So... What's the plan for VGC going forward?

[TruckOSaurus]

spemanig said:

Machina said:

Not a bad drawing xD

I quite like it, but I do think the ad movement would be a deal-breaker for Brett, and if it were put back to its usual placing that would probably push the hot topics tab too far down the page.

With the VGC Buddy you say if you click it it would stay until you closed it, and from the dimensions in your image I'm assuming that means it'd eat into other content on the front page when it is out. Do you not think that having the VGC buddy acting as a pop up that will cover some of the content on the front page would annoy a lot of people? At present it just fits neatly down the side so it's pretty unobtrusive.

Another concern is whether a redesign will actually be a good thing in general. It'd definitely make sense for the mobile version to be a major redesign, for the reasons Trucks gave, but a lot of people dislike change so is it a good idea to re-do the front page on the main, non-mobile site? For example, most of the older users here still say they prefer the origina blue or the black site to this day - and that seems to be a fairly consistent feeling across all websites (Platina's post above regarding the Nintendo-dedicated sites is a good illustration of this). What may initially seem like a better design can actually alienate people.

 

Hm... That's difficult to work around.

I definitely do think there desperately needs a redesign. I think change naturally alienates some people, but I strongly believe that the way the site is currently is very disorganized to put it lightly. I think it's very counterintuitive to the kinds of traffic I think the site can get, and I think it pretty much guarantees that the articles will get little attention. It almost feels like we're sending the articles out to die with the way it's currently laid out, which just isn't fair to me, and seems to run against the best intrests of the site.

The discomfort is definitely a consistant feeling across all websites, but more often than not people simply get used to that change, as Platina's post above regarding the Nintendo dedicated sites also illustrated.

It's tough, because it's difficult for me to think of a way to keep the Forum Hot Topics at the top while giving the articles the primary attention I think they deserve. Perhap making the Featured Article section I made and cutting it in half. The Global Hardware can slide into the middle (much like it is now -_-), and then the ad would go where the Hardware box used to be. That way it's the same as it used to be, the articles still have a relatively prominant position on the front page, and the Forum Hot Topics doesn't have to move positions. Just slide up the recent articles, and you have a much more intuitive page layout that drives traffic and represent's the site's various sections more efficiently.

Something like this:

As for the VGC buddy, I was assuming it would be much like the way youtube used to do it, where clicking on it would actually shift the entire page about half an inch to the right, making room for that tab by closing the blank, unoccupied space. I don't see why this couldn't be the same. If anything, I guess it could be on the side. I just think it looks a bit cluttered the way it is currently, so I was trying to make the whole thing tidier.

I'm liking what I see. Especially the big box at the top to display the news. I think your first draft was better because it was less cramped but if I go by Machina's comments I'm guessing we don't really have a choice when it comes to ad placement. Now, you wouldn't happen to have some Photoshop skills and could whip up a sample new homepage?