Can you see me yet?
Visual comparisons of old and new
Wednesday, January 5, 2005 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize News
So how are we doing? Let's take a look at the new WinCustomize and the old WinCustomize side by side. here's what they looked like to the typical user.
The new site doesn't have the theme system in yet (allowing users to customize the look and feel of the site). It's in the work queue but it won't be ready for a bit. Lots of little features and bugs and glitches to work out first. So what I'm looking at is how much information is conveyed in both while at the same time how complicated or how simple are these designs?
Let's put them directly side by side:

On the new site, you can see about half of the skin galleries. On the old site, you could only see the top 4. On the new site, you can see the top 5 skins. On the old site, you could see the top 9 without scrolling. On the new site the featured skin and screenshot are together in one area. On the old site they were separated. On both sides you can see the featured premium suite but the new site also lets you see the featured articles on the page. Both have a banner ad at the top if you're not logged in and both have a randomly selected item from the store. The new site doesn't have a sponsor button at the top - it's been moved to the bottom.
I personally preferred the old logo. I think we'll have to find a way to work that one back into the site. If anyone wants to volunteer to try to put together the old logo feel free. I think there's a version of it in the shirts area of the graphics gallery here.
What we have tried to do is have a site that is much cleaner and more easily understandable by new users while at the same time vastly increasing the amount of "stuff" that one might get to. The tabs are a big part of that and having a lot of the key data available on the home page without having to scroll down.
So what do you think? Do you like the direction the new launch has taken so far?
Reply #2 Wednesday, January 5, 2005 10:51 PM
Reply #3 Wednesday, January 5, 2005 11:13 PM

Reply #4 Wednesday, January 5, 2005 11:23 PM
Reply #5 Thursday, January 6, 2005 12:00 AM
One thing I miss from the old version was that you listed the newest submission. I like to see that rather than most popular, like the bar shows now. Just my opinion of course - it's not a biggie.
Also, I'm still seeing odd tiling in the menus (viewing at 1260 x 1040 in Firefox)I could send you a screenie if you want.
Reply #6 Thursday, January 6, 2005 12:17 AM
I miss that feature a lot because it was a lot easier to browse through that way than having to click on each skin to see what it looks like.I will be looking forward to having the theme changer back.

Reply #7 Thursday, January 6, 2005 12:22 AM
Reply #8 Thursday, January 6, 2005 12:55 AM

Reply #9 Thursday, January 6, 2005 1:23 AM
My only beef echoes one above: I would like to be able to limit the number of galleries displayed, as well as choose which galleries I see. I want to get to ObjectBar from the front page...can't do that anymore.

Reply #11 Thursday, January 6, 2005 2:07 AM
only other thing that bothers me is most of the awards. I want to see more, and more meaningful ones. *shrug*Reply #12 Thursday, January 6, 2005 2:41 AM
Reply #13 Thursday, January 6, 2005 2:59 AM

Reply #14 Thursday, January 6, 2005 3:48 AM

Reply #15 Thursday, January 6, 2005 4:13 AM
I get about 40% better download speed!!!!!

Reply #16 Thursday, January 6, 2005 4:15 AM
~I still have mixed feelings about the new and the old. The new has some features I prefer, but still doesnt have the same " feel " It would seem like the number of visitors a day must be down..most days it seems like there's noone here. For instance...and not in regards to just my screen shots, whether they are " Shot Of The Day " Seems all SS's/SS's of the day , the viewing is way down. A typical shot was viewed by hundreads if not thousands. Now most average 100....perhaps people are spending more time in other areas...but it still seems to take longer for me to enlarge the SS's then to make a comment/question...these areas do not open in new windows...and you must hit back button several times. Not everyone has Firefox..but even with it, I still X out the wrong window and the whole site. But if other areas are still up there with viewing traffic or has increased then I guess Screen shot area doesn't matter much.Reply #17 Thursday, January 6, 2005 4:21 AM
I'm just wondering if that was a " glitch " and I never had the option to rate a skin anyway ?
Reply #18 Thursday, January 6, 2005 5:51 AM
Reply #19 Thursday, January 6, 2005 6:03 AM
I not fussed one way or the other about the logo, but I agree with previous people about the authors' work screen and the large preview. Also, not being able to return to the from a preview is a bit awkward.

Reply #20 Thursday, January 6, 2005 6:07 AM
My last sentence should have read - 'Also, not being able to return to the gallery from a preview is a bit awkward.'
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Reply #1 Wednesday, January 5, 2005 9:59 PM