I've just re-read my post, and it seems rather more discouraging than I meant it to. I should have explicitly pointed out that I really like the graphic itself and the whole concept. It's just the nav that needs a bit more work. I think there's probably room for a bit more content and things. Thanks. Al
On 06/01/2008, Al Maw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > It's very pretty and "Web 2.0"-ish. Nice work from that point of view. > However, it's not awfully functional. I hate to criticise something that's > obviously had such a lot of effort put into it, but even though it's very > shiny at the moment it feels too much like a splash screen, and those are > generally acknowledged to be a bad idea. People do go to web sites for the > content, not just the splash screen. Making me click a "take me to the site" > button is annoying. That Igor feels he needs a "take me to the real web > site" checkbox is a really bad sign. > > So I guess we need to work out what the site is for - i.e. how people use > it. It'd be interesting to get some Google analytics or similar on it so we > can figure this out. > > > Hypotheses: > 1) First-time users: > - Want to know what it is and how it differs from x, y and z. > - Want to see some example code to see for themselves if the basic > concept sucks or not. > - Want a quickstart guide and a link to the docs. > - Want to download it. > > > 2) Returning (but beginner) users: > - Trying to find documentation. > - Trying to find mailing lists? > - ??? > > > 3) Seasoned users: > - Use it as a jumping-off point to JIRA, wiki, etc.? > - ??? > > > So it's time for the users to speak up, I guess. How do you use > wicket.apache.org? How would you like to use it? Do we have a bunch of > stuff on there at the moment that's completely redundant/never used? > > > Do we want to make it into a community site so people who are > intermediate/advanced users actually come back to the site often? Should we > be writing a blog on there that links to mailing list articles and blog > posts about Wicket? Is there any advantage to making a sticky site like > that? Should we accept that the web site is pretty much only for raw > beginners, in which case we should simplify things appropriately? Input is > welcome - I don't have good answers to these questions. > > > Regarding the proposed design, I don't like that there's a really obvious > "get wicket" button, but also a link to that in the drop-downs. Seems > confusing/redundant - which should I be clicking on? I end up looking at the > URLs in the status bar on mouseover and deciding they're the same, takes me > time, sucks. > > > I'm sorry, but I also don't like that most of the links are hidden in the > drop-downs. I know it makes the page look cleaner, but it's akin to "mystery > meat navigation" - you shouldn't have to hover over stuff to work out what > it is, as you then end up having to go look at each of the hot-spots in turn > with your mouse to work out what the heck is actually on the site. Maybe we > need to rethink the navigation sections rather than trying to hide them. > > > Additionally, the download button has the versions and dates embedded > graphically which will complicate the release process unless we can somehow > automate producing them. Can't we just use text instead? > > > Regards, > > > Al > > On 06/01/2008, C. Bergström <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > [ ] Yes, make "Rising Wicket" the front page of our Apache Wicket site > > > > > [ ] Not yet, change .... and then make it the front page > > > [x] No. This will make a great landing page for those wanting to > > download/get started using wicket, but needs content/navigation > > changes/improvements to be a home page. > > > > non-binding vote. I could nit-pick this a lot, but I don't think that's > > polite as this is *VERY* nice work. We're just trying to put it in the > > wrong place imho. > > > > I'm going to take a guess that the target audience for wicket site > > visitors will want: > > > > 1) How to get started/downloads > > 2) Examples > > 3) Further Help > > 4) General information on what Wicket is/does (or the 5 W's) > > > > This page does one of those really well and neglects the other goals. > > > > > > Other points > > > > 1) How well will the design incorporate into the rest of the site > > a. If we do plan to make it site wide how will it look when you > > start > > adding more content pushing the bottom of the page down. (I should just > > check this before asking I know) > > b. bread crumbs can be nice for usability and site navigation.. > > > > 2) Does anyone think the rising sun is annoying? (I personally don't > > have an opinion) If we wanted to have some sort of animation in our > > site I'd opt for something more like the way mootools.net does it and > > just have the menu effect. > > > > 3) What will Googlebot's vote on our site be? We're really removing a > > lot of content and the site will effectively be a series of links, two > > big images and a paragraph. > > > > I generally agree with http://www.useit.com/ and those with an interest > > in the content/design/navigation/usability should at least have a glance > > there. > > > > The original issue was the current design was "Good looking, but dull." > > However, we should take careful consideration into how to reach that > > goal.. Possibly a flash ad for the new release of 1.3 with a nice > > static fallback image.. or possibly other things which I could suggest > > in another email on the reference > > > > *IF* this vote does end in a yes result. I'd be very interested in a > > comparison between old and new for: > > > > 1) Changes to click patterns > > 2) How long people stay on the site > > 3) If we lose/gain ranking on keywords. (Which at some point we should > > start to look into SEO and other simple 'tactics' to increase our > > exposure) > > > > > > We should also at some point consider internationalizing/localizing the > > site as our framework *does* handle this quite nice. IOW.. start eating > > our own dogfood as the expression goes. > > > > Once again I *do* like this. I just would like to see it as a dedicated > > landing page for those articles pointing to getting people started with > > wicket 1.3. Personally, I also think the font for 'wicket' being used > > is very pleasing/readable. For some true unbiased professional > > feedback/voting we should submit it to WSG [1] list. > > > > Cheers, > > > > ./C > > > > [1] http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/ > > > > > >
