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While I really like the idea of a "question of the day" feature I'm not sure if that layout would really be the best way to present it. As a web-designer here are a few issues I see...
~ There is too much going on within a small space. This results in the viewer not really knowning what to focus on and can result in frustrations that can cause people to leave a site.
~There is not a clean line to the columns used by the site. Having the top members and question of the day not line up with the remainder of the site throws off the "feel" of the site.
~The focus of the site needs to be as close to the top of the page as possible... as important as the top members are, the questions really need to be at the top... the further you push them down the less likely people will notice them and take advantage of the site.
~Finally, the site is still very young in it's life so cosmetic changes do not make sense at this time. Right now the focus of the site needs to be on functionality in order to draw more people into the system. The current layout works well so one has to ask "why fix something that ain't broken"
All of that being said, I really like the fact that you are putting idea's like this out there. I do have to ask, do you do just graphics or can you do web coding as well? I'm always keeping my eye out for people to outsource some clients work to...
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including a top members feature and showcasing the question of the day is cool, though.
i feel something about the assymetry of the top row is confusing at first-glance - how it doesn't line up with the general "two column" layout of the Mahalo Answers pages.
i think tweaking the sizes of the new boxes so they fit within the current scheme would be the bee's knees, personally.
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1. It looks like a Swastika. These are typically bad for business.
2. Information overload.
3. The non-traditional layout is harder to process; there is no obvious center of attention, and it is kind of hard on my eyes.
4. Why 4 Top Members? I think the 3 that are already plastered on the right side should be flattered that they take up prime real estate on this site.
5. The Top Members take attention from the crux of the site - the questions. Currently, the questions are the first thing I see, and it makes sense. To someone new to the site, top members are irrelevant.
6. Why do we need a question of the day? What are the criteria for picking it? This seems a bit Oprah sounding to me, but if you want a Question of the day, why not utilize the space already allocated for questions and just put the Question of the Day as the first question and add a label? Then, pull a Jason and rig the timer so this question stays on top.
7. Before making these types of changes, I think attention should be placed on getting Mahalo to work. I encounter constant issues on this site which are uncharacteristic for a production web site.
I guess I should say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it... but please fix the stuff that is broken."
And apologies, I wrote a much kinder, more eloquent critique, but Mahalo 404'ed me upon submission.
Source(s):
I am on the design and management team for some of the largest financial websites in the world
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One of the possible reasons for so many unanswered/undecided questions is people having to track down these questions. What is wrong with having a new section for these questions on the front page or randomly inserting those unanswered/undecided questions on to the front page. They would get a lot more views if they spend a little while on the front page but they don't have to sit there all day.
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Answered Question
M$1
April 08, 2009 04:14 PM
SUGGESTION: A new layout for Mahalo
I have designed a new layout for Mahalo which includes a new "Question of the Day" feature, a slightly edited "Tom Members" box.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3299/3423618669_7aba550d94_o.png
Note: This is a CONCEPT. Mahalo may or may not take this idea further - but all this is, is a suggestion of a Question of the Day feature and the change of the top members with four people in it.
UPDATE: I have redone a more simple version here
Note: This is a CONCEPT. Mahalo may or may not take this idea further - but all this is, is a suggestion of a Question of the Day feature and the change of the top members with four people in it.
UPDATE: I have redone a more simple version here
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Best Answer Decided by Votes
| April 08, 2009 04:39 PM |
~ There is too much going on within a small space. This results in the viewer not really knowning what to focus on and can result in frustrations that can cause people to leave a site.
~There is not a clean line to the columns used by the site. Having the top members and question of the day not line up with the remainder of the site throws off the "feel" of the site.
~The focus of the site needs to be as close to the top of the page as possible... as important as the top members are, the questions really need to be at the top... the further you push them down the less likely people will notice them and take advantage of the site.
~Finally, the site is still very young in it's life so cosmetic changes do not make sense at this time. Right now the focus of the site needs to be on functionality in order to draw more people into the system. The current layout works well so one has to ask "why fix something that ain't broken"
All of that being said, I really like the fact that you are putting idea's like this out there. I do have to ask, do you do just graphics or can you do web coding as well? I'm always keeping my eye out for people to outsource some clients work to...
