| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | New site design to move from "beta" to standard later this week Thread poster: Colin Brady
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| pros and cons | Dec 5, 2007 |
Dear Proz team,
Yes the new design is better.
Cons:
- some setting needs to be done by user. it does not carry old settings over. This is not a big deal. we will adjust the settings and get used to new layout etc.
- featured translator and featured coporate member should be on the right hand side. It gets more attention that way! Therefore, they sell right hand s'de page ads for a higher prices than the left one.
My comment, thanks and k... See more Dear Proz team,
Yes the new design is better.
Cons:
- some setting needs to be done by user. it does not carry old settings over. This is not a big deal. we will adjust the settings and get used to new layout etc.
- featured translator and featured coporate member should be on the right hand side. It gets more attention that way! Therefore, they sell right hand s'de page ads for a higher prices than the left one.
My comment, thanks and keep your good work up!!
Regards,
Nizam ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mats Wiman 
Sweden
Local time: 03:43
Member (2000)
German to Swedish
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In memoriam | Congratulations Colin! | Dec 5, 2007 |
Dear Colin,
I used to be a fan of the old design, but I think you have struck acompromising cord by not changing too much, a.o.t you have stayed close to the prozian earthy green-brown-olive colour scheme that is so unique to ProZ.com and to which so many of us have grown accustomed, conveying a feeling of warmth, intimacy and homeliness.
The tabs and the buttons are all improvements as to clarity and ease of use - and friendliness.
Mats
| | | | | Where one ends and another begins.... | Dec 5, 2007 |
Is there any chance of thickening the line between postings or at the very least darkening it. On my monitor one post apparently blends into the next and only by carefully peering through my glasses up close to the screen can I differentiate the incredibly thin yellow line marking out the postings. Incidentally, why is it nearly the same colour as the background? (And before some wags comments. I do NOT need new glassses! .-) )
After trying the Beta desig in its earliest stages and... See more Is there any chance of thickening the line between postings or at the very least darkening it. On my monitor one post apparently blends into the next and only by carefully peering through my glasses up close to the screen can I differentiate the incredibly thin yellow line marking out the postings. Incidentally, why is it nearly the same colour as the background? (And before some wags comments. I do NOT need new glassses! .-) )
After trying the Beta desig in its earliest stages and hating it, I have steadfastly stuck to the old design up to now. But since I am being forced to change, I 'll try and adapt. However, I am firmly in the "if it ain't broke, why fix it camp" in general.
Paying members should be given the option of always keeping the old design, shouldn't they? It'd be worth my $$$ not to have to have to cope with getting used to an old friend's new face after they've just had (IMHO) unneccesary and major cosmetic surgery - to paraphrase a comment above
Don't software designers ever learn? I know of so many familiar software programmes that have had changes introduced that are largely cosmetic and/or offer features that few actually use. It puts me off upgrading software or makes me look for a simpler less cluttered brand that just does what I want it to do and no more. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Colin Brady
Argentina
Local time: 22:43
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | The new design, explained | Dec 5, 2007 |
Thanks for your comments.
It seems that the improvements in the new design and the reasoning behind them are not very clear. As stated earlier, the new look is designed to be more appealing and intuitive to outsourcers, including end clients. I'll go over some changes and the logic behind them.
1. Aesthetic changes: Perhaps the most obvious change. You'll notice (I hope!) that the new design is a bit sleeker with the addition of rounded corners and some gradients. The l... See more Thanks for your comments.
It seems that the improvements in the new design and the reasoning behind them are not very clear. As stated earlier, the new look is designed to be more appealing and intuitive to outsourcers, including end clients. I'll go over some changes and the logic behind them.
1. Aesthetic changes: Perhaps the most obvious change. You'll notice (I hope!) that the new design is a bit sleeker with the addition of rounded corners and some gradients. The logo has also been touched up to look cleaner and more professional. We experimented with different colors, but decided to stick with the classic ProZ.com colors....at least for now.
2. Navigation changes: I'll use some screenshots to illustrate the changes and explain the reasoning:
Here you'll see that the only navigation in plane site is the horizontal menu across the top. "About" is cut off, but it appears to be "selected". You'll notice that the left column has nothing to do with the current page (related sections of the site are listed, but they're listed further down).
In the new design, you'll notice that navigation is emphasized. This is to add more structure to the site, and make it easier to get around. The drop down menus are all the same as in the old design. The left menu now displays related areas of the site in a clear manor. Many of the pages have relevant content on the left column such as information on how to use the page. As you can see, the screenshot the navigation structure is as follows:
About » Info » Frequently asked questions
This is not as clear in the old design. This change also eliminates the need for some pages to have layered "tabbed tables" as seen here in the old design: http://www.proz.com/?sp=info/index&site_ver=4
As more layers of navigation are added, the area for the actual content gets pushed down the page and the width shrinks. The mere look of many nested tables is confusing.
It's seems many users unhappy that they need to mouse over their name to see their user info such as availability, KudoZ points, etc. I will be adding that information to the header without the mouse over as soon as I can.
3. "Under the hood" improvements to speed the site up.
4. A bunch of little things
* Home page customization: http://www.proz.com/profile?sp_mode=settings&sp_submode=general_settings
* Bug fixes
* Usability improvements
* A guide page for new users (not yet complete)
I hope this helps everyone to better understand the changes in the new design. ▲ Collapse
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Taner Göde
Türkiye
Local time: 04:43
English to Turkish
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| Change is good, but not always... | Dec 5, 2007 |
Sir Brady,
If Coca Cola or Pepsi changed the color of their beverages from black to green, would they be more appealing? From 100 meters you can notice what beverage someone drinks.
