Posted 12 years ago
Hunter
(49 items)
Hey everybody,
As you may have noticed, Collectors Weekly just launched a redesigned top navigation bar on our site, as well as a few other tweaks. Hopefully, this will get more folks checking out all the different parts of our site (articles, show&tell, and categories).
We know it'll probably take a few days getting used to the new layout, but we'd love to hear your opinions and ideas about any problems you have using it! Or things you love about it too. :)
Feel free to comment below, or shoot an email to support@collectorsweekly.com.
happy spring!
Hunter
I automatically still go to the centre of the page. I shall soon adjust to the movement to the far left of the Show & Tell, I'm sure.
I like the refined CW font emblem.
Nice font. Very WWII. BBC?
Why not change the rest of the fonts too?
At the moment it looks like there's just been an addition to the fonts.
I don't know that I love it yet, Hunter!
Adjustment is annoying, but ........ bring it on!
Thanks for the info Kevin - we're taking baby steps, the other typefaces will probably change eventually, but the navigation was our first concern (especially for new visitors). The "Show&Tell" logo totally looks outdated now :/ so we'll see what our designer can whip up for that somewhere in the future. Do let us know if anything else is bugging you!
I too automatically go to the centre of the page and seem to touch everything which is then highlighted on my way over to the left...personally! I preferred it in the centre... not so far to travel with the curser but! if staying I am sure I will get used to it too!..otherwise great!....:-)
thanks inky :) I should have clarified that we also moved the S&T logo because it seemed to compete with the newly centered CW logo. Is that how you guys generally navigate back to the top S&T page (to see most recent Loves, Mysteries, etc.) ?
It's always fascinating for us to better understand how folk use the site, so feel free to elaborate :)
thanks Sean - I thought you might like our little mid-century-mod text treatment ;)
I still do not understand why the "Show and Tell" tag on the front page is so small and almost unnoticeable at the top of the page. Is not the show and tell section the item that brings the most traffic in? If so why is it not central and larger? Other than that I like the fresh look of the page and other "tweaks" in design. Nice to be a part of something that is developing and improving.
Hi trunkman,
Unfortunately S&T isn't our largest traffic driver (the individual category pages actually pull in most users) which is why we were working to streamline our top navigation. However, we love S&T and want to find ways to integrate it more with the rest of the site, so if you have other ideas for this do let us know.
And if you know any quality web developers, tell them we're hiring ;)
http://careers.stackoverflow.com/jobs/31507/full-stack-web-developer-digital-media-brand-collectors-weekly
Hi Hunter just sayin " I had a hard time finding dolls catagory it is buried . Why is it not under first page of collectibles ? Not other or where ever it is I finally found it Maybe Toys could be on front page with them . Other wise no complaints. I know they are not real popular on site but please make them easier to find at first glance if you were new you would think we did not have a catagory for them . Hope your your weather is beautiful jealous here in North :-)
Hi Manikin,
We put Dolls into our new culture heading (if you roll over that with your mouse, it's about halfway down in the left column), but we'll probably elphabetize those heading shortly so it will bump up a bit. We did want to keep it close to Toys :)
weather is lovely - got some rain yesterday and now it's all sunshine !
Here's an idea or two.
The pulldowns Fashion, Design and Machines could pull down material in a box that goes down in the same position as the other two: culture and Collectibles. I find those pull downs annoying how they move across the page and obliterate content. That would give another focus area on the left.
The home symbol takes you back to a very large picture of Caitlin/Morticia at the top left that gets obliterated by the pulldowns too.
The only way back to S&W is from "See All Collections" or "collections".
A bit confusing for beginners.
"Live" is totally lost. Maybe that is not intentional?
totally agree with kev on this one in regards to the pulldowns -- they are about as annoying as a swarm of gnats at a picnic -- very hard on us ole farts that have an attention span of a gnat -- have a great weekend hunter
Firstly I do like the new look.
as others have noted the narrow black banner at top of page is hard to read; plus the S&T is a dark gray, which tends to get lost. The CW banner then has a bit too much white space (above & below the text) and a bit too much gray space in the following dropdown menu banner. I like the dropdown 'boards' when hovering over the various menu tabs; perhaps adding a S&T menu tab with a dropdown of the navigation choices for S&T so one could go directly to new comments or latest post, etc. I think that would give S&T more visibility and increased traffic; then the black banner as currently designed is fine as folks familiar with S&T will get used to it.
thanks for the additional suggestions bratjdd, vetraio, epson, and tallcakes! :)
At this point, the four ways to find S&T from the home page are to click the
"83 S&T posts today" link in the top black bar, or your username/icon right next to it, or to scroll all the way down to the bottom collection feature and click "See All Collections," or to click the "Collections" link in the bottom navigation bar.
