Site layout suggestions [SPLIT from FAQ questions thread]

This forum is for help with this web site. Please read the FAQ and then search this forum before asking questions here; most likely the question you are about to ask has already been answered.

Postby Zarxrax » Fri May 02, 2008 5:21 pm

Heh, not much point in converting the rest of the site anymore. Site needs to be redone from scratch, with ajax and web 2.0 and stuff. The design is really starting to show it's age.
User avatar
Zarxrax
 
Joined: 01 Apr 2001
Location: Concord, NC

Postby trythil » Fri May 02, 2008 10:57 pm

BasharOfTheAges wrote:It's taking the minimalistic approach a tad bit too far and making things more difficult for those that know how to get to at least a sub-page of where they want to be.


That's what bookmarking, URLs, and the whole concept of addressability are about.
This is a block of text that can be added to posts you make. There is a 512 character limit.
trythil
is
 
Joined: 23 Jul 2002
Location: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Postby DriftRoot » Sat May 03, 2008 10:15 am

heh, the funny thing is that I love projects like this and I have no problem volunteering my time to help out - except in this case I can't because I don't do Web design. I "do" graphic design and copy writing, but that's it. ^_^

It cracked me up, actually, the past few days I was at a marketing seminar and in spite of the fact that I was supposed to be soaking up information on how to optimize one's Web site for the ideal user experience for my COMPANY's site, I spent most of the time thinking, "Yeah, a-m-v.org needs that. Yeah, that would be good. Yeah, hmm, oh that gives me a good idea...." LOL

One thing I thought was fascinating at the conference was the use of site analytics to get an idea of what's going on, what needs tweaking, etc. Has anyone ever done anything with that stuff around here? Not sure if we need hard data telling us where the problem areas are...I think they're pretty clear anyways...but it would be interesting to look at. Also would be a good way of testing any new design that was implemented.

And yes, I realize the likeliehood of a new design is thin...but things can't go on like this forever, right? hehe
Image
ImageImageImage
User avatar
DriftRoot
 
Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Location: N.H.
Status: As important as any plug-in.

Postby trythil » Sat May 03, 2008 10:55 am

DriftRoot wrote:a marketing seminar ... on how to optimize one's Web site for the ideal user experience


What specifically did that seminar cover? Was it actually optimizing Web sites for the user, or was it more of "how to inundate a user with advertising crap in the least invasive way possible"?

Forgive my snarkiness, but whenever I see "marketing" and "Web" in the same sentence, I automatically think the worst. Experience dictates it.

One thing I thought was fascinating at the conference was the use of site analytics to get an idea of what's going on, what needs tweaking, etc. Has anyone ever done anything with that stuff around here? Not sure if we need hard data telling us where the problem areas are...I think they're pretty clear anyways...but it would be interesting to look at. Also would be a good way of testing any new design that was implemented.


a-m-v.org already uses Google Analytics' services. The next step is actually keeping up with that data, and as far as I can tell nobody has the time to do that.
This is a block of text that can be added to posts you make. There is a 512 character limit.
trythil
is
 
Joined: 23 Jul 2002
Location: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Postby DriftRoot » Sun May 04, 2008 4:50 pm

trythil wrote:What specifically did that seminar cover? Was it actually optimizing Web sites for the user, or was it more of "how to inundate a user with advertising crap in the least invasive way possible"?
Forgive my snarkiness, but whenever I see "marketing" and "Web" in the same sentence, I automatically think the worst. Experience dictates it.


Snarkiness is ok - I get an icky slimy feeling every time I am asked, in the line of duty (aka work), to deliberately try and manipulate the customer into doing what my company wants. It's like, oy, please...do we have to look at our customers like guinea pigs? On the other hand, I've always been fascinated by psychology so I love figuring out what works and what doesn't and why. ^_^

As far as this seminar goes, though, overall they went at things from the perspective that advertisement inundation has its place...but they're few and far between. Web site optimization was about creating the most pleasant online experience possible for users, since the happier users are the better that generally is for whomever's site they're on.

