How to build a front page • Hacker News Board

Re: How to build a front page

#21

Post by tripngroove » Tue, Mar 10, 2009, 2:05 AM UTC

unalone wrote: post #20

tripngroove wrote: post #16

I think the author has done a good job of discussing how the functional elements of a good front page should work together to focus communication and create a favorable first impression. However, there's a lot of art-design advice sprinkled in alongside the content-design advice that I think is of a fundamentally lower quality. "Color variances should always be blatant rather than subtle." This statement is SO wrong.…

My blog's set in standard Helvetica. Nothing bold there, beyond the title. Do you have Helvetica installed? If so, is it actually Helvetica or a font using the name Helvetica? I've tested this theme on every major OS/browser. This statement is SO wrong. Contrast can be very important in creating visual separation and hierarchy, but this is dangerously close to the implication that everything should be contrasty all t…

Oh wow. Your blog looks great in FF3. I initially read it from Chrome and for some reason everything came through in bold. My apologies for having little faith!

Re: How to build a front page

#22

Post by sho » Tue, Mar 10, 2009, 4:47 AM UTC

alexS wrote: post #12

Updated the front-page: http://snipd.com/ Thoughts?

Why is there a "feedback" box sitting on the left-most edge of the page, away from everything else, and on every page? I've seen this trend on several sites now, and I hate it. This anomalous object is always floating on the left, killing the symmetry of the site, no way to get rid of it. Maybe I'm just neurotic or something but I find it really distracting.

Can't you put the form down the bottom (or up the top, if you're really desperate), in line with everything else? It would look much more balanced IMO.

Re: How to build a front page

#23

Post by ctingom » Tue, Mar 10, 2009, 5:08 AM UTC

phil_collins wrote: post #11

I don't think there's any way to improve snipd.com. The fundamental problem is that it's hard to understand what exactly snipd does. I'm a computer expert and I still don't understand it.

Maybe a video?

Re: How to build a front page

#24

Post by potatolicious » Tue, Mar 10, 2009, 5:17 AM UTC

unalone wrote: post #3

mixmax wrote: post #2

I don't think this is very coherent. It's basically the author's impression of what works and what doesn't. It isn't really substantiated. A few examples: he complains about snipd (first example) having too many colors on the frontpage, yet praises Basecamp (last example) even though they have even more colors on their front page. Comparing Snipd's service to Google, and saying that Google does a better job of convey…

Absolutely! I jotted this up in an hour, thought people here might like it, and submitted it. Consider this to be the rambling opinion of a guy who likes looking at web sites. he complains about snipd (first example) having too many colors on the frontpage, yet praises Basecamp (last example) even though they have even more colors on their front page. The problem with Snipd isn't the colors. It's the fact that the co…

I agree that Snipd's colors seem misplaced - the Basecamp site is vibrant and colorful, and colors are used well.

Snipd's homepage on the other hand is fairly bland, and where colors do deviate from the theme they are hardly justified. One particular sore spot is the atrocious green "no avatar" placeholder, which clashes terribly with the rest of the page.

If you are a user-content-sharing site IMHO you need to be more colorful than drab - you're trying to convey excitement and fun, not uptight and business-like.

Re: How to build a front page

#25

Post by lacker » Tue, Mar 10, 2009, 5:56 AM UTC

falsestprophet wrote: post #15

alexS wrote: post #12

Updated the front-page: http://snipd.com/ Thoughts?

1. You should get rid of the newest link. It will be full of porn. Although, now, there is only one porn link. 2. Your service is difficult to communicate. (At least, I did not immediately understand its purpose.) I think you should automatically play a short, silent, unobtrusive screencast that demonstrates the unique features of your product. 3. On your front page, consider displaying only those users who have uplo…

Agree with only showing users who have thumbnails. This is what twitter does in its public feed, for example.

Re: How to build a front page

#26

Post by unalone » Tue, Mar 10, 2009, 6:52 AM UTC

ctingom wrote: post #23

phil_collins wrote: post #11

I don't think there's any way to improve snipd.com. The fundamental problem is that it's hard to understand what exactly snipd does. I'm a computer expert and I still don't understand it.

Maybe a video?

Videos are poor solutions, because they require the user to follow at the video's pace, and pace is very hard to get right.

The more general problem is that most people don't know why clipping things is easier than just copying and pasting. (It's worse on the Mac, because cmd-shift-Y automatically clips to a sticky note, meaning the online solution isn't adding much at all.)

Re: How to build a front page

#27

Post by codeview » Tue, Mar 10, 2009, 7:36 AM UTC

alexS wrote: post #12

Updated the front-page: http://snipd.com/ Thoughts?

Your old design looked fine to me. I didnt notice "nine separate colors" until it was mentioned in the article. For me it looked like 3 sections showing 'What', 'How' and a 'Quick overview'.

The whole 'snip it' concept was clear from the front page image itself.