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Support/StartPageOptimization: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 14:48, 20 February 2009
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=Proposed Solutions= | =Proposed Solutions= | ||
==Problem 1: KB is just step | ==Problem 1: The KB is just step one== | ||
We should make it obvious to visitors of the SUMO start page that we will walk them through the process of solving their problem. People should understand that the best approach is to search or browse the KB first, but that the KB isn't the only way of getting help. Ideally, we'd use a 1-2-3 approach and messaging on the front page, where the KB is step 1, making it obvious that we won't give up until the problem is solved: | We should make it obvious to visitors of the SUMO start page that we will walk them through the process of solving their problem. People should understand that the best approach is to search or browse the KB first, but that the KB isn't the only way of getting help. Ideally, we'd use a 1-2-3 approach and messaging on the front page, where the KB is step 1, making it obvious that we won't give up until the problem is solved: | ||
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In order to explain all this on the front page, we probably need a paragraph prominently explaining how to use our site. See also Problem 2 below, since this is related to making the design more compact. We might also want to explore the idea of actually using visual numbers 1, 2, and 3 for the individual steps, making the search box a clear "Step 1" -- sending the message that there's more to come. | In order to explain all this on the front page, we probably need a paragraph prominently explaining how to use our site. See also Problem 2 below, since this is related to making the design more compact. We might also want to explore the idea of actually using visual numbers 1, 2, and 3 for the individual steps, making the search box a clear "Step 1" -- sending the message that there's more to come. | ||
==Problem 2== | ==Problem 2: The KB is vast== | ||
As explained above, there are many things we want the start page to communicate. We want to ensure that people always use the KB first, either by searching, browsing the most popular articles, or by browsing the full KB. At the same time we want people to understand how to use the site -- KB is just the first step. This is a lot to accomplish on one page, and the research chofmann has been digging up suggests that we can do some optimizations to improve the situation. | As explained above, there are many things we want the start page to communicate. We want to ensure that people always use the KB first, either by searching, browsing the most popular articles, or by browsing the full KB. At the same time we want people to understand how to use the site -- KB is just the first step. This is a lot to accomplish on one page, and the research chofmann has been digging up suggests that we can do some optimizations to improve the situation. | ||
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** E.g. add a prominent link below the search box saying "Or you can <browse the full Knowledge Base> if you don't want to search." | ** E.g. add a prominent link below the search box saying "Or you can <browse the full Knowledge Base> if you don't want to search." | ||
==Problem 3== | ==Problem 3: Not everyone wants to search== | ||
For the people who aren't comfortable searching for their problem, we need a solid way of browsing the KB. One proposed idea is to present some sort of tag cloud, allowing people to click on a tag to filter the list of articles to only show articles about that specific tag, e.g. "bookmarks", "location bar", "download", "print" or whatever. We already have the back-end support for tag clouds, and the KB is loosely categorized around these tags. | For the people who aren't comfortable searching for their problem, we need a solid way of browsing the KB. One proposed idea is to present some sort of tag cloud, allowing people to click on a tag to filter the list of articles to only show articles about that specific tag, e.g. "bookmarks", "location bar", "download", "print" or whatever. We already have the back-end support for tag clouds, and the KB is loosely categorized around these tags. | ||
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=Proposed Mockup= | =Proposed Mockup= | ||
This mockup is tries to solve the problems detailed above, using solutions suggested in the research: | |||
[Image:Mockup_with_description-1.png|400px] | |||
The changes: | |||
* More descriptive text at the beginning, ensuring the user that he/she has come to the right place and how the site should be used. | |||
* Smaller heading, making the difference between the heading and the text under it smaller, and saving vertical screen space | |||
* Text in search bar changed to make it more obvious that searching is just step 1 in the process of solving the problem. | |||
* More popular support articles fit above the fold because of the tighter layout (note that this benefit might disappear depending on how and where we include a tag cloud). | |||
* Examples of popular searches are presented and clickable below the text field, serving as a way to educate the user how to best use the search box. Clicking on an example search fills the text box with the searched text. | |||
* Link below the search box to browse the KB manually, making it more obvious that the kb is larger than what you see on the front page (depending on how the tag cloud KB navigation is integrated, this might be superfluous) | |||
* Single column under the search box, showing just the most popular articles, making it easier to read article titles because they don't span over two rows | |||
* less air between the article titles to show even more articles above the fold | |||
* Tag cloud thrown in on the right side | |||
==Problems== | |||
The placement of the tag cloud doesn't make the connection between it and the search box obvious. Really, there are three ways of finding the solution in the KB: | |||
*Searching -- we make that option very prominent because, for those who are comfortable with searching, it results in the quickest and most accurate path to the solution | |||
*Browsing via categories/tags -- this is where this new tag cloud idea comes in | |||
* Browsing the most popular support articles -- the list of articles below the search box | |||
In the current mockup, it's not really obvious how the tag cloud relates to the KB. It's also completely lacking style and headings, making it unintuitive and hard to use. | |||
The example search terms are in a way very closely related to tags -- maybe there's a way to combine them? | |||