Yahoo has recently redesigned their homepage. Although I think the new design is an improvement, I’m not going to argue the merits of the redesign. What really impressed me, and what I’d like to hear your opinion on, is how they created a walkthrough of the changes.
I’ve put together a brief walkthrough with commentary. It’s a 4.6 MB Flash file (mainly due to the audio), so if you’re interested, read on.
The new design is only currently supported by Internet Explorer 6 or Firefox 1.5, so your mileage may vary. The layout is pretty straightforward. It’s optimized for 1024 x 768 resolution instead of 800 x 600. Normally, I wouldn’t have clicked the walkthrough, but my curiousity got the best of me, and I was impressed.
What do you think?
didn’t they just redesign their page a little while ago? i could’ve sworn it was just redone maybe a year ago. maybe i’m hallucinating.
I’ve noticed that little ‘page options’ link doesn’t work for me (using ffx 1.5.0.3)… it just reloads the page. i see the small dropdown box for about one second before the page reloads and it’s gone. although, i seem to have a similar problem with any dropdown list like that (even at bbb).
overall, it looks nice. it’ll take a bit to get used to, but hey. no biggie.
didn’t they just redesign their page a little while ago? i could’ve sworn it was just redone maybe a year ago. maybe i’m hallucinating.
I’ve noticed that little ‘page options’ link doesn’t work for me (using ffx 1.5.0.3)… it just reloads the page. i see the small dropdown box for about one second before the page reloads and it’s gone. although, i seem to have a similar problem with any dropdown list like that (even at bbb).
overall, it looks nice. it’ll take a bit to get used to, but hey. no biggie.
Thanks Barbara. Yes, I think it would be useful at BigBlueBall. Now to see about just HOW to do so.
Tigerblade, they’ve been working on it for a while, and they have leaked it to some people already. They are just now opening it up to a larger audience. But… That’s not the point! What I’m really interested in is your thoughts on how they did the quick tour, and if you think that technique would be useful at (for example) BigBlueBall?
Thanks Barbara. Yes, I think it would be useful at BigBlueBall. Now to see about just HOW to do so.
Tigerblade, they’ve been working on it for a while, and they have leaked it to some people already. They are just now opening it up to a larger audience. But… That’s not the point! What I’m really interested in is your thoughts on how they did the quick tour, and if you think that technique would be useful at (for example) BigBlueBall?
Well firstly, I’m mainly impressed by YOUR presentation right here, Jeff! I had no idea I could visit a page and hear you talk while I see you mousing around etc in unison. Great!
As for Y! “walkthrough”, yes, it seems a most EXCELLENT way to explain a web page. But I’d guess only a tiny minority of users would ever even open it – and THEY are the very ones who probably don’t need to!
But if BBB had something similar, at LEAST people with queries could be nudged (at gunpoint!?) toward it, so it WOULD play a useful role in overall education.
However, BBB site differs from Yahoo in that it DOES have real live help readily available for such queries, whereas Yahoo is an “impersonal” site that really NEEDS something like this, that can answer all queries in one hit.
Well firstly, I’m mainly impressed by YOUR presentation right here, Jeff! I had no idea I could visit a page and hear you talk while I see you mousing around etc in unison. Great!
As for Y! “walkthrough”, yes, it seems a most EXCELLENT way to explain a web page. But I’d guess only a tiny minority of users would ever even open it – and THEY are the very ones who probably don’t need to!
But if BBB had something similar, at LEAST people with queries could be nudged (at gunpoint!?) toward it, so it WOULD play a useful role in overall education.
However, BBB site differs from Yahoo in that it DOES have real live help readily available for such queries, whereas Yahoo is an “impersonal” site that really NEEDS something like this, that can answer all queries in one hit.
Thanks Eagle_Kiwi. I created that using Macromedia Captivate. In fact, using Captivate to create a series of mini-tutorials would be another approach that might even be more appropriate (though they are larger files — not so good for users on dial-up). But they are really easy to prepare.
Thanks Eagle_Kiwi. I created that using Macromedia Captivate. In fact, using Captivate to create a series of mini-tutorials would be another approach that might even be more appropriate (though they are larger files — not so good for users on dial-up). But they are really easy to prepare.
Like Barbara and Eagle_Kiwi, I’m more impressed with your tour than Yahoo!’s. Very nice. You have the “radio” voice and everything. The sound was very good as well. There was just one small audible tick or click that could be heard thoughout the presentation at an almost regular interval. You did a good job of speaking off the top of your head – unscripted. There might be a lot of value in one-minute lessons. It would be interesting to substitute one-minute lessons like the above for traditional context sensitive help text. I’m “Captivated”.
Like Barbara and Eagle_Kiwi, I’m more impressed with your tour than Yahoo!’s. Very nice. You have the “radio” voice and everything. The sound was very good as well. There was just one small audible tick or click that could be heard thoughout the presentation at an almost regular interval. You did a good job of speaking off the top of your head – unscripted. There might be a lot of value in one-minute lessons. It would be interesting to substitute one-minute lessons like the above for traditional context sensitive help text. I’m “Captivated”.
Thanks, Mike. The “one-minute lesson” idea has merit, and it could be a viable alternative, especially where a high-percentage of users have broadband access.
I might also be able to improve the file size with a bit of practice.
I’m going to do some serious thinking about this…
Thanks, Mike. The “one-minute lesson” idea has merit, and it could be a viable alternative, especially where a high-percentage of users have broadband access.
I might also be able to improve the file size with a bit of practice.
I’m going to do some serious thinking about this…
Heh, I meant didn’t they redesign their page to its existing (or soon to be old) design just fairly recently? maybe it was longer ago and i’m just losing my track of time. oh well.
as for its merit, i think it could work well for BBB, if people actually decide to take the time to do it. people just can’t be bothered these days. if it could be done smoothly and seamlessly, without a negative impact on the forums themselves, i say go for it.
Heh, I meant didn’t they redesign their page to its existing (or soon to be old) design just fairly recently? maybe it was longer ago and i’m just losing my track of time. oh well.
as for its merit, i think it could work well for BBB, if people actually decide to take the time to do it. people just can’t be bothered these days. if it could be done smoothly and seamlessly, without a negative impact on the forums themselves, i say go for it.