Afloo.ro

Challenge

Creating the first user generated reviews website in Romania.

General presentation

We were commissioned by Rockmedia, a local innovative online media network, to create something the local internet lacked – a place where users can share opinions, pictures and others on hotels, restaurants etc.

MB Dragan developed the website keeping in mind social interaction as we were counting on our users to generate the content. We developed the application from scratch, creating a framework that can help further development as well as providing a solid, scalable website.

Afloo.ro has also an iPhone version which you can view at eu.afloo.ro.

Solution

The website started with recommendations for one city and 10 categories but others can be added on the fly in the easy-to-use administration panel.

Features

Users can register, interact with one another, add avatars and give details on themselves, which makes Afloo a very “social” place you can hang around.
Users can also add reviews, comment on other people reviews, rate, add photos, search and much more.

We used Yahoo maps for geolocation, due to its high level of details in Bucharest (the city Afloo serves at the moment). We used the flash Yahoo Maps API for the PC web interface and the image Yahoo Maps API for the iPhone version.
We used tags to help users navigate through reviews, as well as a powerful search engine, featuring also an advanced search feature.

Interaction design

The visuals are clean, easy to understand and use. They help users navigate throughout the content, without being intrusive or boring.
We used shades of blue, magenta, black and yellow to create a fun and friendly interface. Small icons were integrated in the design to help navigation.

Search engine optimization

The code is optimized for better search engine indexing and results positioning.