Bill Norton
2008-03-27 17:02:06 UTC
This is an email I sent to Daniel O'Conner. He suggested that I include pear-***@lists.php.net on any of my replies so that the entire conversation remains intact.
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Hi Daniel -
Thank you for your measured and diplomatic response to my rant. Let me comment on some of the specific items you ask about.
Color Scheme: Let me make it clear that the problem that I have with the way the links are styled is not that you can't see them, but rather that they are almost indistinguishable from the text. The text is black and the links are dark green (#006600). While that may be OK for many, for my 60-year old eyes, there's just not enough contrast to make the links pop out, especially when the link is separated from the text. For example, take a look at http://pear.php.net/package/pearweb and notice how "PHP License" is separate from any other content. It's very hard for me to tell that that's a link based on any visual clues. You need something else to make it obvious to the user where the links are. This could be done simply by using the default text-decoration styling which would underline all links.
A more readable example: Take a look at Harry Fuecks article over at Sitepoint, "Getting Started with PEAR - PHP's Low Hanging Fruit" (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/getting-started-with-pear). While that style might be a bit chatty and informal for the PEAR site, it is much clearer about what PEAR is, why you might want to use it, and how to go about installing it.
Keep in mind who your audience is. I'd wager that the vast majority of your visitors come to your site because they've heard about this PEAR thing and want to know if and how it will be of any benefit to them. You've got maybe two minutes to sell them on the "product" before they wander off somewhere else. Actually two minutes may be generous. There are actual metrics on this sort of thing, but I can't remember where I saw them.
I'd also wager that almost no one comes to the site to see what the latest changes are (the "Hot off the Press" section for the PEAR site). I realize that this probably doesn't sit well with the developers who have been working their asses off to make those changes, but in reality most users really don't care. So don't put something on the first page that most users don't care about.
Once the user is convinced that PEAR is of some value to them , the next thing they will want to do is install it. That's why you need a big, stinkin' "Install PEAR" button on the home page. The new approach you are suggesting on Flicker (http://www.flickr.com/photos/clockwerx/2340532410/) strikes me as a great improvement.
OK, that's all for now. I'd actually like to hear other's comments on all of this.
Bill Norton
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Hi Daniel -
Thank you for your measured and diplomatic response to my rant. Let me comment on some of the specific items you ask about.
Color Scheme: Let me make it clear that the problem that I have with the way the links are styled is not that you can't see them, but rather that they are almost indistinguishable from the text. The text is black and the links are dark green (#006600). While that may be OK for many, for my 60-year old eyes, there's just not enough contrast to make the links pop out, especially when the link is separated from the text. For example, take a look at http://pear.php.net/package/pearweb and notice how "PHP License" is separate from any other content. It's very hard for me to tell that that's a link based on any visual clues. You need something else to make it obvious to the user where the links are. This could be done simply by using the default text-decoration styling which would underline all links.
A more readable example: Take a look at Harry Fuecks article over at Sitepoint, "Getting Started with PEAR - PHP's Low Hanging Fruit" (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/getting-started-with-pear). While that style might be a bit chatty and informal for the PEAR site, it is much clearer about what PEAR is, why you might want to use it, and how to go about installing it.
Keep in mind who your audience is. I'd wager that the vast majority of your visitors come to your site because they've heard about this PEAR thing and want to know if and how it will be of any benefit to them. You've got maybe two minutes to sell them on the "product" before they wander off somewhere else. Actually two minutes may be generous. There are actual metrics on this sort of thing, but I can't remember where I saw them.
I'd also wager that almost no one comes to the site to see what the latest changes are (the "Hot off the Press" section for the PEAR site). I realize that this probably doesn't sit well with the developers who have been working their asses off to make those changes, but in reality most users really don't care. So don't put something on the first page that most users don't care about.
Once the user is convinced that PEAR is of some value to them , the next thing they will want to do is install it. That's why you need a big, stinkin' "Install PEAR" button on the home page. The new approach you are suggesting on Flicker (http://www.flickr.com/photos/clockwerx/2340532410/) strikes me as a great improvement.
OK, that's all for now. I'd actually like to hear other's comments on all of this.
Bill Norton