Michael Barton

I like the concept of Digg. It helps free up the information so more people can find it. If you don’t know what Digg is, please go and check out Digg right now. Please comeback or you’ll miss out on what I have to say.

In this article I’m going to tell you how you’re going to create your Digg-like site, I’m going to give you some examples of Digg sites that are out there, and then I’m going to give you my contact information in case you want to get started and need my help.

Let’s get started because there is a lot of competition out there and we don’t want to miss out on our opportunity now do we?

Getting Started

To build your Digg-like site you’re going to have 3 options on how you’re going to do it. You can start from scratch by using PHP, .NET, Python and even Java. I recommend PHP because you have more developers at your disposal that have experience working with community driven sites. PHP is the de facto standard and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong. The second way you can create your Digg-like site is by using a framework or CMS. I prefer to use Drupal, but there are other frameworks out there like CakePHP, Code Igniter, and Zend just to name a few. The third option you have is to use a pre-made script like Pligg.

Option 1: Do it from scratch

I really do not recommend this approach so I’m going to go over it as quickly as possible. The main reason I don’t recommend this approach is that what happens when someone else needs to take over the code base? It’s a mess to take over someone’s code base, especially one that was glued together with scripts from here, scripts from there. If you want the best bang for you buck – don’t build your Digg-like site from scratch. You’ll thank me later.

Alright, you made a bad decision and you’re building your site from scratch. I’m not going to tell you how to architect your code since that will take a small book and something no one wants to read. But what I’ll do is point you to some libraries that you can plug together to get the result you want. And sadly, it does require using a framework. You don’t have a year to get your site up so doing it 100% in PHP is not an option. Okay, so now you’re probably saying, well, .NET can do everything with just .NET. And I say to you – .NET is a framework – so you’re kind of cheating the “building it from scratch” concept anyway.

Here are the PHP libraries you’re going to need:

• Zend Framework – You’re going to use this to pull in the page content and parse it out. Look up the Zend Http client, mail client, session client, database interface, etc. You can do most of everything by putting together code with this.
• Smarty – You’re going to want to use Smarty for your template engine. I think Zend has one but Smarty is easier to pick up and use.

Sadly, I think “doing it from scratch” turned into a “doing it with the Zend framework.”

Option 2: Use a framework

I think this is the best approach to building your Digg-like site because using a framework saves you time, it’s customizable, and it allows you to hand the code over to the next developer that takes over your work or your current teams’ work. You don’t want something that takes forever to build, is hard to customize, and isn’t legible to anyone but yourself, do you? I don’t think so.

These are a few of the Frameworks that you can use to build yourself a Digg-like site:

• Drupal
  The best and most powerful community-driven CMS around. The contributed modules section of Drupal is bigger than any I have ever seen. See for yourself.
• CakePHP
  CakePHP makes it insanely easy to develop web applications. It handles the “model” layer of the Model-View-Controller design pattern better than any other PHP Framework out there. Only thing missing is built-in search.
• Zend Framework
  This was a blessing from Zend, for them to release this framework to the public. They’ve given PHP everything needed to complete any type of application.

Of course there are more frameworks out there, but in my opinion – there are way too many frameworks to choose from. There are so many that even I get confused on what one to use sometimes. That’s why I’ve made a stand and I’m ignoring all the B.S. out there. I’m picking my favorites and I’m rallying behind them. You should do the same.

Option 3: Use a pre-made script

It seems like there is a script for everything these days – Digg cloning is no exception. There are several scripts out there to choose from. Here are the ones I recommend:

• Pligg
  By far the best choice for a pre-made script. Pligg is a CMS with lots of features you’ll love, like a module system, groups, and private messaging.
• PHPDug
  This has a simple to use html template. I’m only giving this one a mention because it’s better than some of the other ones out there that I want you to stay away from. Use this, but only if you must.
• GrabTheMic
  This is an Open Source Script written in Ruby on Rails. I feel dirty even telling you about it, but I needed a few good scripts, and sadly, this is one of them.

Of course there is a Digg clone written in Drupal called Drigg. I haven’t tried it but the demo site for it is broken, which isn’t very helpful. Regardless, you can probably get away using Drigg to help you get started with your customized version built in Drupal.

Digg-like Sites

A blog would not be complete without showing you what some of your competitors are doing. Some of them are doing some good things, some are doing bad things. Take the ideas you like and ignore the garbage that is out there. Here are some Digg-like sites for you to take a look at:

• Video Bomb
  A social bookmarking site for video built with Ruby on Rails.
• Shakk.us
  A directory of links. Same idea as Digg, isn’t it?
• Pligg Design Gallery
  This is the most comprehensive list of Digg clone sites you’re going to find. They’re all built using Pligg too.

There you have it. If you have one you want me to showcase, just let me know.

Need Help?

I’m a Freelance Web Developer and I have experience working with this type of stuff. Not only that, you just read my blog about it :) Feel free to give me a call 801-787-3237 and we’ll figure something out together. You may also use my contact form to get a hold of me.

Conclusion

As with everything in life, there is more than one way to do something. Digg cloning is no exception. Hopefully I’ve helped direct you in the best path for you business. I’ve told you to stay away from building something from scratch. I’ve told you about a few of the frameworks you would use if you were to build yourself a custom solution. And I’ve given you links to the best Digg-like scripts out there. Hopefully you know what to do now.

I’ll give you a little hint – TAKE ACTION!