Re: Site structure redesign

From: Aristedes Maniatis (ar..sh.com.au)
Date: Sat Sep 09 2006 - 08:43:08 EDT

  • Next message: Aristedes Maniatis: "Re: Sneak preview of new proposed Cayenne site"

    On 09/09/2006, at 10:08 PM, Andrus Adamchik wrote:

    > 1. Navigation
    >
    > * I like "Home/Documentation/Downloads" split. I'd like to suggest
    > two more top-level sections: "Community" and "Development" (maybe
    > "Issue Tracking" as well??)
    > * I also think 3 sets of navigation are too much (shortcuts section
    > can be too limiting - there are more than two things users may want
    > to access quickly, I'd rather those are displayed prominently on
    > the documentation page).
    > * Side menu - maybe each second-level page will have its own small
    > side menu (if applicable), without duplicating the entire menu on
    > every page?

    I think that with floating css designs working so well on every
    browser, there is no reason to not have all the navigation available
    everywhere. So, top level navigation appears as a list (of some
    sort), and the second level can work as a drop down (down, sidewise,
    whatever) when hovering over the top level. This degrades well on
    older browsers. It also makes the navigation consistent (doesn't
    change on different pages), clearer (the user can understand what sub-
    menu options are available in each section without hunting through
    each section one at a time) and faster (less clicks/page loads).

    See http://www.ish.com.au/test for a two level menu system which
    could have easily been made three levels if the site needed it.

    > 2. Home Page
    >
    > * (taking this item from my other message) Need a small "latest
    > news" section, listing recent news titles (we can automate an
    > update process, using RSS, to avoid stale news).
    > * +1 for the modeler section with the screenshot.
    > * -1 on the supported DB section - maybe replace it with a quick
    > summary of features, with a link to a "feature overview" page.

    I agree. The modeler is a great feature, but the supported DB makes
    Cayenne seem subordinate to the DB. I'd think that many people would
    choose their ORM before they choose their DB. (well, we did).

    > 3. Documentation Page
    >
    > * Big +1 for current organization of the top-level documentation
    > topics (including splitting the user guide into installation/quick
    > start/user guide).

    I agree. Except that "bugs and features" should be "bug tracker" or
    similar since it sounds like it will show you a feature list right
    now. And "how can I help" should be under collaboration. And "wiki"
    should be "Index" or similar since the tool which was used to create
    the docs is not really as relevant as being able to find them.

    > * Need a clear split between different versions of Cayenne
    > documentation (via side menu or tabs?) Side menu is probably more
    > scaleable.

    Yes, especially for documentation which will continue to grow over time.

    Ari Maniatis

    >
    >
    > Andrus
    >
    >
    > On Sep 9, 2006, at 1:41 PM, Aristedes Maniatis wrote:
    >> On 09/09/2006, at 4:27 AM, Borut Bolčina wrote:
    >>
    >>> Hello,
    >>>
    >>> have a look at http://svarog.homeip.net/cayenne/
    >>>
    >>> Most work is to be invested in documentation section. Properly
    >>> divided
    >>> sections, PDF versions, ...
    >>> Also the right side is empty.
    >>>
    >>> Suggestions welcome.
    >>
    >> I think this is an improvement on the current site, but we could
    >> do better in some ways:
    >>
    >> * the design should be css based, not a table based design. This
    >> will make it much easier to reskin and update in the future. It
    >> also makes it easier to add content over time. A css based design
    >> is better for accessibility reasons and better for printing.
    >>
    >> * it shouldn't be done in Dreamweaver which leaves lots of ugly
    >> javascript behind
    >>
    >> * I don't like navigation which runs in several directions on the
    >> site. Here we have primary navigation running across from the top
    >> left, which is limiting in its ability to expand to add new items.
    >> Then navigation at the top right which also runs across, but to
    >> the left, and finally navigation on the right which runs
    >> vertically. The problems I have are:
    >>
    >> - why are there three sets of navigation?
    >> - what happens as we want to add navigation to levels 2 and 3 and
    >> they collide in the middle on small screens?
    >> - what happens on small screens when you can't see the navigation
    >> to the right?
    >>
    >>
    >> I'd like to work with Borut and the advances he has made, and
    >> furthermore to sponsor our graphic designer to work on the design
    >> with us and the community. His work can be seen here: http://
    >> www.brucemartin.net/
    >>
    >>
    >> Cheers
    >> Ari Maniatis
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >>
    >> -------------------------->
    >> ish
    >> http://www.ish.com.au
    >> Level 1, 30 Wilson Street Newtown 2042 Australia
    >> phone +61 2 9550 5001 fax +61 2 9550 4001
    >> GPG fingerprint CBFB 84B4 738D 4E87 5E5C 5EFA EF6A 7D2E 3E49 102A
    >>
    >>
    >

    -------------------------->
    ish
    http://www.ish.com.au
    Level 1, 30 Wilson Street Newtown 2042 Australia
    phone +61 2 9550 5001 fax +61 2 9550 4001
    GPG fingerprint CBFB 84B4 738D 4E87 5E5C 5EFA EF6A 7D2E 3E49 102A





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