April 10, 2015
The Traccar project keeps growing, and it is time to update its design and add more functionality for users to interact with it.
Originally, all information about the project was hosted on the SourceForge wiki page.
In 2012 I registered the TRACCAR.ORG domain name and created a simple static website for the project using a free HTML template from the internet. For hosting I chose the Google Apps Engine platform and used it for a very long time.
The project kept growing and required frequent updates of the website, and in 2013 I decided to create a repository for it instead of just keeping source files on Dropbox. Soon after creating the repository I changed the website to use the Bootstrap framework to make it responsive and therefore provide a better experience for mobile users.
At the end of 2014 I decided to switch from plain HTTP to secure HTTPS protocol. The certificate was provided by GlobalSign for free under their special offer for open source projects. Free Google Apps Engine does not support secure connections, so I moved the website to OpenShift hosting by Red Hat, which provides free hosting with SSL support.
Now it is time for another major update. The Traccar website is now powered by the free Wordpress CMS and is hosted on the Amazon EC2 platform. The main reason for the switch is to provide more interactivity for the users by adding a blog and forums to the website.
The Blog will be used to announce releases and news, and to publish interesting information related to GPS tracking.
The Forum will partially replace the GitHub issue tracker. The idea is to keep GitHub issues for bug tracking and feature requests. Everything else should go into the forum, including discussions around GPS tracking, selection and configuration of GPS tracking devices, and other general topics.
Feel free to provide feedback about the new website in the comments here or on the forum. I hope you like it.
Discuss it on the forum.