We could definitely make S&T more prominent, and I like all of the ideas you guys have suggested, particularly adjusting its display at the top of the homepage.
As for the "Live" feature, at this time the ONLY link to it is in the navigation bar at the very bottom of every page (between "Collections" and "Help"). It's sort of a secret, insider feature ;)
I'm also really curious if any of you use CW on a mobile phone or tablet device - I know it is quite different to use on a smaller screen like these, so if you have any comments/suggestions about that I'd love to hear 'em!
~~ thanks all ~~
I would just like to say keep up the good work!
Hello Hunter. I like the modern touch and I adjusted pretty easily. The facebook and twitter links stand out especially nice. Forgive me if this was mentioned, any discussion about the CW mobile app?
Hi Hunter! My comments are based on my iPad usage more than the desktop iMac. I've not noticed much difference between the two of them. I use the iPad most of the time.
Thanks for the feedback Steve; we will definitely give the universal font situation further attention. And we won't forget about S&T, especially if you all continue to give us your thoughts! (I got a bit of a sunburn yesterday, but it's still not that warm in SF)
BHock45, we have discussed a mobile app, but at this point are more focused on improving the site so that it functions great on the mobile web, rather than a separate app. Out of curiosity, do you use an iPhone or Android? And would you use an app just for S&T, or eBay browsing, or what?
Thanks for the iPad info Kevin - we've tried to make sure CW is fluid and easy to use at that size. :)
Hi Hunter
I am a bit confused as to why toys ,doll, ect have main heading under Culture ? No wonder I could not find them . I think of culture as art work. folk art ect not collectible toys ? Could you explain please :-) I think of these things as collectible
Hi Manikin,
Since pretty much everything on our site is collectible ;), we tried to separate our other categories into the larger genres of people with similar interests (so someone who loves hats may also like shoes, that's why they're both in Fashion). As for dolls, we thought they fit more closely with toys and popular culture, since dolls are often closely connected with the TV shows, movies, books, etc., of their era. Our Culture section is more about mass produced entertainment, while our Design section is where we put artwork/furniture/housewares.
I think alphabetizing those sections might also make the different categories easier to find - so hopefully we can update that in the next few days. I hope that helps clarify! let me know if not :)
Hi Hunter
Culture would not even be a catagory I would think anyone would look for toys much less dolls and of coarse my interest is Store displays for mannequins
Culture implies a ethnic catagory
Dictionary meaning
cul·ture
[kuhl-cher] Show IPA noun, verb, cul·tured, cul·tur·ing.
noun
1.
the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.
2.
that which is excellent in the arts, manners, etc.
3.
a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period: Greek culture.
4.
development or improvement of the mind by education or training.
5.
the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture.
Hi Manikin,
That's a good point - I think what we are going for is more like mass-produced cultural objects (which on CW is primarily American culture/20th century culture, though we do include some other bits too)...
Oh, and Dolls & Advertising are both grouped into our Culture menu, which means that Store Displays fits nicely there too. :) So if we ever do an article on any of those topics, it was fall under culture also.
Ok Hunter . I can navigate it ok but new people is who I was thinking of .
Nice job on face lift to CW and I appreciate you hearing my thoughts :-)
Have fun in sun while we wade through snow still :-( no spring in sight
Hey Hunter, goodness...you asked for opinions and boy you got them!
I like the new look. Agree with the need for "same look and feel" comments on fonts. Agree with the need to make S&T button bigger. Agree with the need for mobile app too.
Wish we could have a chat room.
Wish we could type in our own category when posting.
Wish I could pull together a summertime outing for CW folk easier.
And most importantly I wish I could stuff the votes so I had the most popular post!
Thank you Hunter and the rest of the CW family! Would love to see you all interact with us more.
I'll send you warm thoughts Mani ;)
Hi AmberRose,
So glad to hear your ideas - love the user-generated category idea. And chat rooms/private messaging is something we've long considered, but need to hire a developer to make it happen!
We are all ears if you decide on a Chicago hangout for this summer; Ben, Lisa, and I will try to be there!! (I wish I could spend all day on S&T chatting with y'all, too ;)
Hi Hunter, just thought I would add my two cents. My biggest fustration with CW is it categories, or lack of them. I agree with Mani, dolls in Culture?? I have said this before, as CW follows ebays sales, why not follow there categories? The new font has a nice clean deco look to it, easy to read. Cw is my favorite site, and usually check in every day. I have oil cans bookmarked and check the latest offering and then click on show and tell. Thanks to everyone at CW
Hi Rocker-sd,
Thanks for the info! As I mentioned before, everything on our site is collectible, so we've split our categories into these five divisions to make navigation less complicated.
