It all starts with a table. But not just any old table- a very smart & intuitive relational database table that affords a huge array of controls & features. The table would need to include all the information required, organised in rows, with the columns acting as categories.

Once completed, the base table could then be duplicated and converted into a form. This form needed to be designed with the user in mind, making it as simple & intuitive as possible. A link was generated for this form which was shared with event organisers. Once an event organiser submitted a form it would automatically become another row on the table (an event listing). Event listings could also be manually uploaded to the table by myself if needed.

As the base table could be displayed in a number of different ways, it would need to be tailored & tweaked in order to optimise for the mobile experience (where the majority of users would likely be accessing the content). So deciding which of the data points were most pertinent, how images would be displayed, and how to arrange navigation, were all key considerations.

Although very unlikely, I wanted to somehow minimise the risk of bad actors uploading non-event related information. So I integrated a buffer, an extra step in the event upload process, which would be seamless for the user. Leveraging the Cross-doc capabilities of Coda (where tables can be connected & synced across different docs) I set up a second duplicate Hike Directory doc. So the input form was connected to one doc (which would only be visible to me), and could feed information into the public-facing Hike Directory where it would only sync once per day. This would give me time to quickly check over, prior to syncing.