The new site is obviously a fairly substantial shift from the old classic design. I tried to cling to those elements that made the other site popular, and then plug in optional additions that had the potential to improve the reader experience.
Yet so far, I have observed a slight dip in traffic. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the time of year but I wanted to make sure I took some time to address any issues with the readers. In the comment section below, I'd like to hear your general reviews to this point.
What do you like about the new site? What do you miss about the old one? (Keep in mind that Mr. Yost is still on the way!) The strongest element of this new design is its flexibility. Changes are possible and can be made relatively easily.
I want to hear what you really think of the new SensChirp!
The draw for the pair of tickets to the Caps/Sens next Friday has been completed and the winner has been notified. Thanks to everyone that took the time to sign up for an account.
Later this week or next, we'll holding a series of contests to give away 10 tickets in the Wiser's 100 level suite for the Sens and Flyers on April 5th. Keep an eye out for contest details.
Ideally I would like to compile a list of specific changes to submit to the design guy based on all the feedback.
Background looks great, layout is more in depth and easy to navigate and the member sign up was simple and is easy to use. I am glad you kept the pop up style comments. My only suggestion is eliminating any grey on grey.
One other thing that could be interesting(alb eit rather useless as it just amounts to a glorified popularity contest) would be a running tally of each users +/- rating of posts in their profile. So basically a +/- rating of the users. This could also possibly be used to create a filter so that people could pick and choose level of posts that they want to see.
I know - woe is me, I have to click on something. It's far from the end of the world, but it is one noticeable thing that I miss about the old site.
The new site is pretty good but my job no longer allows access to your blog so I can't read it during the day. Keep it up chirp.
QTN
See this is probably one of the biggest reasons for a decrease in traffic. Are a number of people having issues accessing at work?
Can't help but look at the timing of this. Senschirp site gets a face lift and the team responds with some solid wins. Maybe we should go back to the old site and re-launch the new site next season!
2- The comment section is frustrating. You need to adjust it so we can read 200 comments without having to change the page. This 25 comment business is hurting. Comments seem to be way down and I think this and the above point are a large factor.
3- BB formatting is weaksauce. You know this already. Cannot post or change comment pages on bb.
4- Time of year. Between trade deadline and draft day there is not a whole heck of a lot to talk about, this year.
We used to rack up 400 plus comments in a day on the old site, what happened?
Also, the "Remember Me" login option doesn't work for me, as I have to log in every time without it remembering my login.
No biggie though
Biggest criticism from me is the loss of simplicity.
I completely agree, the simplicity of the old site was its best feature.
Having the entire post available as soon as the page loaded is something that should have been kept.
I miss the basic layout of the old site.
That being said I love the blog, keep up the good work!
BUt otherwise its great Chirp.. were mostly here for your all knowing insight ;) (e5)!!
Overall I really like the site! The only changes I would make have already been mentioned including all of what Acilladon just said. But the big one for me is that at work ive got IE6 so the main page loads in compatability mode but i cant open any of the posts... i can just see the little blurb on the main page. If you could somehow make the site accessable to older browser versions even if its without all the bells and whistles, just so we can read yours and any posts yost makes. Think that would help. Either way tho I still ready and check your site several times a day from home. Good work
The new site looks great, but it lacks the speed of the old one. I'm sure I was good for 20 hits per day with the old design, because it was incredibly fast loading, easy to read the entire blog, and the comments section was easily accessible and easily read. Now, the full blog doesnt load off the main site, and the comments section takes time to load/constantly change pages.
I definitely like the new site, but the simple old design was definitely a winner.
That and the Grey writing over Grey backgroundis also somewhat annoying but I could live with that.
Thanks for listening to our opinions Chirp!
I don't personally love the forum. Reader back and forth was already happening in old comments section, plus there are other forums out there already. It dilutes the Senschirp brand.
My advice: Keep tweaking the look, but keep the options to Senschirp and Yost with a comments section for each. Ditch the Home, Forum and Promos.
