Some observations about/suggestions for the community internet site 3/13/09
1) It isn’t obvious when you first go to the site that you’re supposed to submit material to it. It looks like a tightly controlled news consumption site—the participation elements are not as readily apparent as they should be. Maybe the text that says “add a blog” should be larger/bolder, for example. Also need a sentence or phrase that makes it obvious (Here’s how to add content or This is your page—we want your content!). The language in the “MORE/community experience” section link at the top of the page is outdated. Would also like it to be clear the CSJ section is soliciting participation and input. Would a poll help? Contest? Etc…
2) There should be a few CSJ stories to choose from on the front page, with a headline and maybe a teaser each, rather than just one at a time. The one story won’t appeal to everyone and not everyone knows to click through to find more.
3) The donation aspect of the site should be more obvious. Need an orange button that says DONATE, and maybe a DONATE or $5 (tip jar) button by each article in the CSJ section. Need some text about micro-sponsorships “building a new economic model—sponsoring a writer, beat or story…”
4) Is there a way to put borders around the photos?
5) An older person has said he could not read the page. The color is maybe too gray and we wondered if a different font might be more legible.
6) There should be a link to the regional classifieds on every town’s individual classified site.
7) The contribution page should go directly to the online payment page rather than the feedback page.
8) Add some “share” buttons for FB and email
9) Katie would like a “contact the editor” button.
10) Would also like a “site manager’s blog” added.
11) Easy way for everyone to look at Google Analytics to evaluate traffic
12) Feedback and “how to” tabs at the top of the page are hard to find.
Other: KAXE role in publicity should be better—Do a “5-new-things-on-the-site” report each week? Micro-sponsorship? Participation? Need to do more work to support journalism clubs and management teams.
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There is a share button for facebook, but because of the way we handle pages it defaults to information about the whole site, not the story. You have to hand edit the description. That is something that will be fixed, but not sure how soon.
ReplyDeleteThe contribution links now go to the page with amounts.
There is a link on local classified pages to the appropriate regional list which is aggregated from all the local classifieds.