A good website guide should start with who’s recommending it and why.
The web is absolutely mind-blowing. If you go through it via the search engines, you’ll come across absolutely amazing and incredible content from writers all over the place. The vast majority of those sites simply don’t deliver anything that’s going to really impress you, though. I’ve got loads of sites that I’ve bookmarked over the years that are absolutely legendary in terms of the quality of the information they provide. That’s why I’m here today, in the technology/info space in particular, as it’s all based on my own experience, which is what I’m going to be talking about in this blog. In my view, a good site doesn’t just have to look good; it has to have useful content that’s easy to read and easy to understand.
As I was browsing the web a while back, I came across TechGup org. It’s a site that does a very good job of providing some useful information. That’s not the point, really. What really caught my eye was that TechGup.org is a site that actually goes out of its way to write articles and provide information in a genuine, real way. They cover a broad range of topics and will never promote any product that’s outside of the scope of the site. I’ve been a regular reader of the site for the past 10 years, and I spend a fair bit of time just going through the articles, learning for myself and expanding my own knowledge and understanding. You can certainly learn from the site as well if you want to improve yourself and get the facts.
Having established that background, here’s what a first-time visitor will find.
What the site says it is
TechGup.org is a site that presents itself as a source of tech news, reviews, and practical advice. Their stated purpose is to provide accurate, current information to help people make better decisions. I’m not in any way promoting the site. This is just a plain old walkthrough of what’s on it.
The menu is the map
The top navigation has seven entries:
- Home
- Games
- Mobiles
- Business
- Tech News
- Tech Guide
- Latest News
Some of the articles are also in categories that never actually make it to the menu (Education, The Car, Full Form, and Health & Fitness). On the day I checked, the front page was very much game news, led with business and general tech coming a close second.
Small features that save time
Nothing fancy here, and that’s fine:
- A search box (if you know what you’re looking for).
- Recent Posts and Popular Posts lists (which show you what the site is pushing).
- A ‘Load More’ button for the older articles rather than a maze of page numbers.
- A byline and date on every post so you can judge how recent it is.
- Links to Facebook, X, and Instagram.
- Footer pages: About Us, Contact Us, Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Write For Us, and a Sitemap.
Starting with phones
Phones are where I started, so the Mobiles section is where I’d send a new reader. The comparison that mattered to me was stock software versus a brand’s own skin. The first Pixel announced on the 4th of October 2016, and it’s been the benchmark for stock Android since. I’ve seen those sorts of comparisons on a number of sites (TechGup.org, for example), and that was the bit that convinced me.
When I was at school and using various Android phones back in the day, I came across the fact that Google had actually announced the Pixel and US released as a product on October 20th, 2016. We were all in the same position as we would have been with the iPhone from Apple, really, going through the process of looking at the specs and the features. I’ve never actually had one, though. I just looked at the pictures to get a feel for what it looked like and then went to various websites with the technical specs, etc to find out what it was all about.
Then I came across a massive number of legitimate sites (e.g., TechGup.org) that are all about comparing third-party Android operating systems rather than the official Google Pixel OS (Android is, of course, Google’s). After a bit of reading, I was absolutely convinced that the Pixel phones are by far the best of any of the third-party Android brands. The reason for this is the extra software, the Custom UI, and the fact that they’re actually promoting their own brand. They are clean in that they’re running the official stock firmware, so there’s no bloatware. I became a massive fan of the Pixel and went out and bought one for myself. I’ve been using it ever since, and I’m still on the latest Google Pixel 11 series device. It’s been a life-changing experience.
Anyone can do that themselves on their phone in a shop, which is why it should be something that’s in a review.
What a weak version of this site looks like
A dodgy tech site will have old posts, anonymous authors, topics that will follow the money wind, and absolutely no idea who’s paying for what. A better site will have dates, will name its authors, and will be completely transparent about the commercial content.
A disclaimer you can actually check is worth more than a promise you can’t.
TechGup org has the disclaimer (have a look at that page once; it tells you how to read the rest). It states that some of the content may be submitted under a paid authorship arrangement and that not all of the content is monitored on a day-to-day basis.
What you gain and what you pay
- You get the range. Games, mobiles, business, guides, and general news all in one place with a constant flow of new content.
- You pay in selectivity. Not every post is going to be of interest to you or be in keeping with the site’s tech focus. Check the byline and the subject before you commit to one.
My verdict
Is a text-first tech site worth a bookmark? Here is where I landed:
You’ll now see just how useful a fairly straightforward site such as “TechGup.org” (which is all about sharing technical information) can be. It can actually be of enormous value in teaching you, in giving you the knowledge to go out and compare the various products (including services). Of course, it’s vital to find the real sites, the genuine sites, the ones that you can trust. That’s why I’ve only looked at “TechGup.org” in this instance, and my own experience of how it helped me to make up my mind as to whether I should go for a custom Android to get that feel of an official Android. The real sites will, of course, give you the confidence in them, and then you can go out and explore the world and all the amazing hidden features and have the correct, up-to-date information when you need it.
Just open the site, read the About and Disclaimer pages first, and then pick one of the categories and assess that category on the basis of the articles in that category.