Oh, and don't worry about the dip in traffic. We're past the trade deadline. More people came to you when there was breaking news, there won't be much now until around the draft. If you don't get a spike for that, worry about it then.
i have trouble loading it on my cell
would there be a way to have a mobile site
thanks chirp
on the old site, I was able to skip a lot of comments and just read those of my favorite posters (and most importantly SC posts) by looking for their avatar. now, it is more difficult
still waiting on that favicon
the popout comments editing background is still a mess, but it looks great at the bottom of the post. I'd also like to see more posts per page, the increase you made was good, but I think 50+ or even 100+ would work great, just make sure theres a jump to add comments at the top
I'm also having issues where clicking the 'Send' button doesnt work and I have to click it again.
Those who have it blocked at work, you can try websites that offer anonymous proxying like
http://hidemyass.com/
http://www.linkmetube.com/
http://www.ipbuzz.net/
Overall the site is great. Let's face it, whenever you introduce a change, the natural tendency of most people is to resist it. If we are comfortable with something, why change it? This is how people tend to react. But the fact is that change can be a good thing. In the case of SensChirp, it was time to evolve. The original format was good. But if you don't continually work to improve your product someone else might seize the opportunity.
There will be some growing pains, but as long as you keep asking for feedback and implementing changes to improve the experience, soon enough everyone will be comfortable and the old site will be a thing of the past.
My main recommendations : mobile site (bigtime) and less of the grey on grey (agree with the other poster who mentioned this).
And yes, my workplace blocks this site. So the only way I have to access is on my iPhone.
Cheers, and keep up the good work!
I just found that refreshing comments list button did not work and after refreshing the page I had to click on the 2nd page of comments twice for it to pull up.
I also noticed that on my profile it says
Johne You have 0 published comments
I'm assuming thats pulling from somewhere else? Would it be possible to modify that to show the actual number, not that its important, just inaccurate.
Also can we get avatars on comments?
Aside from the odd weirdness with banner ads, the site displays ok from Android.
Even though traffic is down it's good to see all the new names. I don't really miss the tedious back and forth between the same three or four people that was dominating the old site.
1. A 1000 character limit on posts
2. Password retrieval feature doesn't work
3. Main site has only a very tiny SensChirp banner. The large picture listing the things you do was much more welcoming. You barely even know you're on Senschirp with the new main page which is an embarrassingly bad design flaw.
4. The site lags. Posting a comment lags like crazy and half the time you have to submit it 2-3 times before it actually appears.
6. You can't see your own +/- and there is no running total leaderboard feature which takes the fun out of it. I want to collect -10000 :).
7. In general I just think the new site is ugly. Given the time it took to create I question the web designers skills. This site looks like something a grade 11 student in programming class could have vomited out on his lunch break with time to spare.
8. It told me my comment was too long even though it was still under the character limit.
Chirp you should make the site simpler as it takes too much time to load.
Chirp you should have your stories appear on the home page without having to click on them, I have a slow PC at work and it takes forever to load up.
We'll go back to the drawing board and try to get things to where they need to be. Nobody said this would be a "quick rebuild" :)
Other than that I think it brings a classier image than the blogger format. Makes you seem more credible and legitimate for people who may be first timers on the site.
Hmm, tht's a good point actually. Hadn't even thought of that.
Well no I think it is a nice feature, but the idea of leaving it to members only is a great one. What you should do Chirp is have a facebook "like" system where you can see who votes up or votes down. That way you can see who agrees and who doesn't agree by looking at who gave that person a thumbs up or thumbs down. People tend not to do stupid things when they will get called out for it, just an idea.
I personally love the new tabs with promos, contact and when TY starts contributing I think you'll have a ton more views. I'd like to see full came highlights like the ones you can get on tsn, nhl or espn.com, not just the last goal of the game.
Stats would be nice, like sens team or player records, prospect reports, season and playoff stats, maybe even a video section with goals and fights and stuff, but in all i'd just love to come here and get all my sens info and stuff - everything sens like a #1 sens source! It's still early, overall i like where things are going
I agree with this guy, makes a ton of sense
In your pop up comments, have your blog article as comment #0. And put a pop-up button of the comments section of the featured on the homepage in the section "Featured article"
That way, we get a really quick way to click a pop-up that lets us read your daily post, and the comments, in a simple, easy to load page.
