Tutorials - Need opinions - Help Dgrin

ivar

I'm going to be working on the tutorials for a while; before updating the actual tutorials, I wanted to update the 'index page'. I think the current version requires too much scrolling, and doesn't give a clear view of what's available.

I have come up with a new idea on the index page, and wanted to see if it is more clear to everyone (most anyway) and not just me.

Don't worry about the look/layout of the lists, etc, I'm not done with them yet. I just need to know if I'm going the right direction as far as general idea/ease of use/clearness/etc.

:ear



EDIT: The change has been made; this is the new index page.

darkdragon

I like it!

Have you though about a page title? I notice the old one only had a description and the only title was in the breadcrumb. I'm thinking something like an < H1> title.

ivar

darkdragon wrote:

I like it!

Thanks.

darkdragon wrote:

Have you though about a page title? I notice the old one only had a description and the only title was in the breadcrumb. I'm thinking something like an < H1> title.

I didn't come that far yet <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/lol3.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" > but I added a temporary description/title for you <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

Cuong

Definitely right direction and marked improvement over the old one. Way to go, Ivar.

Cuong

Ann McRae

Nice job, Ivar.

My only thought at this point is to put them into a different order -> Smugmug/dgrin how to's before photoshop/processing how to's.

I say this because I suspect that those are more often used and should be given more prominence.

(How was your trip home? It has snowed/rained here continuously since I got back, and the forecast for Saturday is -22C.)

ann

Nikolai

I like it!
I agree with Ann.. I think the most basic ones (like how to post a picture) should be up front.
Was good seeing you again!

ivar

Cuong wrote:

Definitely right direction and marked improvement over the old one. Way to go, Ivar.

Cuong

ivar

Ann McRae wrote:

(How was your trip home? It has snowed/rained here continuously since I got back, and the forecast for Saturday is -22C.)

ann

The trip home was long (about 22 hours of traveling and 9 timezones. It was okay though, no delays, etc

ivar

Ann McRae wrote:

Nice job, Ivar.

My only thought at this point is to put them into a different order -> Smugmug/dgrin how to's before photoshop/processing how to's.

I say this because I suspect that those are more often used and should be given more prominence.

(How was your trip home? It has snowed/rained here continuously since I got back, and the forecast for Saturday is -22C.)

ann

Nikolai wrote:

I agree with Ann.. I think the most basic ones (like how to post a picture) should be up front.
Was good seeing you again!

Hmm, okay. I see where you are coming from I guess; Funny, I never looked at it that way.

Here's why I didn't think of that:
Dgrin is a photography forum, yes? So, it's all about photography. Dgrin and SmugMug play a supporting role, but are not directly about photography. So why put the 'supporting ones' first, when it's about the photography? See the dilemma?

Nikolai

ivar wrote:

Hmm, okay. I see where you are coming from I guess; Funny, I never looked at it that way.

Here's why I didn't think of that:
Dgrin is a photography forum, yes? So, it's all about photography. Dgrin and SmugMug play a supporting role, but are not directly about photography. So why put the 'supporting ones' first, when it's about the photography? See the dilemma?

Those who are fluent in both photography and internet fora would probably never go to that section anyway, and even if they do, they will be able to quickly locate what they were looking for regardless of the location. But it's the n00bs who need the info the most, and they are also those who get information overload syndrome very quickly. People can't attach a picture they have a dire need to get a help with, or don't know what the aperture is, what advanced shooting technique you're going to greet them with?
Keep it simple!

Awais Yaqub

I think Photography Tutorials and Dgrin/Smugmug tutorials should be on separate pages.

ivar

Awais Yaqub wrote:

I think Photography Tutorials and Dgrin/Smugmug tutorials should be on separate pages.

I can't really do that, because the index page is linked in help posts on the forum, and in emails from the SmugMug helpdesk, too. Splitting the page would mean that some of the links would make no sense anymore.

Llywellyn

Ooooh, prettyyyyyy. Looks way swanky. Yay for less scrolling!

ivar

Nikolai wrote:

Those who are fluent in both photography and internet fora would probably never go to that section anyway, and even if they do, they will be able to quickly locate what they were looking for regardless of the location. But it's the n00bs who need the info the most, and they are also those who get information overload syndrome very quickly. People can't attach a picture they have a dire need to get a help with, or don't know what the aperture is, what advanced shooting technique you're going to greet them with?
Keep it simple!

