Message from William:
This page is only about 5% complete: Please stand by.
I created this page as a discussion-sub-page for our community's To-Do list, but specifically on the sub-topic of how to improve the site's effectiveness, or what I chose to call "outreach". I intend to give feedback (and ideas) from the point of view of an absolutely new user: not just new to WikiSuite, but also new to Tiki, and new to ClearOS.
So, please don't get angry if I totally miss some point. Remember, if a retired senior programmer misses the point, then how many other site visitors will also miss that point.
Our goal is to promote WikiSuite as the clear choice for people who want the most powerful collaborative software with the least cost and lowest administrative effort. To do this we must project a web image which never confounds a site visitor with jargon or concepts they don't understand. When we accidentally do this, we send a message that we are inept at our own goals. How can a visitor believe we provide documentation and tools which require minimal administrative effort when these visitors don't even understand what we are saying on our first few pages. Literally, we are forcing our less experienced visitors to go away and learn before they can even evaluate our services. To remedy this, every single jargon word must be a link to a simple and clear definition and promotional statements. Each headline concept must be followed by explanations which are understandable by the general public but not considered demeaning to more knowledgeable individuals.
To my eye the page & banner combination feels out of touch. When I visited this site I wanted to know:
The real problem is that neither the banner nor landing page clearly answer the above questions. A lot of people who would otherwise be seriously interested in our product are going to leave our site shaking their heads thinking, "I really don't know what that was all about".
This assessment is going to be rather harsh. Sorry!
In my opinion, our landing page is suffering from geek speak, and we are therefore likely to be losing customers from groups 1-3, and many from 4. The percentage numbers are totally arbitrary, but I'm trying to convey the idea that our site may receive far more visits by valuable prospective customers who currently know almost nothing, than visits by experienced IT people. I am also suggesting the idea that businesses with experienced IT staff, who have absolutely no difficulty understanding our website, may not require our consultations as often as the, far more numerous, less experienced businesses. Let us not scare away those less experienced visitors.
When people visit a web page, there is a satisfaction threshold which must be met for them to remain on that page. They must immediately see clues that they are going in the right direction for their quest, or at least feel they may have discovered an interesting new quest. It is often helpful to ask random people to visit a site and give their impressions.
The main image is of the WikiSuite logo surrounded by eight objects that look like they should be hot-links, but they aren't. I bet 9 out of every 10 people who visit this page will move their pointers over those logos, and then be amazed that they don't do anything.
IMO, we really should activate these logos with both textual popups and links.
WikiSuite is a collection of the finest free business collaboration tools on the Planet.
WikiSuite is a professionally managed collection of the finest free business collaboration tools on the Planet.
Created by the best sofware designers, implemented and maintained by thousands of experienced Open Source programmers, and now, for the first time, collected, evaluated, packaged and maintained by our business professionals for your business professionals.
These tools are: