Home page design

[boffo]

I've talked with Dennis recently just to let him know that we do intend to change the site's home page. He has given us pretty much full control to make whatever changes we want(aside from the ad space. That's under contract so it can't go anywhere).

From the thread asking if we keep the numbers, it looks like dumping them is the preferred option so we'll likely be looking to take them out. We may be interested in replacing them with some other more general sales numbers that don't require constant monitoring and updating but only if we have easy access to get those numbers updated whenever we want.

So if anyone has any ideas of what they would like to see on the home page feel free to share them here. If you want to take the time to draw up a template for your layout ideas or something that'd be great as well.

[codenamelenny]

wow, finally! This is great news.
I think we should get rid of the numbers. Maybe just put the NPD numbers. We should get rid of the 'recent' things cause it doesn't update correctly and it looks cluttered. We should probably get rid most of the top bar like videos, news, etc cause no one can submit anything through there.

[Romanc]

We definitely should slim down the top bar, it's just too many categories. We should leave some kind of submission option though, as it would just be a more or less static page. I think it's possible for members to submit as it is today, it just doesn't show before it's been approved by admins/mods. I check regularly and no submissions lately... Too bad that if you actually submit anything it turns up in the forum as a Commenting System post. We can change Commenting System to something like User Submitted, if that would make a difference.

Posting NPD numbers can be a problem, IIRC the original vgcharts (not vgchartz) ran into trouble because they posted the numbers directly into their charts, and not guesstimated some totals. They haven't been in activity for a year, and the forum is closed down. Some guesstimated total based on all available sources and updated on a monthly(?) basis would be preferable (If someone would want to take responsibility of data collection and calculations (I know I wouldn't))

The 'recent' thingy should get reworked, particularly now that it tries to track posts from subforums we no longer have. We should have it only tracking the latest posts on the forum in general and rename it 'Most popular' or 'Hot Topics' or something. We already have a 'Popular' but it seems pretty broken.

To exemplify; I've divided up the front page into the sections we have today (and numbered them). Ads have a fixed placement, so left out of this one. This gives us an idea over what screen space we have available. Which to ditch, and which to move?

[Leonidas]

bring back the pie chart


you could draw a graph of the forum going downhill after the page changed

[codenamelenny]

Originally Posted by Romanc

We definitely should slim down the top bar, it's just too many categories. We should leave some kind of submission option though, as it would just be a more or less static page. I think it's possible for members to submit as it is today, it just doesn't show before it's been approved by admins/mods. I check regularly and no submissions lately... Too bad that if you actually submit anything it turns up in the forum as a Commenting System post. We can change Commenting System to something like User Submitted, if that would make a difference.

The only thing I can submit is news. When I click the submit video or anything else it says I don't have permission.

[AaronSOLDIER]

We need a unique look, its looks as though its all HTML from other sites.

I think we should bring back Mr. Pie Chart too!

Oh and btw, cant we just use VGCHARTZ's numbers? Its not really copyright since they offer the code and they update themselves!

Plus they are the most accurate numbers on the net!

[cyclone87]

Section 1 is lolsworthy, sections 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are not even used and section 4 is outdated and pointless. Seriously, just delete the whole thing and start afresh, maybe just have a page with the ads and a button saying something "Stop wasting time on this pointless page, click here to go to the forums".

p.s. I may have exaggerated a little

[Molish]

Here's one. Sorry for the huge image..

[boffo]

Looks pretty good. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do that.

The latest reviews, videos and interviews sections will likely all be gone though since none of those sections are ever used. And I think it'd be a good idea to have a link or links to the forum featured prominently in the new design since that really is the main focus/appeal of the site.

[Molish]

Originally Posted by boffo

Looks pretty good. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do that.

The latest reviews, videos and interviews sections will likely all be gone though since none of those sections are ever used. And I think it'd be a good idea to have a link or links to the forum featured prominently in the new design since that really is the main focus/appeal of the site.

In that case, why not remove the entire top navigation bar and add in a sizable forum button on the top-right corner?

P.S. No problem. I'm always looking for a photoshop project. Practice makes pwnage.