Previous post about process, this one is about content. Trying to start a conversation, not trying to be all authoritative and order people around, even tho I know I sound all bossy.
Home: Linking back to the page you're on unless it's to a label on a different part of the same page is bad form. Korgan's right. Remove the home link from the side menu and have the logo link back to the home page.
Search: Replace the search link with a search box. I usually look for the search box to the far right in or right under the masthead. At the very bottom of the menu is not a bad choice either for places where might commonly find the search box. Also the search engine here could use updating or replacing.
Annual Plan: Please HTMLize at least the current plan.
Goods for Sale: The catalogue is only 4 pages... Please HTMLize this. Also making the order form interactive with CGI form processing should be pretty straightforward.
Link out to members who sell knot related products.
Branches: Branch write-ups inconsistent. eg. not all branches have a listing on the main page although they do seem to be on the contact page. Let's blame that on the branches themselves and ask each one to provide a write up for the main guild site.
Diary: Several aspects at work here, let's take them point by point.
* Local Branch Meetings: information here appears to be incomplete. assuming that all branches have regular meetings even if they are not monthly, complete the information. assuming that the information
is complete: separate out the ones with regular meetings from the irregular ones. put all meetings on the guild calendar.
* Knotting Events: put all events on the guild calendar and auto generate a list for a one month window.
* Guild Group Calendar: there's no information here that I could find. throw open data entry to all guild members.
* Event Reports: make less work for WebAdmin. Point this to a forum thread for event reports
Publications: publications seems to be the wrong name for this. publicity leaflet and guild logo belong together as promotional material.
I think the knot charts (I paid for my copies!!
and pan chang should go under the guild library (free content to go with the list of books) Knotting Matters can be highlighted with it's own menu entry along with a few sample articles.
IGKT Library: HTMLize the information here. plus I'd like to see the guild undertake a project of doing writeups and reviews of each publication. even index the contents (eg. list of knots covered if there are instructions). How hard should we be flogging the interlibrary loan people for that tantalizingly titled book?
Beginners: Expand this. This should be the "taste of crack" as it were. The free offering that shows what we have to offer new members. How-tos, informational articles, learning program suggestions. How to get involved directions.
Link out to further information here. Start with members who have how-to/informational sites. Or to the forums where information of this sort is collected and collated.
Knot Gallery: More here that I thought. Needs better indexing or something. Not sure how to better display what's here. "knots around the world" requires 2 click thrus to get to content and then, why is that different from member work? i guess because some is purchased vs actual member work. so say that.
Start with a count of entries under a particular category (eg. tell people before they click that there are 30 entries under the knot board category).
Link out to member sites with galleries or into the forum. if the forum is too free form, have a vetted thread where particularly good general forum entries are reposted and link out from the main site gallery page there.
Links: References vs Links? Again, leverage the forum or install a member only wiki to help manage all the info that's out there.
This Site: Odd. I'd put this in the footer and call it something else. Colophon?
In Memoriam: A little macabre but still important. They're called books. Put them under library?
OK, let's think about this one more time:
The
front page is pretty much an
about us already but... the president and such is there twice. Start with context: "who is the guild", let the Council be listed just once further down the page.
Link to the
annual plan beneath the extract of objectives, remove from main navigation menu.
Membership: Start with
benefits! Ask for money later!
Link to
Knotting Matters information from the membership benefits area. Move the
Gift Aid stuff to the bottom of the page. Add a sub navigation menu to the page. Link to
Branch info from here somewhere.
Goods for Sale: just call it "Shop" or supplies?
Branches: see above
Diary: Call "Calendar"?
Publications: split into Promotional Materials which should go under a Member Resources area, and Library
IGKT Library: see above
IGKT Forum: some title text for each menu item would probably be a good thing.
Beginners: see above
Knot Gallery: see above. having a rotating randomly selected image from the gallery appearing in the sidebar is always fun.
Links: references?
