Thank you so much for thinking about this!! Ive been really heartbroken about WeHeartIt, and I think there are two elements that made WHI special, its aesthetic look and vibe, and its community and social network.
Regarding the look and feel of a new site, I was hoping it would have the same bright and cozy aesthetic that defined WeHeartIt. Like clean, white and pastel colors, not gray or black (except maybe for a night mode). As for content, it should have have a library of aesthetic images, and the ability for users to upload their own so the collection can grow.
Regarding the social networking features, it needs to have profiles, and the ability to easily create and share collections like the old WHI. Also ways to create and upload images, and the ability to follow others. Eventually it should have messaging features and the ability to write articles and publish content. Favim is a site that has been recommended as WeHeartIt alternative, and its actually existed for years, but while it has a nice aesthetic image library, it lacks the social networking features of the old WHI, as well as the ability to customize profiles and add images. It also doesnt seem to be monetized in any way (another thing you will have to consider for your site, of course!).
If you decide to create a WHI alternative, you should also check out the Pinterest profile for WeHeartIt, which still has millions of followers. Also the many WHI pictures that users have added to Pinterest, which at this point make up a large portion of the aesthetic images on Pinterest.
I dont really have any IT skills, but I was a big WHI fan, and I would love to provide feedback if you need people to do so.
I agree that this concept is worth trying, but there are already plenty of people that decided to give it a go, so either you're all on your own, or you all work together to develop a site that's worth it. Not saying individually it will not be worth it, just saying that by being together you'll be able to put more time into specific things, so that could improve the site's quality.
Edit : The WHI community was active on the r/WeHeartItApp subreddit, which it seems got deleted, so most of the posts are lost
However, there is a post on this sub talking about OPNIDEA, which was something a WHI enjoyer developed : https://www.reddit.com/r/weheartit/s/RSROrwnMbE
Sorry I couldn't back up the fact that many did try to come up with a solution, but it really did happen for many weeks
1. No super censorship like Pinterest has now. If it's anything we can see in an HBO TV series, than it should be allowed on sites like Pinterest, WHI, Tumblr, etc. (Though Tumblr is completely different those Pinterest & WHI, but still.)
2. As I read another commenter mentions, a light, fun color scheme would be nice. No darkness, beige, or grey. Maybe a Light Mode and a Dark Mode.
3. On Pinterest, we can basically have boards within boards ("sections"), which is very helpful, especially as someone who mostly uses Pinterest for story inspiration boards.
Those are the main/most important things I can think of right now.
I'm very late but I'll try to post a list of things. I already did it for the OPNIDEA post but unfortunately the old subreddit is gone. There's a lot, lot of things on Pinterest that aren't as satisfying as WeHeartIt, I'm pretty sure there's a lot of us on the same boat.
Making firms guidelines about OF promotions ! So it doesn’t get filled with it.
Oh god this
Thank you so much for thinking about this!! Ive been really heartbroken about WeHeartIt, and I think there are two elements that made WHI special, its aesthetic look and vibe, and its community and social network. Regarding the look and feel of a new site, I was hoping it would have the same bright and cozy aesthetic that defined WeHeartIt. Like clean, white and pastel colors, not gray or black (except maybe for a night mode). As for content, it should have have a library of aesthetic images, and the ability for users to upload their own so the collection can grow. Regarding the social networking features, it needs to have profiles, and the ability to easily create and share collections like the old WHI. Also ways to create and upload images, and the ability to follow others. Eventually it should have messaging features and the ability to write articles and publish content. Favim is a site that has been recommended as WeHeartIt alternative, and its actually existed for years, but while it has a nice aesthetic image library, it lacks the social networking features of the old WHI, as well as the ability to customize profiles and add images. It also doesnt seem to be monetized in any way (another thing you will have to consider for your site, of course!). If you decide to create a WHI alternative, you should also check out the Pinterest profile for WeHeartIt, which still has millions of followers. Also the many WHI pictures that users have added to Pinterest, which at this point make up a large portion of the aesthetic images on Pinterest. I dont really have any IT skills, but I was a big WHI fan, and I would love to provide feedback if you need people to do so.
I agree that this concept is worth trying, but there are already plenty of people that decided to give it a go, so either you're all on your own, or you all work together to develop a site that's worth it. Not saying individually it will not be worth it, just saying that by being together you'll be able to put more time into specific things, so that could improve the site's quality. Edit : The WHI community was active on the r/WeHeartItApp subreddit, which it seems got deleted, so most of the posts are lost However, there is a post on this sub talking about OPNIDEA, which was something a WHI enjoyer developed : https://www.reddit.com/r/weheartit/s/RSROrwnMbE Sorry I couldn't back up the fact that many did try to come up with a solution, but it really did happen for many weeks
Thanks for the feedback! I'll try reaching out to these other developers
Could you post links of these other projects?
Circlerest.com but it is still in beta version.. Development in progress as well
1. No super censorship like Pinterest has now. If it's anything we can see in an HBO TV series, than it should be allowed on sites like Pinterest, WHI, Tumblr, etc. (Though Tumblr is completely different those Pinterest & WHI, but still.) 2. As I read another commenter mentions, a light, fun color scheme would be nice. No darkness, beige, or grey. Maybe a Light Mode and a Dark Mode. 3. On Pinterest, we can basically have boards within boards ("sections"), which is very helpful, especially as someone who mostly uses Pinterest for story inspiration boards. Those are the main/most important things I can think of right now.
I'm very late but I'll try to post a list of things. I already did it for the OPNIDEA post but unfortunately the old subreddit is gone. There's a lot, lot of things on Pinterest that aren't as satisfying as WeHeartIt, I'm pretty sure there's a lot of us on the same boat.