On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:33:34 -0500, Steve Russell
wrote:

Right now, the articles in our free educational libraries are accessed
through a main menu, with a short description of the article and a thumbnail
image, or a video screen for video tips. As my libraries continue to grow,
this style of interface seems like it might get cumbersome. For example,
when there are 100 or 150 tips articles listed, you would have to scroll
down quite a bit to get to the article you want to read. What about when
there are 200 or more articles listed?
Always a hard question... folding or drop down trees are the usual answer, but
they can be cumbersome for the user..
You also have to divide the topics into main and sub headings/topics, which is a
lot of work for you..

When you access libraries like these, what would make the experience more
enjoyable for you? How can I redesign the interface so it's easier to
navigate? Do you want high resolution photos accessible from a click on the
photo in the article? What about a website search function, so you can
search for topic keywords like "Irish Grind" and get a list of articles that
have these keywords in them? What other goodies do you like/want/demand in a
website with a large amount of content?

I've been pretty unhappy with search features, but if your site is designed
around them it can be very helpful.. they sort of need a site that was built in
topic-oriented pages that stand alone to make them searchable... or at least for
a usable result to come up..
The usual result is a list of local URL's that when clicked on MIGHT come up
with a page that's understandable or relevant on it's own...

Something that I've noticed several times on your site is that you have some
very good photos, the euro pen tutorial, for example, that are very small..
Personally, I'd like to see larger pictures there or pictures that enlarge when
clicked on, so I can see what you are explaining... a picture of a pen at less
than actual size, especially on the notebook screen in the shop, doesn't show
much detail, especially on things like "how did he say to do that tenon" or
"what are those tiny things he says you can use for mandrels?"

I build and maintain pages for a living, though none as complex as your site,
and I can honestly say that I sure do prefer the time that I spend making
shavings..

Try to have fun with it, Steve... It will drive you even crazier if you don't..


mac

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