PaulS
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The new website is an improvement over the previous version, which had numerous problems and inconsistencies.
However, the new website does have some problems:
1. The SuperHome Postcode Locator map shows no Superhomes
2. Using the search functions indicates that there are THREE Superhomes
3. The search function does not center on the postcode used
4. The SuperHome Database is supposed to be sorted by town/ county, but several exceptions exist
5. Unless your home is on the first page it is difficult to locate a specific home because the help at the bottom shows ‘pages’ (1-13), which bears no relation to the starting letter of the town/ county you are searching for. Better method would be to have a alphabet based key instead, as used on many websites with alphabetic information.
6. The Event Booking form does not display the full description of the event, making it impossible for users to be aware of whatever conditions apply (such as ‘contributions expected’)
7. The form itself is a mess and needs formatting
8. Also there is no option to specify how many people are booking for the event, particularly important for event with fairly small maximum attendance limits
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GordonG
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PaulS – thanks for taking a detailed look at the new website. I think some of your 8 points ought to be easily resolved. I’ll ask our web developer to keep an eye on this thread. All suggestions for improvement are very welcome at this stage so do keep them coming. I’ve quite a few additional features I’d like to see on the site such as:
1) Positive feedback/testimonials (we’ve lots of positive visitor feedback from Open Days to share)
2) SuperHomer Profiles (allowing SuperHomers to provide a brief insight into their story, motivations, successes).
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GordonG
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PaulS – a quick update. Our Web Developer, has fixed some of the issues you identified with the Postcode Locator. He is also completely revamping the event booking so this should soon be much improved. re: 4) The odd ones out are Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) which in the main don’t offer open days. They were research projects it was felt helpful to give some publicity, hence listed by name of the RSL re: 5) Programming the pages to list alphabetically is not a quick easy job apparently, although I do like the idea.
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PaulS
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That’s great.
Maybe the answer to the last problem (alphabetical list) lies in producing a single very long list through which the user can quickly flick to find the specific home. That should be simple and effective.
Regards
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PaulS
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I am sure you are aware of that, but the map feature is not yet working.
Would it not be a good idea to revert at least temporarily to the module used on the old website – that worked very well.
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PaulS
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After all that criticism, I think the colour scheme, design and home page layout are all excellent and a great improvement.
Having access to the booked in visitors is also very good – allows me to check anytime what type of people are coming and whether or now that person on the phone has actually managed to book themselves in. But I would relax some of the address acceptance rules – right now the software insists that something is typed into every one of the fields. Apart from the fact that some addresses are shorter, maybe you should allow people to book in even if they do not wish to type out their address. After all, if you do contact them, it is most likely to be by email …
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GordonG
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PaulS – Thanks for the thumbs up on the booking system. I do think the automated booking confirmation and the log in to see whose booked are helpful features. As you suggest, I think we’ll reduce the requirement for personal details, perhaps just down to Name, Email Address and Postcode. By the way, the faulty Postcode Locator tool has been revised and the new version should be live from tonight. The naming convention for the homes (including RSLs) has been revisited and made more consistent, and the visitor feedback I mentioned was added. The next task for our web developer is to make it possible for SuperHomers to add profiles and events and other useful information yourselves. I hope giving greater control to SuperHomers will be well received.
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