If you have 500.000 registered site users who use your services as a kind of tool and not for fun or entertaiment, do you have the right to change almost everything and then expect them to abide, without even asking them?
Change is good, but not always. For example, you could ha... See more Sir Brady,
If Coca Cola or Pepsi changed the color of their beverages from black to green, would they be more appealing? From 100 meters you can notice what beverage someone drinks.
If you have 500.000 registered site users who use your services as a kind of tool and not for fun or entertaiment, do you have the right to change almost everything and then expect them to abide, without even asking them?
Change is good, but not always. For example, you could have added the new features to the existing site. No one liked Yahoo's new style, but Yahoo was so stubborn to push through and their vamp-like design has surely caused them to lose a lot of site users.
Take a look at Google. They stick to their simple yet useful design. They offer the only thing what you need: search. They don't need any revamping! They get bigger and better by keeping their original display but changing the indoor shop.
I hear people scream, and congratulate you. I understand that you had only good in mind when restyling the site. But you have sacrificed the habits of so many users. The habits that helped them to use your established and well working site. In my humble opinion, and I am not even a paying site member, but merely a user in your terms, neither you, nor the site owners ought or should have the right to make any changes in the site layout that is so extensive, so ground-breaking, so shocking...!
Please either return to the old site and abandon any ideas of restyling, OR (and I am sure that many back my opinion), maintain the old site and offer users to choose between the two.
Yes, ProZ is the leading translators workplace. We love the site, the service and the friendly atmosphere. We love the way it works and the opportunities it creates. We love it the way it always was. And we would love to see it the way we are used to it.
Your most humble servant,
Taner Gode ▲ Collapse
| | | | Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 21:43
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
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| It has its good points and shows a lot of thought, but... | Dec 5, 2007 |
I'm not a fan of light letters on dark backgrounds. It's gimmicky and hard to read, and I think you've overused it in the new design.
What the human eyes and mind process most easily is dark letters on a light background: that's why books are printed black on white.
I'll stick with the old design as long as it's available, since it's easier on the eyes.
[Edited at 2007-12-05 20:31]
| | | | Colin Brady
Argentina
Local time: 22:43
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for posting your feedback... | Dec 5, 2007 |
Hi Taner,
Taner Göde wrote:
If Coca Cola or Pepsi changed the color of their beverages from black to green, would they be more appealing? From 100 meters you can notice what beverage someone drinks.
I'm not sure how this applies, as the colors in the new design are virtually the same.
If you have 500.000 registered site users who use your services as a kind of tool and not for fun or entertaiment, do you have the right to change almost everything and then expect them to abide, without even asking them?
Change is good, but not always. For example, you could have added the new features to the existing site. No one liked Yahoo's new style, but Yahoo was so stubborn to push through and their vamp-like design has surely caused them to lose a lot of site users.
You're right, change is not always good. However, change that makes improvements to usability are good. This is what we have tried to do.
...neither you, nor the site owners ought or should have the right to make any changes in the site layout that is so extensive, so ground-breaking, so shocking...!
Which changes are "so ground-breaking, so shocking"? I actually thought the changes were fairly basic, and wouldn't change the usability that much for current users. The main drop-down navigation menu is virtually unchanged. The tools still function the same, with the exception of the forum search.
Please either return to the old site and abandon any ideas of restyling, OR (and I am sure that many back my opinion), maintain the old site and offer users to choose between the two.
The old design is still available, and will be for at least 6-months.
Best,
Colin
| | | | | What happens after 6 months? | Dec 5, 2007 |
I like the old design and would like to continue using it. But there's a statement that says that this old design will be available for another 6 months. So my question is: What happens after 6 months?
The new design becomes the only design, right?
I don't want to use the new design. I'm quite happy with the old design.
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Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 19:43
Dutch to English
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| One problem with the new design | Dec 5, 2007 |
I have nothing against the new design - in fact I don't find it all that different from the old one. My only problem is that on my screen, the colours are VERY pale, the buff or yellow is hardly distinguishable from the white background. The green is also much paler than it used to be. Is this something in my computer or is that the way it is supposed to be?
| | | | | A vote for the new look~! | Dec 5, 2007 |
I like the new look, I have switched to it since the first days it was launched in beta format and, yes, at the beginning it took me a couple of days to get used to it, but I like it, also because you can customize the layout of the homepage and other nifty things.
Proz is not the only site in the "Wide Wild Web" to change its layout, many websites nowadays change or update their website layouts from time to time. After a while and a bit of patience, you'll get used to it, what's th... See more I like the new look, I have switched to it since the first days it was launched in beta format and, yes, at the beginning it took me a couple of days to get used to it, but I like it, also because you can customize the layout of the homepage and other nifty things.
Proz is not the only site in the "Wide Wild Web" to change its layout, many websites nowadays change or update their website layouts from time to time. After a while and a bit of patience, you'll get used to it, what's the big deal?
I appreciate the job done by the whole staff to improve this website and I thank each and everyone of them for their dedication and hard work.
Season's Greetings to ya'll!
Liliana ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Colin... a suggestion: | Dec 6, 2007 |
The layout of this site is entirely made up in css, so why not leave the option of the old design open? That's the beauty of css, right? It doesn´t cost any bandwith, and the default could still be the new revamped site for new visitors...
| | | | zsuzsa369 (X)
Local time: 02:43
English to Hungarian
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| If it ain't broken why fix it? | Dec 29, 2007 |
I must say I much prefer the old design. Generally, I'm all in favour of improvement/innovation and welcome any changes that make life easier or more enjoyable. However, the new design achieves just the opposite. It's hard on the eyes to the point of giving me a headache if I look at it too long. I will use the old design as long as I can and I hope it will stay available permanently.
Zsuzsa
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