Hmm, so what order of the existing 'chapters' do you suggest?

ivar

Anyone any other comments?

Nikolai

ivar wrote:

Hmm, so what order of the existing 'chapters' do you suggest?

Oh man, just start with the most basic stuff first and then advance.

leaforte

I guess it's just my eyes, but I find the categories in each subject a tad bit hard to read, not enough space between lines. But, yes, I can lean and squint and get it figured out.

catspaw

ditto on basic to advance -- toss out questions if you aren't sure where to classify a topic or somesuch. I'm *sure* there will be opinions for ya

ivar

leaforte wrote:

I guess it's just my eyes, but I find the categories in each subject a tad bit hard to read, not enough space between lines. But, yes, I can lean and squint and get it figured out.

That's still being worked on (see first post)

ivar

catspaw wrote:

ditto on basic to advance -- toss out questions if you aren't sure where to classify a topic or somesuch. I'm *sure* there will be opinions for ya

Let me make sure that it's clear that I'm not going to move the tutorials to different 'sections'. I can move sections around, no problem, but not the tutorials between the sections.

ivar

Does the order make more sense like this?

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/6800599_Ry6gJ

darkdragon

ivar wrote:

Does the order make more sense like this?

It looks really good to me, much easier to figure out than the old way.

Ann McRae

ivar wrote:

Does the order make more sense like this?

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/6800599_Ry6gJ

clap

ivar

darkdragon wrote:

It looks really good to me, much easier to figure out than the old way.

That's great



In theory (tutorial-utopia) the order wouldn't matter because they are all easy to find

baldmountain

I like this new view better than the old view. I notice that there are 8 sections. 2 rows of 3 and 1 of 2. Could you scrunch the items in the rows a bit and make 2 rows of 4 rather than 3 rows? That would make for even less scrolling. I have 2 inches of blank space on each side of the page that could be used for a column.

ivar wrote:

Does the order make more sense like this?

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/6800599_Ry6gJ

ivar

baldmountain wrote:

I like this new view better than the old view. I notice that there are 8 sections. 2 rows of 3 and 1 of 2. Could you scrunch the items in the rows a bit and make 2 rows of 4 rather than 3 rows? That would make for even less scrolling. I have 2 inches of blank space on each side of the page that could be used for a column.

I tried that actually; I tried pages with 2, 3 and 4 columns.

I settled on 3 for a few reasons. 2 still makes the page too long for me, too much scrolling. 4 for some reason makes it feel more cluttered, less clear, like overview is lost. Also, with 4 the width of the page will be well over 1024, and almost 1280 pixels. Even though big screens are gaining popularity and all, quite a few people still use screens with lower resolutions.

Eliminating scrolling isn't one of my goals. I wanted it to be less than it was; I mean, I could even make it less by condensing things more, remove images, etc. But that doesn't make it more clear for some reason, and definitely not prettier to look at I mainly want it easier for tutes to be found

Nikolai

ivar wrote:

Does the order make more sense like this?
http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/6800599_Ry6gJ

catspaw

ivar wrote:

Let me make sure that it's clear that I'm not going to move the tutorials to different 'sections'. I can move sections around, no problem, but not the tutorials between the sections.

Yup, 100% clear. I saw your earlier post on that.

baldmountain

Another possibility is to have 2 pages. One for Digital Grin and SmugMug site customization/help tutorials, (the top 3 groups) and the other for photography and image processing tutorials. This would make the separation between the groups distinct. It also allow adding more tutorial sections. I wouldn't mind seeing groups of tutorials on Lightroom and Aperture to go along with the Photoshop tutorials.

Allen

Could you lose the link underlines? Makes it difficult to read. Maybe just a
hover color.


.gallery_6800599 #albumDescription a {
text-decoration: none;
}
.gallery_6800599 #albumDescription a:hover {
color: white;
}

smilephotography

Can anyone submit a tutorial?
Hi Ivar

Can anyone submit a tutorial for inclusion on your tutorial pages? I have been teaching photoshop to retired folks for several years now and have some that always go down well.

I am new today and may not be asking the right person, please have mercy!
Helen