Site revamp

[Scott Stevenson]

I skimmed the recent thread about the website, and I think a lot of  
the comments are valid. Specifically, I think it's true that the site  
is aimed almost entirely at the existing community.

I think the design I donated two years ago is about due for a  
refresh, so I spent a few hours on a new design. It's a fresh take on  
the same ideas, but with more emphasis on getting people excited and  
up and running. The idea is to give GNUstep the feeling of a real  
product.

     <http://treehouseideas.com/downloads/gnustep.page>

The current site's biggest obstacle to success is information  
overload. I tried to address this a bit on the home page, but I think  
GNUStep in general would benefit from some *new*, highly-focused  
articles on building your first app.

Right now, documentation is somewhat scattered across:

     Documentation (/resources/docs-web.html)
     Getting Started (/experience/documentation.html)
     Wiki Docs
     Developer FAQ

This is overwhleming to the casual observer.

What "Getting Started" really needs are 3-5 "flagship" tutorials that  
are intended as the first point of contact, and that a newbie can get  
through in an afternoon. A critical piece of this, I think, is that  
these tutorials are written in the same style and voice. These  
tutorials could be supplemented by a "More Tutorials" page.


Best Regards,

     - Scott




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[Adam Fedor]

On Aug 18, 2005, at 3:55 PM, Scott Stevenson wrote:

> I skimmed the recent thread about the website, and I think a lot of
> the comments are valid. Specifically, I think it's true that the site
> is aimed almost entirely at the existing community.
>
> I think the design I donated two years ago is about due for a refresh,
> so I spent a few hours on a new design. It's a fresh take on the same
> ideas, but with more emphasis on getting people excited and up and
> running. The idea is to give GNUstep the feeling of a real product.
>
>     <http://treehouseideas.com/downloads/gnustep.page>
>
> The current site's biggest obstacle to success is information
> overload. I tried to address this a bit on the home page, but I think
> GNUStep in general would benefit from some *new*, highly-focused
> articles on building your first app.
>

Yes, I think you're right. The new design does look nice.   One thing
that still probably is confusing is the difference between a GNUstep
user (someone who wants to just download and install GNUstep and apps)
and a developer (someone who wants to write GNUstep programs).  Maybe
it will be necessary to have separate sites for that.



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[Scott Stevenson]

On Aug 18, 2005, at 9:02 PM, Adam Fedor wrote:

Yes, I think you're right. The new design does look nice.   One thing that still probably is confusing is the difference between a GNUstep user (someone who wants to just download and install GNUstep and apps) and a developer (someone who wants to write GNUstep programs).  Maybe it will be necessary to have separate sites for that.

I think that would be great. It would be easy enough to keep the same base and just use a slightly different color scheme for the user site.

   - Scott

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[Adam Fedor]

On Aug 18, 2005, at 10:22 PM, Scott Stevenson wrote:

>
> On Aug 18, 2005, at 9:02 PM, Adam Fedor wrote:
>
>> Yes, I think you're right. The new design does look nice.  One thing
>> that still probably is confusing is the difference between a GNUstep
>> user (someone who wants to just download and install GNUstep and
>> apps) and a developer (someone who wants to write GNUstep programs).
>> Maybe it will be necessary to have separate sites for that.
>
> I think that would be great. It would be easy enough to keep the same
> base and just use a slightly different color scheme for the user site.
>

Manuel,

Do you think it would be possible to add a developer.gnustep.org
address?  We could use that for the developer site and make
www.gnustep.org more of a user site.



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[Manuel Guesdon]

Hi,

On Fri, 19 Aug 2005 16:35:25 -0600 Adam Fedor <fedor@...> wrote:
>| Manuel,
>|
>| Do you think it would be possible to add a developer.gnustep.org
>| address?  We could use that for the developer site and make
>| www.gnustep.org more of a user site.

Yes, it's possible but I'm not sure it's a good idea to make 2 different sites as we don't have too much content actually.
I think we'd better have a single site with 2 well defined parts: one for users and one for developpers.

Manuel





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[MJ Ray-2]

Scott Stevenson <scott@...> wrote:
>      <http://treehouseideas.com/downloads/gnustep.page>

I like it. I'm not sure we should use round-rects so much though,
as they're nearly absent from gnustep itself. Can it be cornered
a bit more sharply and made into xhtml? I'd implement it.

> The current site's biggest obstacle to success is information  
> overload. I tried to address this a bit on the home page, but I think  
> GNUStep in general would benefit from some *new*, highly-focused  
> articles on building your first app.

