Home page redesign
We made a small change the other day to bring the next 7 days' gigs further up the home page. We need to do other things to improve the layout and accessibility on the home page, but I thought we would ask you what you feel about it first.
Do you have any thoughts about the home page and what it should or should not contain, and what it might look like, etc, etc.
We would like to hear your views.
Do you have any thoughts about the home page and what it should or should not contain, and what it might look like, etc, etc.
We would like to hear your views.
Sat, 9 Apr 2011 01:54 pm
This is a hard one. Everyone logging into that home page will have a different agenda.
I think you are right to put blurb about the admin team in a less prominent place. After a few rotations, it does start to look like wallpaper - woodchip in fact.
What I always look at religiously is the Recent Activity section cos it lives up to its name and tells me immediately if there is anything I want to check out.
News features about poetry - the writing world are good. I suppose they attract the more intellectual and you do need to appeal to a wide spectrum. It's great that you should have Greg on board to be able to filter bang up to date items through.
I've always had a soft spot for Poem of the Month - even when I disagreed with the winning poem. To me, it represents an opportunity for contributing members to be recognised and celebrated. Being acknowledged like that by your peers is part of what this site is all about for many of us. There was a period where I felt disillusioned by it cos a lot of the winners seemed fudged - people who seemed to join just to win it and then bugger off. That seems to have corrected itself over the last year. So yes - do keep Poem of the Month.
I'm not too bothered about the rest of features. That mystic ted was funny at first but I don't tend to read it anymore. I think that I and others would be interested in themed poetry exercises. I remember Jacky Hagan doing some in features. If she had had a little spot on the Homepage somewhere near Poem of the Month, she may have had a better response. That combined with blogging the challenge, perhaps?
Events/gig guide doesn't look too pretty - but I guess it's an essential and it does bring on board the organisers of such things.
That's all I can think of for now. By and large the organisation of the homepage isn't that important to me. The hub of the site for me lies in blogs - the poetry itself. It is great that you are taking the time and thought to make things better and better though.
I think you are right to put blurb about the admin team in a less prominent place. After a few rotations, it does start to look like wallpaper - woodchip in fact.
What I always look at religiously is the Recent Activity section cos it lives up to its name and tells me immediately if there is anything I want to check out.
News features about poetry - the writing world are good. I suppose they attract the more intellectual and you do need to appeal to a wide spectrum. It's great that you should have Greg on board to be able to filter bang up to date items through.
I've always had a soft spot for Poem of the Month - even when I disagreed with the winning poem. To me, it represents an opportunity for contributing members to be recognised and celebrated. Being acknowledged like that by your peers is part of what this site is all about for many of us. There was a period where I felt disillusioned by it cos a lot of the winners seemed fudged - people who seemed to join just to win it and then bugger off. That seems to have corrected itself over the last year. So yes - do keep Poem of the Month.
I'm not too bothered about the rest of features. That mystic ted was funny at first but I don't tend to read it anymore. I think that I and others would be interested in themed poetry exercises. I remember Jacky Hagan doing some in features. If she had had a little spot on the Homepage somewhere near Poem of the Month, she may have had a better response. That combined with blogging the challenge, perhaps?
Events/gig guide doesn't look too pretty - but I guess it's an essential and it does bring on board the organisers of such things.
That's all I can think of for now. By and large the organisation of the homepage isn't that important to me. The hub of the site for me lies in blogs - the poetry itself. It is great that you are taking the time and thought to make things better and better though.
Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:19 pm
