Administrators · Legacy archive

Index Page Shake-up

Started by Strolen Apr 2, 2006 3 posts Locked

  1. Index Page Shake-up

    #1
    OK, officially, I don't like the index page. It is too much as you probably already know.

    Thoughts:

    Leave the left menu. Dump most everything in the middle except the HoH.
    Right menu - Put that chat under the main link, at least, and possible below the Quick Links.

    All the submission boxes in the middle have a link on the right except random.

    My thought is to instead use it to go into a little more detail about the site. Describe a little about how the site works and how we intend it to work. Then go into some description of each of the major categories in more detail and then, perhaps, underneathe the descriptions have a few links to only titles of random submissions or something. Basically ease people into the site instead of throwing them into it.

    Right now you get suddently thrown into a ton of links with no hand holding....not that it needs handholding but a first time visitor is slightly barraged by the amount of links and there is no plain way to start.

    Ya think?
  2. Re: Index Page Shake-up

    #2
    I've made this a new thread because you are right. :)

    The main page is useful for members knowledgeable of our site, but for newcomers... okay, for most people it is a mess.


    Left menu: align the submission names with the category names. Possibly we could skip also one line below the category name. (Okey, that might require same change on the other side, too... not sure about it.)


    Middle part: right, shorten it significantly. We can keep the Challenged submission, since only the Admins can see it. Also a Quest entry, if there is any. Maybe also the Golden Subs? Ah, probably not, but there's the draw to have everything on the main page. :)


    Right menu: agree on putting the chat lower.


    Submission boxes and links? Uh? Sorry, didn't understand this one.


    More detail about the site, hmmm... we do already have some intro, but perhaps it is ignored.

    Suggestion (but I want to hear opinions on it first): put the welcoming text into the middle of the page, the left and right menus go upwards, the intro will hopefully gain importance. Add to the intro a few links to pages that should explain our site ;) , and possibly a bit more about its function - but not too much to avoid loosing space. Then could go the random links.

    Ideas?
  3. Re: Index Page Shake-up

    #3
    Okay How about:

    Header: Good

    The Nav Bar on top
    should be two columns  All the types AND
    Forum - Gallery - Add Submission - Search being on the bottom line.  Or remove the Add submissions from the nav bar.  Site and Book review submissions categories, when they go live, should be on this second line.  Also Search needs to be a link to a search page with more teeth in it.

    Welcome to Strolens: Good

    Left Bar  is okay....
    Total submissions Total comments... on another page... maybe with other stats for the site?
    Maybe a "I'm New, where do I start" link? That would take you to the Strolen Explained... which we need to expand.

    Center: 
    Center CenterHoH and Challanged Okay 

    Center Left:  Recent Submissions and Recent Comments
    Center Right: Random   
    .... What about the rest? We really do not need most of these. They are not serving their purpose except to clutter the page. I thought they would grow on me, but they didn't.

    Right Bar
    I like the chat High, but that is me.
    No matter where the chat is... Users Online should be right under the chat.

    Sections and QuickLinks is good. Buuuuttttt.... We could just mix them all together... 
    Quick Links:
    Citadel Explained and FAQ
    This should all be one thing... with a link to the FAQ 
    We need to give a quick guide here... what to do and how to do it - "A I just got here, now what?" section... maybe a couple of example paths. I will tinker..
    Strolen Code of Conduct
    Nobody sees it down there anyways. Might as well make it a page linkable from here.
    Idea Seeds
    HoH
    Golden Submissions
       However, nobody is really doing much with the Golden Submissions. We should discuss an alternate way doing this (a topic for another thread).  Couldn't we combine the nominate and view all in one place?
    Newest 20 Submissions
    Could this just be a page with a search that goes from newest comments to oldest comments?  You can't search all from the pages)
    Newest 20 Comments
    See above
    New Since Last Visit
    Only enabled if logged in... or is shows newest 20 if not logged in.
    Top 20 Ratings
    Top 20 Hits
    Bottom 20 Hits
    Unvoted
    Uncommented
    I was wrong.. they just don't work well showing the least comments as we see it now. They should only show the unloved (i.e no votes or  no comment submissions).  Maybe we could make an unloved section... thus showing both.
    Advice Request
    In Work
    QUEST

    Free-Text, Codice, and Scroll could be rolled into a new search function.

    Random... Don't we have 10 of these just a few centimeters away?

    Favorites- At the bottom.

    As long as the Right/ Center/ Left are all about the same length on the page, it is all good.

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