Yes, you're probably right. The /stats/ information might suggest
what pages are most used and should be prioritised:
  Applications 2
  Introduction 1
  Documentation 4
  Downloads 3
  Get Help 5

The numbers are how I'd order them.

> Right now, documentation is somewhat scattered across: [...]

I'll work on merging these in some sensible way.

> What "Getting Started" really needs are 3-5 "flagship" tutorials [...]

If we ask discuss-gnustep nicely, will they suggest candidates?

Thanks for your work,
--
MJ Ray (slef), K. Lynn, England, email see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/


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[Scott Stevenson]

On Aug 22, 2005, at 11:15 AM, MJ Ray wrote:

I like it. I'm not sure we should use round-rects so much though,

as they're nearly absent from gnustep itself.

First, I certainly respect your opinion on this.

There are several elements in this design that are not represented in the GNUstep widget set, such as alpha-blended shadows, 3D artwork and bold colors. I don't think it matters, though.

The idea wasn't to mirror the current state of the GNUstep UI, but to come up with something that feels modern and appealing -- something to draw people in. A lot things go into making this happen, including the rounded edges.

   - Scott

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[Adam Fedor]

On Aug 22, 2005, at 4:21 PM, Scott Stevenson wrote:

>
> There are several elements in this design that are not represented in
> the GNUstep widget set, such as alpha-blended shadows, 3D artwork and
> bold colors. I don't think it matters, though.
>
> The idea wasn't to mirror the current state of the GNUstep UI, but to
> come up with something that feels modern and appealing -- something to
> draw people in. A lot things go into making this happen, including the
> rounded edges.
>

Actually, if you look at the  new new icons that we are developing for
GNUstep there is a remarkable similarity with your new web design:

<http://www.jasperhauser.nl/projects/gnustep/>

… Note: on this page, Jasper is talking about GNUstep Étoilé icons
because he misunderstood the fact Étoilé is a distinct project. He will
remove the Étoilé mentions the next time he will update the page.



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[Adam Fedor]

Any update in getting this implemented? Something I can do to help?

Are we just going to change the front page, or is there some site-wide
design that needs to be implemented?

On Aug 18, 2005, at 3:55 PM, Scott Stevenson wrote:

> I skimmed the recent thread about the website, and I think a lot of
> the comments are valid. Specifically, I think it's true that the site
> is aimed almost entirely at the existing community.
>
> I think the design I donated two years ago is about due for a refresh,
> so I spent a few hours on a new design. It's a fresh take on the same
> ideas, but with more emphasis on getting people excited and up and
> running. The idea is to give GNUstep the feeling of a real product.
>
>     <http://treehouseideas.com/downloads/gnustep.page>
>
> The current site's biggest obstacle to success is information
> overload. I tried to address this a bit on the home page, but I think
> GNUStep in general would benefit from some *new*, highly-focused
> articles on building your first app.
>
> Right now, documentation is somewhat scattered across:
>
>     Documentation (/resources/docs-web.html)
>     Getting Started (/experience/documentation.html)
>     Wiki Docs
>     Developer FAQ
>
> This is overwhleming to the casual observer.
>
> What "Getting Started" really needs are 3-5 "flagship" tutorials that
> are intended as the first point of contact, and that a newbie can get
> through in an afternoon. A critical piece of this, I think, is that
> these tutorials are written in the same style and voice. These
> tutorials could be supplemented by a "More Tutorials" page.
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
>     - Scott
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Gnustep-webmasters mailing list
> Gnustep-webmasters@...
> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnustep-webmasters

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[Scott Stevenson]

On Sep 29, 2005, at 9:26 AM, Adam Fedor wrote:

Any update in getting this implemented? Something I can do to help?

I haven't a chance to create the template yet. I can't do it this weekend, but probably next week if you'd like.

Are we just going to change the front page, or is there some site-wide design that needs to be implemented?

I'll have to create a secondary page design as well. It would just too weird otherwise. Are all the pages templated at this point (that is, they're not just raw HTML)?

   - Scott

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[MJ Ray-2]

Scott Stevenson <scott@...>

> I'll have to create a secondary page design as well. It would just  
> too weird otherwise. Are all the pages templated at this point (that  
> is, they're not just raw HTML)?

They're still plain HTML, but have enough markers that I can change
the design fairly easily with sed or other automated tools if you
give me a template.

Longer-term, I will drop the extensions (relying on multiviews),
and move to some template-friendly format (shtml or php).