As for the individual categories, we create our own filters to catch the best of a certain item (like Celluloid Dolls) that may be listed in many different areas of eBay....they have a much larger selection of categories, including many for new items, so we want to find only the best/most relevant auctions for each type of item. Each category on our site is built individually, and we have to write a unique overview, create our custom search results, and clean it all up. :)
thanks again, and let me know if that inspires any more questions or ideas !
Hunter, thanks for the response. I use an iPhone 5 and an iPad. I would certainly use a mobile app for show and tell. I find that the built in cameras for iphones and ipads take wonderful pictures these days. It would be very easy to snap a photo and upload it to the "CW mobile site".
I would also use it mainly for show and tell, but also to read your articles. Take care all!
Great to know - thanksBHock45!
Oh, and for Manikin, rockersd, and any others: Do you have any ideas for a better category name that encompasses Dolls, Toys, Records, Movies, etc.? (rather than just "collectibles" :)
If the five menu options aren't clear I'd love to know what names you think would be clearer!
Love this site but i have input for one thing and one thing only....a dislike button PLEASE.... Theres alot of stuff on show & tell that are not even antique, alot of junk if you ask me, and not good junk. Hate to be the bearer of truth but thats just how i feel and how i see it.
Hi Hunter
How about just " All Other " ?
PS I would be very much against a dislike button . First we can skip over it . and 2nd if it is not appropriate it can be removed if you report it . Why hurt some one who may think their item is wonderful . That would be hurtful and we are about sharing collections and collectibles ,they maybe valueable or worth nothing in money but priceless to poster . Thanks Hunter for giving thought on Culture term vs something more clear vs not so clear . Have a nice day ! :-)
I like the new CW design and I agree with Mani, Bellin, and Brat- no dislike button- there are some great, kind people with a lot of knowledge here and the only site I come to the most because of what I learn and the kindness of the people who share their items. I love this site and one man's trash is another's treasure and we need to keep respecting that.
Thanks for the additional comments guys - I completely understand your frustration P, but WOman34 put it very nicely: one's trash is another's treasure, and we want CW to be a place anyone can share an item they care about without fear of negative responses. :)
That said, if you see any inappropriate posts, please feel free to report them to our staff!
Well Hello Hunter, after reading through all the comments, I'm is agreement with most of the complements and complaints, but my "pet-peve" is after clicking on the "S&T" tab, if you don't move your mouse fast enough the drop windows appear. as vetraio50 mentioned. That's my only complaint. Keep up the Good job and best regards to you and the staff.
Kerry
Glad you brought up pet peeves:
I would recommend updating the "love" and "like" buttons, so that you can't love or like your own items. It is part of your own collection and seems a little redundant to "love" what you posted as part of your collection.
scott
Scott, That sounds okay by me, I'm probably one of the worst offenders in doing that, but I wouldn't have posted something that I really didn't "Love" in the first place, unless it was for someone else info, short posting, then I probably didn't hit the L or L tab. Best Regards Scott, I'll try and refrain from doing that in the future.
Kerry
Kerry and Scott I have loved a item someone gifted me with from CW how could you not ? And that is really putting love on them :-)
Mani XXOOXX ;-)
We will definitely look at the likes/loves buttons in our next revision. It does probably make more sense not to show them when you are on an item you've posted, and there's a lot of other personalization features we could add for logged in users...
Excuse my thoughts, on most forums, the poster has the choice to allow comments or deny commenting. "This post is closed for comments" ie.
Kerry-- comment was my pet peeve. It was not directed at you or any other poster on the forum.
scott
Scott, No offence was taken. I understand your comment was directed as a suggestion for a change to better the Forum. Everyone has thoughts and suggestions for improvement, always ready to hear someone else ideas, I might learn something.
Kerry
Didnt mean to upset anyone aha i just think there needs to be to show and tell sections, one specifically for antiques and another for more modern, or nowaday collections of whatever, i guess a dislike button wont work, now we know.
Two s&t sections*****
I just think that it would be nice to somewhat draw a line between whats antique and whats not, just a thought, im not about hurting peoples feelings i was more on the lines of regulation is all. I say good day lol
I understand where you are going p..., but I think it is just the "nature of the beast".
As an EXAMPLE, I like antique and collector toys, but don't particularly care for a modern mass produced toys (even if they are 30 years old). However, both would be listed in the same toy category (I think). When I see the modern ones, I just ignore the postings and move on.
Just as there are many true antique and collectible fields that may not be of interest to certain CW followers-- we all just bypass what doesn't interest us.
