Link: http://fourtwo.updatelog.com/P12971017 Paul Lloyd edited an existing message: Here is my feedback on the live site, and the issues I believe it has. This is pretty close to an exhaustive list but note that I have focused my attention on navigational pages rather than content pages, so there may be additional comments to make there too. To try and demonstrate how I envisage rectifying these issues, I have updated my page designs, which I suggest you look at in comparison to what exists currently. The updated pages designs are listed here: http://ngenera.fourtwo.net/_docs/improvements.php You will note how the presense of content (both in terms of actual text, and amount) effects the design, as these pages have changed from the original designs presented. I've also updated the sitemap (attached), given the range of changes between the information given and the content the site actually launched with. General Points * Site is incredibly slow (even crashed one friends browser) * Too much content in higher site levels. Sectional home pages (Level 1) should guide the user to the content areas, sub-section pages (Level 2) can expand a bit more and provide a more detailed overview of the subject, but focus should still be on navigation. * Indiscriminately linking to the manifesto PDF file is incredibly bad usability design (imagine clicking a link expecting to go to a new page on the site, but instead download a 4Mb file). You already have the manifesto in HTML form. You should link to that, and provide the PDF as an optional download. Example: http://ngenera.fourtwo.net/innovation/manifesto/ * Content is more than just text. Pictures and diagrams help illustrate a message too. Currently product screen shots (where they exist) are inconsistently styled, but overall there is an impression of no visual aids, just reams and reams of text. You should look to get photos taken of events so that these can be added to the site, as well as get better product imagery. Example: http://ngenera.fourtwo.net/products/leadership/ * 'Learn more'. Learn more what? 'Learn more' isn't helpful, as it means users can't scan a page to find the link they are looking for. Always provide descriptive links. * Inconsistent link styles. Headers should only be linked as a back-up, they should not be the primary method of linking to other pages. Provide consistent link styling for navigational links (a style exists: bold with the grey double arrow to the left). * All products link into the Innovation section. This is confusing (the side navigation changes, feel 'lost'). Products should be hosted under products. * Home page and sectional home page banners talk about nGen Enterprise success stories and examples (GM, Colgate, Boeing) but these stories are never linked to. Probably because these stories aren't discussed in any depth within the site. As such this feels misleading. * No 404 page (especially important given the number of broken links on the site) Sitewide Style Issues * Dark blue background behind content area, should be transparent to show page texture. * 'Active' style on main navigation is wrong * Why does the footer contain information such as version numbers, (and patches applied)? If this is needed, can it not be contained in HTML (commented out or in a meta tag). * Given that the nGen Collaboration powered by attribution is a larger word, the text size should be reduced from 16px to 14px. * URLs aren't navigable, or search engine friendly: http://www.ngenera.com/pages/products should be: http://www.ngenera.com/products http://www.ngenera.com/pages/pr_ngen_leadership should be: http://www.ngenera.com/products/leadership http://www.ngenera.com/pages/in_ngen_workshop should be: http://www.ngenera.com/products/leadership/workshop * Padding is incorrect padding in sidebar columns. * Previous URLs (newparadigm.com, bsgconcours.com) should redirect to new equivalent URLS automatically (maybe with a highlighted note about the change on those pages) * Horizontal rule uses incorrect style * Existing BSG e.laborate icons don't match new site design * Link Hover colour is wrong on the e.lab 'widgets' (conversations etc.) * Where HTML has been copied wholesale from the confluence wiki, unnecessary tables (and deprecated mark-up) exist within the content, creating spacing issues, inconsistent page flow, and increased page size. * Print styles (as provided) no longer exist. Level 0: Homepage * Images in the flash animation should be full height (see this comparison of images used) * Images are of poor quality (subject, scaled up, pixelated, badly cropped) and inconsistent style * Powered by logo is styled wrong * Page Title is incorrect =3D 'nGenera Community'? * Content area: * Links are incorrectly styled * Content is poorly formatted - lacks visual interest and order Level 1: Sectional Homepages * Focused too much on marketing copy, rather than descriptive text to help users navigate to destinations and sub-sections. * Banner uses text within an image (bad SEO, poor accessibility), and doesn't follow the suggested style. Poor quality photography, and cheap looking design. Also, banners have inconsistent designs. * Right hand column module has the wrong amount of padding, both for the module, and the heading (which is also the wrong colour). * Incorrect styling around promotional, content styled as quotes when the content is not a quote. * Links to PDFs not marked as such. Level 2: Sub-Section Overview Pages * No two Level 2 pages are the same. Leads to inconsistent interface design, confusing the user. * Many Level 2 pages contain links to pages that aren't linked to in the left hand navigation. * Links to blank pages. If the content doesn't exist yet, don't link to it! * Whilst perhaps desirable, having long titles in the navigation is actually more confusing. These titles need only be indicators, not full page titles. Navigation looks cramped and confused in it's current form. Level 3: Content Pages * Texty * No visual interest (no imagery, diagrams, illustrations) * No visual hierarchy * Too long, not broken up * Content doesn't follow style guide Products Section * Product links take you to the Innovation section of site. Why? * Some descriptions (i.e. Innovation Storm) don't link anywhere. * What happened to nGen Energy, nGen Financial Services etc? * Whenever products are listed, they should be in the same order. At the moment no two lists of products are the same. Less predictable interface. Innovation Section * Manifesto: Link to introduction page is a heading. Easy to miss. Should be in the table of contents. * 'Innovation Network Wiki' should link directly to the wiki. Not a page with a link to the wiki. * 'nGen Incentive': Contains two links that should link the same place, but one links to old nCent site, one to nGenera site page. * Don Tapscott Sidebar promo is incorrectly styled * Don Tapscott sidebar promo doesn't link to the actual blog, just the wikinomics site * Applications: Large number of references to 'nCent' remain * Education landing page fails to link/describe any of the education products. The in-depth explanation of nGen Education should fall onto another page, whilst this page redirect users to the various education offerings. Company Section * Many of the requirements discussed before notable by there absence. Where these pages actually required? * The Management and Directors pages use different size portrait photos, some with a shadows, some without, some in colour, some in black and white. Doesn't create an impression of togetherness. News * Events should link to a description of the event, not a registration page. If this can't be done, the event title shouldn't be linked, instead there should be a link titled 'Register' * Clicking 'Event Registration' takes you to a broken page (shows a page within a page) * Where are Press Releases? Or is there no longer a distinction between 'In the News' and 'Press Releases'? Careers * Sectional homepage is devoid of content. * JobVite include is styled wrong. If there are no longer any pages about nGenera's culture, it probably makes sense for this job listings include to be shown on the Careers homepage (Careers becomes just the one page) Community * Left hand border is missing * All visual styles are broken. * More. ----There are 2 files for this post. Download them here: http://fourtwo.updatelog.com/P12971017 Sitemap 080426.pdf Comparison.png .........................................................................= Read the original message, view comments, and download attachments at: http://fourtwo.updatelog.com/P12971017 You can always check the Overview for the latest project activity: http://fourtwo.updatelog.com/projects/1796448/project/log