To make the site even more simple to use, have this pop-up page on a specific site like "www.senschirp. ca/featured" or something. This way, you can just book mark that page, and people can use it EXACTLY like the old site! People who like taking advantage of the new site can visit the normal senschirp, and people who are here to just visit to read the article and zip through the daily comments can go to the other address. Maybe have a link like that for Yost as well when he gets here.
What do you guys think?
Other than that - love the new site!
Other than that, love the site.
I think if people have the desire for forums they can find that @ hfboards, this is a totally different delivery of content and I think I'm not alone when people here have chosen articles or forums, not sure theres anyone that does both. I tried to do both and it drove me mad.
just my honest two cents as you know I'm always willing to give
You can avoid it entirely and still have the same experience on the site.
If you have everyone commenting in different spots about different things, something is lost. Save for about 1 day (maybe), the comment section has been a total bore since the switch.
That being said, there isn't really much to talk about right now (so it's hard to say).
Can you repost the link to that favicon you created? Seemed to have misplaced it.
And while I dont have an IPhone, we have made a couple tweaks on that as well. Also told that they are working on a more Blackberry friendly version as well :)
I really do think the decrease in comments has to do with a lack of topics to discuss but we'll find out as we move forward.
What happened on some of those huge comment days is it was four or five people going back and forth more than anything. I've noticed a lot of new names popping up and I see that as a positive.
truly believe that it is much more flexible than your old site.
See that you have eliminated the 25 comments per page , by letting it run ad infinitum !
Improvements are always welcomed, and patience is rewarded
in the long run .
I still say an option box to be able to sort from oldest to newest, newest to oldest, and yes, even highest (and lowest? ha) ranked, would be useful.
http://www.hockeydrunk.com/stuff/favicon.ico
Thanks Johne. Try to get that up soon.
I think the idea that people can constantly make new threads in the forums and talk there removed a LOT of normal traffic. So I think you either need a limit on the number of threads, or leave for yourself to come up with.
Thanks.
The main improvements needed are an identity formulated thumbs up/ thumbs down "like" system, and a modified forum section using one of the tips I stated in the previous post.
I think most people agree that removing the "comment pages" was already a huge step in the right direction.
I also LOVE the comment character limit, really removed some pointless rants that I do not want to skim through.
Probably a good idea. I also second whoever suggested changing the home page to your own posts.
Long time reader, first time commenting..
Love the new site, but can't read it from work anymore (government - public works canada).. It's a shame, I visit your site like at least 10 times a day...
Would it work to make "home" a combination of Chirp/Yost?
Other than that, just need to fix the grey-on-grey in the pop-up comments - are you trying to make me go blind?! Seriously though, I love how the pop-up comments kept their previous simplicity - they just need to be accessible in one click.
A couple more tweaks and this site will be back to the 400+ comments at key times.
Are other people loving the forums? Just wondering.
Also, Chirp, I think you're right about your popularity. Forgetting about your sight format, traffic will be down through the playoffs (barring any developments) until 'UFA day', then dip again until training camp nears.
In all seriousness though, there's just not much else to discuss at the moment, we're all just watching the games and every game is the same - fun to watch, same guys performing well, same basic stuff. Plus a lot of what we DO have to discuss has been beaten to death at this point - i.e. potential draft picks, standings, UFA targets, etc.
I think we'll all be here chatting about the playoffs when that comes.
1. A sign up section with a list of all commenters so we could send a message to one person directly.
2. A filter so we can find comments from 1 or more specific commenters.
3. A section where some of the readers could post there own small blog topics for discussion.
Much better on Iphone
Thanks!
From a visual viewpoint, here is some feedback:
- I like picture to the right of the main post but does it ever change? It's a lot of real estate to always be the same thing.
- Your RECENT POSTS and your SENSCHIRP BLOG show the same thing by default: the most recent posts. That's kind of redundant and a waste of real estate. Why not default the SENSCHIRP BLOG to show COMMENTS instead? That way the two side-by-side columns are showing complementary yet different content.
That's it for now. Thanks for asking. Good luck.
Sent you an e-mail at 3:54 PM today
Message was sent to senschirp
I KNOW WHY YOUR TRAFFIC IS DOWN.
I use a news aggregator site: Netvibes. It's similar to igoogle and other single page aggregators.
It relies on RSS feeds to pull in content. And the deal is simple, I see a new headline on your site, I click through and arrive at the content on your page. But, with RSS broken, I never see new headlines and only occasionally pop by to check things out. I've gone from visiting your site for EVERY new article, to visiting once a week.
And, I suspect I'm not the only user to use RSS. Multiply my type of use by a couple of donzen and you might find why traffic is low.
That said, working on fixing the RSS feed.
Overall, I like it. Except for grey on grey...can't read it with my over 35 y.o. eyes.
Harder to navigate at work (good thing?). Glad to see you sitll have top-notch content.
Al
i'm not sure there ever is a good time for asses - even if the Sens have the day off.
Haha I chuckled. The comment section critics have been pretty tough although I'm pretty sure it's just one member having some fun with the new feature.
Now it's too big to fit on my screen in one shot so I have a lot of scrolling to do, on top of the additional size, it's just too much for me to view on my phone.
Fully agree with you on your comments, and love the edit or change button to correct typos.
And now meadowdog, we have endless comments on 1 page !!
Would like to be able to go from oldest to newest or vice versa. One last wish, would be to have a number assigned to each comment 1-150 or whatever . Should then be able to click on say number 50, and we woulgo directly to that number in lieu of scrolling up or down forever.
It's called a forum, you idiot. Please visit it sometime using the links at the top of the page.
It's the small things that are a bit off, easily amended...the "Be the first to comment" button doesn't change regardless of how many comments there are. The oft cited comment per page capacity/refres h issues are a bit annoying, easier direct access to the blog, maybe via short url "www.senschirp/ mainblog"...and I would love some better sorting options in the forum...sort by most recently updated, most comments, etc. I can just see the topic list getting overwhelming very soon. And what about an open chat sesh all the time so whether or not administrators want to liveblog a game, we can do it ourselves.
Otherwise it's all good, keep it up chirp, the numbers will bounce back.
I think this is probably a big part of it. I like the new site, I like the forum aspect (tho' have yet to browse it).
I rarely posted on the old site (and this is my first on the new site), but I still check every day. However, it has not been a big priority in my day since the trade deadline. We're playing out the string and there just isn't much in SensLand that's newsworthy (IMO).
My interest has shifted back to actually watching the games! We're competitive nearly every night and the games are exciting, even if we are getting a few more wins than we'd really like right now.
I don't visit nearly as often as I used to, and its only because of the new format.
geoff
Comments are currently numbered.
You are simply too complicated to satisfy !
Why not build your own Blog, and see how it gets critiqued to no end, like you , who is never positive !
Some of your comments are truly excellent, but you always ruin them, by posting derogatory comments like the above .
Was never a fan of the rating +/- feature, and it should be deleted !
I still visit daily, but less often since there is less to discuss.
I do find that I barely read the comments these days. Much harder to read than before and much harder to speed read through when catching up.
My suggestions: bigger font, change font color/background.
Most importantly for me: have fewer words per line by having a bigger font, narrower comment box or both. This makes speed reading through the comments much easier and less time consuming.
I think theres alot less to be discussed at this juncture of the season for us Sens fans, so thats one thing. I'll admit that I've slowed down commenting as well, but its mainly waiting for Chirp to finish working out the bugs and I'm sure with the offseason and a few site tweaks, everything will be golden on here as usual.
Have you tried the pop up comments? Almost identical to the old comment section I thought.
Few comments about the new site;
I agree with one poster that mentioned something along the lines of "less is more".... I don't really see the point in having a "Featured Story" section since it is just the latest story and availabe at the top of the "Latest Posts" section anyways. You could also add the "Highlights/Pic tures" thing to a pull down menu at the top of the page, and use all that extra real estate to make your logo bigger (I think it should be about 10x as big :) ) I think it would just unclutter the home page a bit...