A second show and tell is a pretty tall order, but again I understand the sentiment!
scott
I agree with #45,I know I love my stuff,that's why I posted it!But I don't "love" it on here.
Also I would love to be able to remove my comments on other peoples posts,I'm on the H.A.M.B. and you can edit or delete any of your posts anytime.
And one last thing,after you post an item,if you forget to mark it as "unsolved",I can't seem to go back and edit that part(sometimes I forget)I have unsolved items that aren't marked.
Talking about pet peeves,I don't like it when someone "likes/loves" your item,and a few days later hits the undo button!!!ahhhhh!!!!!!
I would agree with gargoyl on being able to remove your comment or at least edit it . I don't have spell check and if I make typo I can't fix it or I have made a mistake a few times and wrote on one post and meant to write it on another . So in that case I would like to be able to remove my comment to put in correct spot .
Thanks Hunter for taking in all our idea's to improve a great site ! :-)
Hunter, I'll take a job! As long as it doesn't require puter skills.
for Manikin re: spellcheck. I use IE10 with the Google toolbar add-on. With Google toolbar you can have auto spellcheck. It works with any form format as here and automatically detects spelling errors and indicates with the squiggly red line under the misspelled word.
Maybe an ignore option; if you (for whatever personal reason) don't agree with a fellow CW member just ignore them. CW could add an "Ignore This Member" button on the member profile page or elsewhere. If I offend you then you just hit the ignore button and no longer see my posts. Works on other similar forums.
Yeah very true scott well said
There is only one thing I don't like, but I am not sure if it's just happening to me or it's general... since you've done the changes, when I see my posts the images are displayed in tow rows... well, this happen when i have three or four pics. I am not sure the same thing happens to the others...
that happens to me too. Looks like it has something to do with the size of the images that causes the last image to get pushed to a 2nd line. It doesn't happen with all posts with 4 images.
My images are all 500x500 pixels at 72 ppp... so it shouldn't hapen, at least when I am posting only three pics. But I've seen other people's postings with big pictures, all of them in a row... take a look at Manikin's last post, for instance... they are all in a row and they're pretty huge compared to mine! http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/86422-1940s-30-inch-mannequin-store-display-mo?in=user
Comment # 63 ... Yes most forums allow the poster to allow comments or not, in addition to " blocking" specific members also.
Okay, I think it is how the display is handles square images vs. non-square jmages. It appears that regardless of the final image size that square images are displayed at 240 x 240 on the story page. 4 of those comes to 960. When I add the various images on the mannequin link the total comes to 958. Apparently those 2 pixels are enough to push to 2 lines. BWDIK
Thanks TallCakes, but what about when I only post three pics? they are also displayed in two lines... and in that case those 2 pixels are unexistant, what's more... there are 242 pixels left to get to the limit... (http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/85802-floor-ashtray-antoni-bonamusa-ciervo-i?in=user)
when there are only 3 pics the images are viewed at 323 each for a total of 969; still more than the 958 total. Maybe CW need to tweak the resizing algrothim
Another image issue: the smaller sizing (cut down) on the Latest S&T page. I sometimes post an image when creating the show and tell and then find out later when it is displayed on the first S&T page, that the image view resized important parts of it out of the display image.
This exact listing shows what I am talking about-- " CW, ollector eekly".
Is it possible to add a display window to show what the first image will look like, so adjustments can be made prior to "publishing" the posting?
scott
Well, this problem with the two lines didn't happen until the changes... it worked perfectly before
haha, you guys are cracking me up :)
* Yes, editing/deleting comments is definitely a good idea - this goes with increased personalization everywhere. More pics would definitely be a plus, too!
* The fourth image dropping to a second row is a new bug that we are working on fixing Austro!
* Better image preview would also be beneficial, both to see what your post will look like (re: Scott's comment) and to indicate to new users which of the 4 images will actually appear to others.
thanks again folks!
Awwww, thank you Bellin. We love y'all, too ;)
haha Tony, instead we have a big "DELETE" button ;)
Let's see if I have this right Hunter. If we can ban people's replies to our postes, does that mean we can ban you & therefore your "big 'DELETE'" button?
nice try BB ;)
Has anyone ever questioned as to the name of this site? Collectors(ok) Weekly(?)
Russ, I think Collectors Weakly was tossed around & discarded.
Re-design? I can't get past the name, Collectors Daily, Collectors World, Collectors Worldwide. Weekly?
Correct. I associate the name with a memory of a collecting magazine or the like.