Nifty about the analytics - I agree it's a huge job to do anything with all that data, though.
Image
ImageImageImage
User avatar
DriftRoot
 
Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Location: N.H.
Status: As important as any plug-in.

Postby Zarxrax » Sun Jun 01, 2008 12:09 pm

Corran wrote:We've toyed around with changing the menu layouts to something more intuitive about a year ago. The biggest problem with implementing changes right now is the fact that a lot of pages still don't use the newest php templates or CSS. If we change the layout right now, it would be inconsistent across the site. Some pages would have the new menu layout while others would still have the old one. Then again... maybe doing that will get Phade to finish the css conversion he started. >_>

What pages still need to be changed and how does one access the code? It cant be that hard.

...Can it?
User avatar
Zarxrax
 
Joined: 01 Apr 2001
Location: Concord, NC

Postby Corran » Sun Jun 01, 2008 12:57 pm

Zarxrax wrote:What pages still need to be changed and how does one access the code? It cant be that hard.

...Can it?
>_> I really should go to bed... but before I do...

The pages need to be changed from table-based to CSS/div-based like the members main page already is now. Here is a list of the pages that still need to be updated. I was going to tackle this over a year ago but once I started running into browser specific annoyances (i.e. IE6 bugs) and realized just how long it would actually take me, I decided to scrap the idea. Maybe I will try again after I finish my current project... x_x Still, it is a lot of work. Tedious work at that...

The code that needs to be changed is the actual output to the web browser so technically anyone could probably try and work on it just by right clicking a page, viewing its source, comparing it to a completed page and making the necessary changes. They would need to adhere to the template. But since no one on this side is actively working it at the moment, it would probably not be a good idea for someone to randomly try and work on this for us. It would need at least some level of coordination to ensure the code was being properly updated. Otherwise, such a generous effort may actually end up being a waste of time.

My Downloads /members/mydownloads.php
My Fav Vids /members/favvids.php
Opinions Given /members/opinions/
Opinion score reference /members/opinions/opinionscore.php
View Ops /members/opinions/viewopinions.php (Already uses divs and CSS but is using wrong template)
Most Useful /lists/useful.php
Most Useless /lists/useless.php
Most Ops /lists/mostops.php
Enter new vid step 0 /members/members_newvideo_step0.php
Edit Videos /members/members_edit_videos.php
link problem /members/linkprobview.php
delete video /members/members_delete_vid.php
Video locked info change /bugs/vidinfo/
premiere date change /bugs/vidinfo/premiere.php
what is ftp? /members/upload/ftp_info.php
Donate /members/pledges/
pledge status /members/pledges/pledge_status.php
site donation status /members/pledges/stats_new.php
paypal /members/pledges/paypal.php
member search /members/members_othermem.php
interview list /members/interview_list.php
interviews /members/interview.php
VCA Main menu /members/amvvca/
All VCA pages from 2002-04 Ugh, this one would take a while.
Software review main page /help/software/
Software review info /help/software/thesoftware.php
Add Software review /help/software/softreview.php
Add software /help/software/new_software.php
Hardware review main page /help/hardware/
Hardware review info /help/hardware/thehardware.php
Add Hardware review /help/hardware/hardreview.php
Add Hardware /help/hardware/new_hardware.php
Useful Files /members/files.php
About MCIPlayer /members/files/MCIPlay.php
Site Bugs /bugs/
About Us /home/about.php
Site FAQ /help/
Phade's guide and all php files within it. /guides/PhadeGuide/
Signup Page /home/signup.php
New Downloads /search/newdowns.php
Star scale menu /lists/stars/weeks.php
Star scale list lists/stars.php
top 30 anime /lists/topanime.php
top fav amvs /lists/topvidsbyfav.php
most commented vids /lists/topcomm.php
most used anime /lists/usedanime.php
most used music /lists/usedmusic.php
most underrated /lists/underrated.php
opinion info /members/opinions/opinion_info.php
give opinion /members/opinions/opinion.php
start local download /members/localdownload-pancake.php
User avatar
Corran
 
Joined: 14 Oct 2002

Previous

Return to Site Help & Feedback

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests