Frogboy Frogboy

Can you see me yet?

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Can you see me yet?

Visual comparisons of old and new

from JoeUser Forums

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?

31,655 views 70 replies
Reply #51 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've noticed the thing about the New Replies icon as well here on the forums when I know I've already read it...like two or three times over. o_O

Also, something I think that would be nice is to be able to search ALL of the galleries at once. This would be helpful if you're trying to get an entire theme together with the windowblinds, wallpaper, logon, bootskin etc and not have to manually search each gallery one by one.
Reply #52 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have not yet warmed up to the new site. (1) I agree with Salvador and others - hiding the galleries (in the list on the left pane of the main screen) I am not interested in really cleaned up the old site. (2) I can't find any way to view prior news articles like the old site had - click on the link "previous news". (3) The whole overall look seems too clinical and bland - I get confused where to look for ANYTHING. (4) And I'm not sure yet if I can come up with a good reason to have my own user page, so as far as I am concerned, that whole part is a huge waste.

Opus_Croakus
ODNT subscriber since Dec. 2000; WinCustomize subscriber since Dec. 2003
Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #54 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The design of the new site is very cool. Only problems for me are not being able to pick galleries displayed on main page and it would be real nice to see the date and any UPDATE date on a submission so I know it's been updated without having to go to the more details page or checking the newest updated list.
And if possible it would be nice to be able to pick which page you want to go to. When you're going through an entire gallery this can get old. (Especially with a big one like ObjectDock).

Overall though I have to give it an A.
Reply #55 from WinCustomize Forums Top
i like the new site .. i do miss a couple of elements from the old site tho..

#1 having themes .. which i believe is being worked on.
#2 being able to customize your account settings. User Title/Librarys listed in left column etc.
Reply #56 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Compliments for the content possibilities and upgrade. What I miss is the cosy feeling of the old site, it was this nice homestead you could walk through, this is more a slick skyscraper and has become somewhat impersonal.
Reply #57 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Compliments for the content possibilities and upgrade. What I miss is the cosy feeling of the old site, it was this nice homestead you could walk through, this is more a slick skyscraper and has become somewhat impersonal


Not impersonal. Look: "Welcome ExodusCrow!"
It knows my name!!
Reply #58 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I didn't like it at first but the new site is better once you get used to it and find what used to be in one spot is now in another.

Right now the only real bad thing I have to say about the site is that its sems way to text based. Where are the images? There is more text than anything else. Maybeits because there are no site skins? I am not sure, but it seems to be a emphisis on text over images in specific areas for example:


I think 2 things (as the most impotant things to change) about the current site is the front page and the gallery.

Front Page:
Layout s nice BUT the screenshot and featured skin previews should be biger. Right now the text is more important than the image (and we all know THAT wrong )

I would say the same thing abou the popular skins images but if your going to have 5 across like that then it would have to be small. You could change it to 3 of the 5 popular skins get images and then the list of all 5 (top to bottom) in place of the 4th and 5th images. This way the previews can be BIGGER.

The Gallery:
Images to small. I rather have the top 3 in each gallery than small images of the top 5.

Each section should have a 'back to top' and a anchor so that you can view the images from the gallery on the gallery page.

Sections should have more obvious links in the gallery display. Right now I click on "Bootskin Items" or "CursorXP Items" and what do I get? Nothin' because its not a link. LOL I think it should be a link. (It would be nice to also have tags for 'alt' keys so all you have to do is go 'alt+c' to get to the "DesktopX Objects Items" on the Gallery page)


Also in the gallery page there should be showing of announcments of new skins or 'new releases':
https://www.wincustomize.com/Forums.aspx?ForumID=195

I'm thinking about making a fake wincustomize to show what I mean.

All in all, the site UI is prety good. A few tweaks here and there and the UI part will be done. then work on the GUI part (let get some graphics in here please!) The user ability to change the site skin IS a great feature. Its alos very powerful is used correctly.
Reply #59 from WinCustomize Forums Top
What I tried to say is, the site has lost its personality. It's all (green and blue) greys and whites and a bit of blue. Where's the innovation where it comes to a site that is about skinning. Give it Wincustomize flavour.
Reply #60 from WinCustomize Forums Top

What I tried to say is, the site has lost its personality. It's all (green and blue) greys and whites and a bit of blue. Where's the innovation where it comes to a site that is about skinning. Give it Wincustomize flavour.

All good things will come to he who waits....

Reply #61 from WinCustomize Forums Top
New site is faster, easy to browse and more organized. On old site I like a color of site, but new one is good to.
Reply #62 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yes! It seems to be narrowing down now...not such a big city after all. And, hopefully all of you at Stardock will earn your rewards (yearly income)...if not like Bill Gates...at least 1/4 of it. While it is true that your products would be worthless absent Microsoft's products, it is "your products + all the authors skins" of which sell Microsoft's products...we believe. We think Microsoft should be sharing some of its dollars with Stardock.

We would like to see an area dedicated to the person(s) we (people in general) can contact should a question need be addressed to an Administrator.

We would like to see more stories/postings from Stardock directed towards new authors; (e.g., don't rush your work just to get it posted, show them "style samples" for example WindowBlinds Skin X by Klatuu and others, WallPapers designed in such a way as to accommodate (position and see clearly) icons, objects, etc., and so on).

We Wish all of you at Stardock (and your families) the very best in 2005!
Reply #63 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And, by-the-way, Firedog 1 remembered to go to Page 2 to see his posted-posting and not do it again, and again, and again because it did not show up after hitting the Submit button.
Reply #64 from WinCustomize Forums Top

JoeKnowledge - sounds like you're running at too high a resolution.

Bear in mind, most people run at 1024x768. The thumbnails are plenty big and if they were bigger, users would ahve to scroll to see other things.

Reply #65 from WinCustomize Forums Top
is it even possible to view the sample smaller preview on each category ??

for example i go to the icon packager section and i see list of icons but with no previews just the rating

or maybe iam kinda lost.
Reply #66 from WinCustomize Forums Top
is it even possible to view the sample smaller preview on each category ??

for example i go to the icon packager section and i see list of icons but with no previews just the rating

or maybe iam kinda lost.
Reply #69 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Liked the old format best but love the new speed...hmmm what else can I say??