It scrolls at least 50 times faster than scrolling down on site !
Or you can click on bar on right, and drag it down to bottom a lot faster also !
Quoting SensChirp:
Not sure if you'll read this as I am a few post behind, but I am a moron. Had not tried the pop up comments. I' still prefer a slightly bigger font, but obviously the pop up answers most of my issues.
Wasn't expecting a refresh of the mobile version of the site too. Great addition.
My only strong suggestion as a designer is to change the Blue colour on the header on the mobile site and change the orange to red!
The rest of the "kinks" will work themselves out over time.
Overall, love it!!!
The only one major thing is that with my slow internet I'd rather not have to click read more to read the latest post. I think maybe having the most recent post be full would be beneficial to all us slow internetters. And also be able to click on it to see the post, again with the comments... but yeah i dunno i may be the only one that wants that. just seems simpler to me that way and i like simple and easy.
And I am sure that me, alike others, have been aware from your page more since march began due to tarde deadline coming and going. nothing to be excited to come to the site for until playoffs are over.. :( we win, wooopi doo, closer to a less great player, we lose, son of a bitch i wouldve liked to see a win. so yeahhhhh
good job dude and lookin forward to travis' appearance when he finally heads over!
As long as the site is very mobile friendly/fast (I use a BB and Android device) I'm a happy camper. You should get a mobile app made for iPhone and Android. That would be sweet!
For those who prefer the old SensChirp, is there a way to host both the new and old website versions at the same time. Pretty much, whenever you make an update to the new site, it automatically updates the old site (daily blog and comment section). This way, users who prefer the old senschirp can read your blogs and post comments that will appear on both the old and new Senschip.
Regarding the forum, I think YOU should create 5 different thread topics each week and give prizes to the users that post the best comments related to the thread topic. Doing this will limit taking traffic away from your daily blogs and encourage users to use the forums for free tickets.
Finally, the grey on grey (when you update some comments on your daily blog posts) are hard to read.
I'm not really sure I get this. The article is still there without the comments. Am I understanding correctly that if the entire article appeared on the home page then it would be ok? Is it that extra click that people are having issue with?
Even reading from the blog page is a pain because the whole post doesn't show up unless you click through and it loads a bit slowly. I'd rather have full blog posts up front, and a separate button to click to read comments if I want.
I support the new site and know that it will be a hit once all the kinks are worked out. It's great to see Chirp taking such an interest in our suggestions and comments.
I know it sounds silly, but the extra click does make a difference. You want to have the most important feature of this website up front and visible as soon as someone loads up your page. In the old version we not only had that, but we could also scroll down and see the 2nd most recent blog in full. The information was all there without the reader having to do anything. I thik a hybrid of the old and new models would work well.
Myself, a fringe SensChirp user that never posts, have found that I am visiting this website way less after the design switch. The beauty of the old site was its simplicity and compatibility.
The design is pretty good, no disrespect to the company or designer, but if you have a website that may get 10's of thousands of monthly unique visitors, such a drastic change is too much to not expect a dip in traffic. The process should be like surgery before making a switch like this. If a switch was desired, I would have kept the old site (I know it was blogger or some free blog type) but at least reform the new site on a different system that functioned exactly the same way, then slowly start changing things and building on what worked.
What it boils down to is that the familiarity of the old site with thousands and thousands of people is gone and people have to start from scratch.
I don't believe the traffic dip is because of the sens season, i think it's because of this site, and I am definitely one of the fringe users that visit the site less now. I can't say why, but i do. It's almost too much for me.
The one thing that this site excelled at was the quick, up to the minute insider info about the Sens. I'm not necessarily here for all sorts of senators fun & games multimedia, photos, videos etc. I'll go to the sens site for that. If you can deliver that better than someone else, then maybe its a good idea, but the more that's offered here and if it's delivered not as well as an enterprise-leve l site (if video takes 1 second longer to load than somewhere else) then that may just be hurting the site.
I like that i don't have to sign up to some service to post a comment though.