Thanks for offering the new design,
--
MJ Ray (slef), K. Lynn, England, email see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/


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[Gürkan Sengün-2]

Hello

I like the design. but the lime green is ugly. and it's _an_ open source toolkit
(not, a), isn't it?

Cheers,
Guerkan

Scott Stevenson wrote:

> I skimmed the recent thread about the website, and I think a lot of the
> comments are valid. Specifically, I think it's true that the site is
> aimed almost entirely at the existing community.
>
> I think the design I donated two years ago is about due for a refresh,
> so I spent a few hours on a new design. It's a fresh take on the same
> ideas, but with more emphasis on getting people excited and up and
> running. The idea is to give GNUstep the feeling of a real product.
>
>     <http://treehouseideas.com/downloads/gnustep.page>
>
> The current site's biggest obstacle to success is information overload.
> I tried to address this a bit on the home page, but I think GNUStep in
> general would benefit from some *new*, highly-focused articles on
> building your first app.
>
> Right now, documentation is somewhat scattered across:
>
>     Documentation (/resources/docs-web.html)
>     Getting Started (/experience/documentation.html)
>     Wiki Docs
>     Developer FAQ
>
> This is overwhleming to the casual observer.
>
> What "Getting Started" really needs are 3-5 "flagship" tutorials that
> are intended as the first point of contact, and that a newbie can get
> through in an afternoon. A critical piece of this, I think, is that
> these tutorials are written in the same style and voice. These tutorials
> could be supplemented by a "More Tutorials" page.
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
>     - Scott

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[Gregory John Casamento]

Some parts of this message have been removed. Learn more about Nabble's security policy.

Yes, that's correct.  Also GNUstep is spelled "GNUStep" on the page a number of times.  It should be changed to use the proper capitalization.

I'm wondering what happened.  Is it still possible for us to get this done?

 

Gregory Casamento -- Principal Consultant - OLC, Inc
# GNUstep Chief Maintainer

---

From: Gürkan Sengün <sengun@...>
To: gnustep-webmasters@...
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 2:19:00 AM
Subject: Re: Site revamp

Hello

I like the design. but the lime green is ugly. and it's _an_ open source toolkit (not, a), isn't it?

Cheers,
Guerkan

Scott Stevenson wrote:

> I skimmed the recent thread about the website, and I think a lot of the comments are valid. Specifically, I think it's true that the site is aimed almost entirely at the existing community.
>
> I think the design I donated two years ago is about due for a refresh, so I spent a few hours on a new design. It's a fresh take on the same ideas, but with more emphasis on getting people excited and up and running. The idea is to give GNUstep the feeling of a real product.
>
>    <http://treehouseideas.com/downloads/gnustep.page>
>
> The current site's biggest obstacle to success is information overload. I tried to address this a bit on the home page, but I think GNUStep in general would benefit from some *new*, highly-focused articles on building your first app.
>
> Right now, documentation is somewhat scattered across:
>
>    Documentation (/resources/docs-web.html)
>    Getting Started (/experience/documentation.html)
>    Wiki Docs
>    Developer FAQ
>
> This is overwhleming to the casual observer.
>
> What "Getting Started" really needs are 3-5 "flagship" tutorials that are intended as the first point of contact, and that a newbie can get through in an afternoon. A critical piece of this, I think, is that these tutorials are written in the same style and voice. These tutorials could be supplemented by a "More Tutorials" page.
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
>    - Scott

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[MJ Ray-2]

Gregory John Casamento <greg_casamento@...> wrote:
> Yes, that's correct.  Also GNUstep is spelled "GNUStep" on the page a number of times.  It should be changed to use the proper capitalization.
>
> I'm wondering what happened.  Is it still possible for us to get this done?

What happened looks like Scott fell off the planet before converting
it into web templates.  I'm happy to do the conversion over the coming
holiday and install it as soon as I get back, if people want?

I won't be trying to do anything radical on the structure or software,
just retemplate and edit what's necessary to make it all make sense.
We can do more radical changes later.  But I've a few questions
because it's not my design....

Anyone know what's that font?

Do you want lime green or some other colour or change it by section
and are we after broadly the iMac shades (lime, blueberry, grape, grey)?

Also, what should happen about navigation on other pages?
  a. just the News Applications Documentation Wiki Blogs bar;
  b. that bar and a sub bar;
  c. that bar and a side bar (please not this one);
  d. that bar and a footer bar.

Regards,
--
MJ Ray (slef)
Webmaster for hire, statistician and online shop builder for a small
worker cooperative http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ http://mjr.towers.org.uk/
(Notice http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html) tel:[phone]


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