciate feedback and suggestions.

Regards,

Tony C.

 

Maybe it's just my blindness, but where's the add site link?

 

It's DMOZ data - see the box at the bottom of each page to submit to ODP.

Regards,

Tony C.

 

BTW I think a directory that retrieves data from another directory has not the potential to be the BEST directory! your database is filled with data that has been approved by other editors but yours. also the odp takes up to several months to review sites so your directory is not up to date like other quite good directories!

 

I have to agree. You design is better than DMOZ, but if youre pulling from DMOZ I may as well just use DMOZ instead of your dir.

 

So you'd say, for example, that this page:
dmoz.org/Computers/Robotics/
is better than this one?
paloweb.com/Computers/Robotics/

 

No what he's saying is since your scraping another sites data, even if you improve the "look" of the other website, theirs no way you could be better than the original. Your not providing anything unique, it's the same data.

 

I didn't say it was the same as DMOZ, only that we use ODP data, along with data from many other sources, such as Wikipedia, CIA Factbook, press releases and news. We don't scrape it, we process the RDF and add extra topic-related info. Additionally we present the navigation data in a variety of languages. For example, a visitor from China will see Chinese captions and China-related information in addition to selected DMOZ sites.

"Directory" is probably not the correct term. It's more subject-oriented than that.

 

you've got a strange habit to justify the value of your site! Anyway I wouldn't say yours is better just because it fetches data from several sources along with some descriptions and adjustments to the location.

 

Ok, I'm going to add my two cents even though this should really be in the webiste reviews forum.

There are way too many ads on that site for it to be the best directory on the web. Look at DMOZ, or Site-Sift, or BOTW. None use ads, and they are arguably some of the best.

Further more, I would change the navigation on the left that has the lowercase name of the site above all the links. The logo is just a couple inches up. A second name doesn't look professional and isn't neccesary.

Also, I would change the color of your site to be the same as your logo, or atleast close. The blue from the logo compared to the rest of the index page doesn't collide. It almost looks like a template.

The site looks useful to a certain extent, and I'm definately not saying using feeds or scraping can't get your site popular (look at http://www.topix.net ) but I do think you need to take the ads off until your site is popular, or at least limit them to one per page or so.

That's just what I saw. Good luck!

 

DMOZ is completely worthless for the categories I submit to...So I guess I'll never be listed in your directory either.

Bummer.

 

nice comment! and a lot of tips to improve this site. anyway i dont think he will remove the ads and thats one of the reasons why its never gonna be the best

 

ODP takes up to several years to review sites.

 

hehe, i think it depends on the category but you may be right for some editors that they claim to have 71,053 editors, so I always wonder why they cannot approve a site within days ...

 

I am still yet to get 1 listing in DMOZ. Yet I look through the categories I want to submit my site to and most of the sites in there are rubbish! Too many corrupt editors to make it the best directory!

 

Don't get me started.

 

LOL - I could have gone on, but it was getting me worked up just thinking about it!

 

I dont' even know why it is so highly looked upon. It is not that great of a directory.

I think Site-Sift is better. Not as crowded, and better designed.

I think so many people think that DMOZ is the key to rankings. If you get your site in that directory, it doesn't mean you will rank for your keyword. It is just one link out of many needed. That's why I don't even bother. Not worth the time.

 

not right. all the majors retrieve data from the odp and google treats one link in dmoz like lets say 20 on other directories of PR5! or maybe even more, anyway ... it has NOT become the best web directory because of the quick and quality work of the editors !!!

 

and btw site sift is a good directory, true, however, it requires a fee that small beginning web sites are not willing to pay. the same with yahoo directory... but as soon as these sites grow they might see an importance in the yahoo directory and site sift though yahoo charges quite a lot. some years ago there was no paid web directory at all ...