So this site is a digital version of the magazine, was my assumption.
oh, and @Russ and Valentino: the site was named after an antiques publication from the 1970s, though we've frequently heard the "Weekly" part of our name is confusing. :)
I remember when businesses were growing years ago they asked people what they would like. It was called marketing. Now changes are made first and the customer is asked for input after the fact. Although back then if it wasn't broken you didn't try fixing it. Anyone who uses Yahoo knows what I mean.
Regardless, I guess everyone will be able to navigate the site or go elsewhere. It really isn't difficult. I could predict the changes that are in store down the road but I won't.
Probably not practical, but I've noticed a number of times when a respondent has a similar item they want to show a poster but the only way seems to be advising the poster that they are posting their item on a new poste to compare. Probably too complicated to make it where a pic. can be shown on replies & sure it would totally confuse me to learn how. Just a thought.
it would be nice to be able to pick on the text of an added comment and go directly to that comment rather than to the top of the page. That would save a lot of scrolling on highly commented items like this.
Mustang, If you don't know how then maybe I'm not as puter illiterate as I thought!
TallCakes has a really good point. This page is a very good example. Reverse the order? Must give this some thought. Sorry, my 15 sec. attention span just expired.
Sounds good to me since we aren't selling or buying anything, why use a sellers marketing approach. 15 sec's has expired.
The idea to put the latest comments at top is a great one :) and easier input for links/images in comments and description would be helpful as well.
another thought: as part of the SuperBrowse pages; would it be possible for CW to have a comment option for those items.
I follow specific SuperBrowse pages of interest to my collecting and do find these pages very insightful. I understand the premise of arranging the "Filter" results by popularity; but given that the popularity (number of auctions) may vary greatly it does make it problematic to easily find the specific filter I'm looking for. It would seem much more user friendly to simply arrange the filters alphabetically.
Hi TallCakes,
We haven't done any redesign work on the category/auction pages yet, but hope to get working on them in the near future - so any other comments about those are welcome. The alphabetical arrangement is an interesting idea - we'll definitely consider that!
thanks,
Hunter
Hi Hunter, I've seen the pages with 4 square images are working fine now (with all four of them appearing in a line) but not those with three pictures, that still appear in two lines... anyway, thanks so much for fixing it!
Hi Austro,
Thanks for the note (I wish I could take credit for that, but our developers are the real heroes). If you notice a page (of three OR four) that is still not working, would you email me a screen shot or link to hunter@collectorsweekly.com?
thanks!
Well Hunter& cw staff thankyou for having me back:) you and the memebers of cw for having me , back!!! people really do have a true heart of gold on cw !!!!!
wish we were able to retract anything we post on other peoples post ....smiling
Laughable (or pathetic)-- two years later and cropping pictures is still substandard as the photo on this posting demonstrates in the "gallery view".
Was any of the feedback acted upon?
scott
I agree with Roy I want to be able to edit if I have a typo !
nothing like having back up ...lol U tellem..... Manikin..I think they gave us the deaf ear....smiling would be nice to have and maybe a block button for some people ....lol
I will be your back up Roy but I can't sing :-) I think we should option to edit or remove a post we made on someone else's post if we so chose to .
I Agree Manikin all the way 100 % but if the don't want to spend the money for someone to write the code and put in a couple of buttons ..were just tin cans rolling in the wind making noise in the middle of no where.....lol
We're always listening nutsabotas6.... ;)
CW - since the comments we make on others posts show up on our own boards, isn't it possible to be able to add an "edit or delete comments" function button to our own board?
Aghcollect - theoretically, anything is possible (including edit or delete functions) but we have zero bandwidth for engineering improvements at the moment. Unfortunately, unless something major changes at the top level, there will be no S&T changes in the foreseeable future. Just being honest - we'll have to keep on keeping on. ;)
CW - ok, I can certainly live with that - I have the spellcheck option on mine so I don't have the problem Mani does but any comments with typos, they can still ask the original poster to delete the comment themselves. - Thanks, LOVE the CW site ever since I found it and all the collectors that utilize it (even the sometimes nasty ones) :))))
Thank you aghcollect for being a great contributor to our little community! :)
Just bounced in for my daily view......always enjoy reading comments and responses :-)
Kerry ... How's the view from there ????
Eye4.....hot and steamy....chance of weather...... How's your day?
happy spring and great summer to all
Not bad ... Just reflecting on the weight I have gained since this post two years ago ..
Happy Spring lundy......and Eye4, LOL, age has a way of doing that....as I'm 29 years old....with 30 years experience
well better back away from commenting of subject..... Still a great post Hunter, glad to see it's been back to the top
Lol ... Remember this post ? How we both said we also were launching our own redesign ? that didn't work out for me either.