Request not appearing on home page

[pasco]

Please correct me if I am wrong but requests do not appear any where on home page. How do freelancers find them?

[ChrisB]

Hi @pasco,

I don’t personally use the Requests extension, however, according to the HivePress AI:

How the Requests Extension Works

Overview

The Requests extension allows users to post requests and receive offers from vendors. By default, it functions as a question-and-answer system, but when paired with the Marketplace extension, it becomes a full bidding system where:

• Vendors can bid on requests
• Users can set desired budgets
• Users can pay for accepted offers

Initial Setup

1. Configure Display Page: Navigate to HivePress > Settings > Requests > Display and select a page to display all public requests

2. Review Settings: The extension adds two new sections:

   • Requests section - configure request moderation, expiration periods, notifications
   • Offers section - configure offer moderation and settings

3. Key Settings to Consider:

   • Enable/disable request and offer moderation
   • Set request expiration periods (validity periods)
   • Customize email notifications
   • Enable “Notify vendors about new requests” feature
   • Allow private requests (optional)

How Users Interact with Requests

Creating Requests

• A “Post a Request” button appears in the site header once the extension is activated
• Users can describe their needs, add details, and submit requests
• Requests can include tags, attributes, budget requirements, and scope details

Viewing Their Own Requests

Page slug: /account/requests/

Users can view and manage their requests at:

• mywebsite.com - This website is for sale! - mywebsite Resources and Information.
• This is the Requests (Editing) template in the dashboard
• Shows all requests the user has created
• Displays offer count and request status

Viewing Other Requests (Default Behavior)

• By default, all users can see the public Requests page with all requests
• Users can browse all public requests from other users
• However, this can be restricted (see Visibility Control below)

How Vendors Interact with Requests

Viewing Public Requests

• Vendors can access the main Requests page to see all available requests
• They can search and filter requests
• They can view request details to understand requirements

Submitting Offers

• Vendors can submit offers on any public request
• Multiple vendors can bid on the same request
• Offers can include pricing, delivery time, and custom terms

Viewing Their Own Offers

Vendors can see offers they’ve submitted in their dashboard’s offers section

Private Requests

If private requests are enabled in HivePress configuration:

• A “Send Request” button appears on vendor profile pages
• Users can send requests directly to specific vendors
• These requests are connected to that vendor, not shown publicly
• Only the vendor and request author can see private requests

Request Visibility Control

Default Visibility

Everyone can see the Requests page and all public requests

Restricted Visibility (Available via Code Snippet)

A code snippet solution can be implemented to:

• Allow vendors to: See the Requests page, search/view all requests, make offers
• Allow users to: Create requests but NOT see the public Requests page
• Users can only see: Their own requests in Account > Requests
• Redirect: Non-vendors attempting to access the Requests page or specific request URLs will be redirected
• Admins: Always have full access

The access is restricted to request authors, vendors, and admins only.

Key Pages and Templates

1. Requests - Main page listing all public requests
2. Request - Individual request detail page
3. Requests (Editing) - User dashboard page (/account/requests/) showing user’s own requests
4. Offers - Section where vendors and users manage offers

Important Notes

• No editing: Users currently cannot edit requests after creation (to prevent changing requirements after offers are made or orders are placed). Users must delete and recreate if changes are needed.
• Request expiration: You can set validity periods after which requests automatically close
• Early closure: Users can manually close requests early by accepting an offer
• Unique tracking: Each request gets a unique request number and maintains a process history

Integration with Other Extensions

• Marketplace: Enables payment processing for accepted offers
• Messages: Allows communication between users and vendors
• Reviews: Can display user ratings and completed job counts
• Search Alerts: Vendors can receive email notifications about new requests matching their criteria

This system creates a complete request-and-offer workflow where users can post needs and vendors can compete to fulfill them!

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Chris

[pasco]

@ChrisB

Thank you very much for the detailed explanation, I really appreciate it.

The steps you outlined helped me to understand how the request feature/extension works.

Thank you.

Pasco

[kseniia]

Hi,

I believe Chris has addressed your request. Nevertheless, thank you for the feature suggestion, we’ve added it to our roadmap and plan to implement it in the future.

[pasco]

Thank you @kseniia