Subject: Re: Website design proposal
To: Herb Peyerl <hpeyerl@beer.org>
From: Gavan Fantom <gavan@coolfactor.org>
List: netbsd-advocacy
Date: 10/14/2005 18:54:04
Herb Peyerl wrote:
> I've said it before and I'll bore everyone by repeating it...
>
> Our webpage has always been hard to navigate quickly.
I second this. I have been using NetBSD for years, and I still have to
think when navigating the site.
> When I go to a webpage I look for one of the following keywords to jump
> out at me:
>
> - Products
> - Support
> - Download
> - Datasheets
>
> On ours, only 'Support' is conspicuous. "Products" is not really
> relevant, nor is "Datasheets" but "Download" is not there. We have
> "Distribution" which is somewhat ambiguous. We also
> have "Information" which I'd say is redundant because the whole page
> offers "Information" and not just that section.
I think "Information" is this context is still fairly clear. Perhaps
something better would be possible, but I don't see that as a major issue.
"Download" on the other hand is something I agree with entirely. In
today's environment, "How to get NetBSD" is too long-winded, and implies
that it's going to be difficult. "Get NetBSD" is shorter, snappier and
is a command. I would be happy with "Get NetBSD", "Download NetBSD", or
just "Download", with a preference to the former.
Comments have already been made about the wasted space on the sides of
the proposed page. I'd like to add my own concern about the languages
selector. Currently we have the languages listed on the front page in a
form where a non-English speaker can instantly see a single recognisable
word on the page - the name of their language. While I don't think there
are many users or potential users of NetBSD who don't speak a single
word of English, the website is our PR point of contact, and it's
entirely possible that journalists and other interested parties will
want to know a little *about* NetBSD without necessarily using it. For
those people, needing to know the word "Languages" is, IMO, asking too much.
Other than those specific comments, I like the proposed new look, and if
someone steps up to implementing it with the same care and attention to
accessibility and maintainability as the existing web site, I will be
extremely happy.
--
Gillette - the best a man can forget