I think the main issue for me is that the link to the blog used to be on the top navigation, so wherever I went on the site, I could click back to the blog and it made the site so much more browsable. At the moment, the blog link is under the 'more' category which hides away a core part of why I visit the site. It's not just about the homepage at all.
@Alia - you can get to the blog under 'more' (top item) but, yes, it's less obvious and a bit more motor/cognitive effort! We'll think about putting it back as a top level nav item ;)
Thanks for comments. We probably need to give it a few weeks but interestingly our Blog has actually got more traffic since the redesign... not quite sure why.
But the overall message we're hearing back is that the navigation, clarity of structure etc. is an improvement but we need a) to finesse the design (fonts, colours, icons etc) and b) bring back a bit of 'character' (e.g. many people miss the old scrolling logo).
Glad the sky dissapeared. It was taking up too much space, IMHO.
I think the new navigation is much more useful for both seasoned users and newbies alike. I suspect the latter will hover over each tab to get an idea of what is on offer. As someone else has alrady mentioned, some kind of short and significant tagline would be help.
The 'How can we help you' tab is good too but the actual pages seem to only present products and services. How about a list of the latest blog posts and forum discussions about each specific topic? Can you drop in the What's New box you have on the homepage?
Also, I think it's a pity you're hiding topics under a pull down menu. That list defines what you are about (vs the tabs describing how you deliver it).
I like the bolder design and look forward to more boldness in pages going deeper into the site.
Very happy that the twitter feed isn't center stage and I think that it works perfectly under the 'What are people saying about Econsultancy?', because that's what it is.
One final thought... how about categorising content by location too? Most of your stuff is UK / USA- centric but surely you're planning to take over the world? Perhaps you can start off with adding forums for discussions relating to regions (Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, etc...), adding the same tags to your blog posts.
Econsultancy's fourth Quarterly Digital Intelligence Briefing, produced in partnership with Adobe, aims to distil a plethora of data and discussion points into some key digital trends, challenges and opportunities which businesses are (or should be) paying close attention to during 2012. The report is based on a survey of around 600 business respondents predominantly in the United States and Europe.
CRM Manager at Dairy Crest
15 June 2010 10:21am
I think the main issue for me is that the link to the blog used to be on the top navigation, so wherever I went on the site, I could click back to the blog and it made the site so much more browsable. At the moment, the blog link is under the 'more' category which hides away a core part of why I visit the site. It's not just about the homepage at all.
CEO at Econsultancy
15 June 2010 10:31am
@Alia - you can get to the blog under 'more' (top item) but, yes, it's less obvious and a bit more motor/cognitive effort! We'll think about putting it back as a top level nav item ;)
project executive at b2b events organizer
16 June 2010 14:41pm
Hi there,
Thanks for let us know so much about "your" change
What i like : clearer view on main sections (upwards)
What i miss : the moving logo when scrolling down eg you where you are ;-) Funny & useful
What i am waiting for: finesse of the design
Congrats & best regards from a great fan
Laura
16 June 2010 16:15pm
Did you try it on an iPad? Sadly I'm not lucky enough to own one.
http://econsultancy.com/blog/6068-agencies-please-please-check-your-websites-on-an-ipad
CEO at Econsultancy
17 June 2010 09:55am
@All
Thanks for comments. We probably need to give it a few weeks but interestingly our Blog has actually got more traffic since the redesign... not quite sure why.
But the overall message we're hearing back is that the navigation, clarity of structure etc. is an improvement but we need a) to finesse the design (fonts, colours, icons etc) and b) bring back a bit of 'character' (e.g. many people miss the old scrolling logo).
Ashley
Freelance Web Consultant at architxt.net
18 June 2010 05:06am
Glad the sky dissapeared. It was taking up too much space, IMHO.
I think the new navigation is much more useful for both seasoned users and newbies alike. I suspect the latter will hover over each tab to get an idea of what is on offer. As someone else has alrady mentioned, some kind of short and significant tagline would be help.
The 'How can we help you' tab is good too but the actual pages seem to only present products and services. How about a list of the latest blog posts and forum discussions about each specific topic? Can you drop in the What's New box you have on the homepage?
Also, I think it's a pity you're hiding topics under a pull down menu. That list defines what you are about (vs the tabs describing how you deliver it).
I like the bolder design and look forward to more boldness in pages going deeper into the site.
Very happy that the twitter feed isn't center stage and I think that it works perfectly under the 'What are people saying about Econsultancy?', because that's what it is.
One final thought... how about categorising content by location too? Most of your stuff is UK / USA- centric but surely you're planning to take over the world? Perhaps you can start off with adding forums for discussions relating to regions (Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, etc...), adding the same tags to your blog posts.
Owner at Giuseppe Venditti
20 June 2010 15:22pm
More Web 2.0 oriented.... In any case more readable.
As any new stuff we need time to have a better understanding of new structure.