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Voted as best: ensorceled, pazaq
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Other Answers (4)
April 08, 2009 04:30 PM
i dig the concept, but i think it looks busy ... including a top members feature and showcasing the question of the day is cool, though.
i feel something about the assymetry of the top row is confusing at first-glance - how it doesn't line up with the general "two column" layout of the Mahalo Answers pages.
i think tweaking the sizes of the new boxes so they fit within the current scheme would be the bee's knees, personally.
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April 08, 2009 04:32 PM
Thanks for your comments!
I agree. It definitely looks a little out of proportion when I look over it now. I think that you are right - in that Mahalo has a two column layout - and the top row should stick to the same format.
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I agree. It definitely looks a little out of proportion when I look over it now. I think that you are right - in that Mahalo has a two column layout - and the top row should stick to the same format.
April 08, 2009 04:36 PM
Issues: 1. It looks like a Swastika. These are typically bad for business.
2. Information overload.
3. The non-traditional layout is harder to process; there is no obvious center of attention, and it is kind of hard on my eyes.
4. Why 4 Top Members? I think the 3 that are already plastered on the right side should be flattered that they take up prime real estate on this site.
5. The Top Members take attention from the crux of the site - the questions. Currently, the questions are the first thing I see, and it makes sense. To someone new to the site, top members are irrelevant.
6. Why do we need a question of the day? What are the criteria for picking it? This seems a bit Oprah sounding to me, but if you want a Question of the day, why not utilize the space already allocated for questions and just put the Question of the Day as the first question and add a label? Then, pull a Jason and rig the timer so this question stays on top.
7. Before making these types of changes, I think attention should be placed on getting Mahalo to work. I encounter constant issues on this site which are uncharacteristic for a production web site.
I guess I should say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it... but please fix the stuff that is broken."
And apologies, I wrote a much kinder, more eloquent critique, but Mahalo 404'ed me upon submission.
Source(s):
I am on the design and management team for some of the largest financial websites in the world
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April 08, 2009 04:50 PM
Some great criticism. Similar to that of @darcy_logan for my advertising concept.
I understand that it is very cluttered and the information would be hard to read. I think that it also ruins the layout.
Personally, a question of the day would help to promote the excellent questions shown on Mahalo. Okay, so my question isn't the best one - but there are some really interesting questions on Mahalo (if some quite weird) - so if someone goes on Mahalo Answers - they will see an example of an question which is intriguing and possibly easy to answer. This will help encourage viewers.
Thanks for your comments.
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I understand that it is very cluttered and the information would be hard to read. I think that it also ruins the layout.
Personally, a question of the day would help to promote the excellent questions shown on Mahalo. Okay, so my question isn't the best one - but there are some really interesting questions on Mahalo (if some quite weird) - so if someone goes on Mahalo Answers - they will see an example of an question which is intriguing and possibly easy to answer. This will help encourage viewers.
Thanks for your comments.
April 08, 2009 04:52 PM
I agrree! Thanks for that and I think I understand what I need to do if I were to redo this concept. Of course, Mahalo's layout is simple and clear, so this would easily ruin the simplicity of the user interface and make it more cluttered and less appealing.
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April 08, 2009 04:58 PM
Yup! Mahalo's layout right now looks great on my eeepc. Anything altering that basic layout would affect the millions of people on netbooks. On my 20in imac everything looks perfect but making a website look great on a netbook is a feat.
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April 08, 2009 07:16 PM
I'd like to see a feature where we can hide questions we have already answered or ones that we have no clue about. This could keep a fresh cycle of questions on the front page for us to answer other questions we might not be able to search out ourselves. In my opinion, there is a lot of digging around to get to questions that we can answer. One of the possible reasons for so many unanswered/undecided questions is people having to track down these questions. What is wrong with having a new section for these questions on the front page or randomly inserting those unanswered/undecided questions on to the front page. They would get a lot more views if they spend a little while on the front page but they don't have to sit there all day.
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Voted as best: jellylala
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I think from the comments of this concept - there is a lot going on! I understand that it looks very cluttered, so therefore I try and do this concept again with better results next time. I understand that it is cluttered and doesn't stick to the theme of the two columns. Thanks for your comments, I appreciate it.
Of course, the questions need to go to the top. I think that in hindsight, the Question of the Day could appear in the sidebar as said once previously. I think this would be better - and then there wouldn't have to be any changes to the top members part.
I mainly do graphics but I can do coding as well, although I am not superb at coding. I am much better at designing.