Website Navigability Survey Response

Original Post: Ember, March 25, 2018

Last week, River, Alien, and I sent out three surveys. The third survey, written by myself, regarded how members navigate the website, which features they use most frequently, and how these features can be improved. The questions about how frequently each feature is used helps me prioritize updates and know how to effectively deliver information to members. For instance, I now know that more members use the History Page than I expected, and thus I will be updating it more frequently. Most members read every Monthly Meow, which lets me know that announcing things in Monthly Meows is an effective way to spread information. This will be particularly important in the future, as I will continue to put in community building tips that I hope members will take to heart.

Generally speaking, the website was rated as easy to navigate, the rules were considered clear, and the features that members use most frequently is not drastically different from past surveys. However, there’s certainly room to improve, and I received a bunch of helpful suggestions and criticisms.

To begin with, there were a handful of concrete ideas that I plan on implementing in the near future. I will create a new section in the News Page for guides, similar to the current category for Monthly Meows, break up the History Page into more sections to better reflect the actual content, standardize the document names on the public records, and list landmark locations within their descriptions. There were also a handful of concrete suggestions that I plan on toying with on my dummy site, and if I can find a feasible and aesthetically pleasing way to implement them, I will. For instance, hyperlinking the various ranks on the clan pages and making a condensed calendar on the home page.

There were also a handful of ideas that I’d like to implement, but will require more member input or on-going community support. For instance, several members suggested that I link to the Plot Planning Pages directly on the Home Page. I think that it would be best if I created as section of “Quick Links” and included the link there, along with links to various other places around the website that can’t currently be easily accessed from the home page. My current tentative list is Plot Planning Pages, Relationship Planning Pages, Public Records, and Calendar. However, I’m not totally happy with this list and would like more input about what should be included. One member suggested that I expand the Ancestry Project to include all cat lineages, including those that aren’t currently attached to our current Moonstar line. In the past, I had a similar project (you can still find the trees in my album), but it proved to be too too infrequently used to justify the time commitment of updating it regularly. I’d love to see a new family tree project that includes all cats, but as with the Ancestry Project, it will have to be maintained by members. Finally, someone suggested adding more landmarks to the map. I agree that this would be a nice thing to have, but need suggestions for what these landmarks should be.

A handful of abstract suggestions also came up that I’d like to implement, but am uncertain of how to do so. In particular, many members complained that the guides are hard to find or that not enough emphasis is put on them. As is, I don’t know where else they should logically be put on the website or how I can bring more attention to them without cluttering the Help Page. As well, members reported having trouble finding the mentor-apprentice lists, but I’m uncertain of where it would be more logically located. If you have any ideas, please speak up. Lastly, a handful of people suggested that the clans be given different or more defined personalities. This is being discussed in the Clan Identity Response blog entry.

There were also a handful of suggestions that I’d like to implement, but can’t due to the limitations of hosting a website on Webs. Firstly, as much as I hate that this is the case, I don’t have any power to fix the various glitches we experience. I’m waiting them out with the rest of you. I also can’t make the Character Updates Page or News Page more easy to navigate, although the Public Records and new category for guides may help these two issues. For the time being, I also can’t add a search bar to the website. While this might be possible in the future, I don’t have the skill to build one and my programmer friend who thinks it might be possible doesn’t have the time. If any of you have some talent with programming and want to tackle this problem, please reach out. In the meantime, using the keyboard shortcut CTRL+F/Command+F is a great help when looking for specific features or characters on a page.

I received a few suggestions that I don't plan on implementing, for various reasons. I don’t see the utility of adding specific maps for each clan’s territory. It wouldn’t show the landmarks in any more detail, would consume storage, and further clutter the already-heavy map section. Similarly, I don’t plan on asking members to put shortened character descriptions before their main description. I don’t see what purpose this would serve, as the character descriptions are already only a paragraph in length, and some members are already complaining that the clan pages are cluttered. I also don’t plan on making any alterations to the character birth date system right now. I know that it’s a bit confusing and there will be some growing pains as members get accustomed to the system, so I’m going to give it a few months and see what members think then before considering making any changes. I also don’t plan on adding new rules to require members to have a certain number of their characters be clan-born, match their clan descriptions, or expand the rules to include details such as apprentices being unable to have kits, which are better left to guides. Lastly, I don’t plan on numbering the rules with the intent of telling members, for instance, “you broke rule #7.” While this idea initially struck me as useful, under further consideration I don’t think it would accomplish what I want and may come across as overly aggressive. As is, when correcting members I prefer to use the format, “Hey, [action] is against the rules because [reason]” which frames it as more of a conversation and is less likely to overly intimidate new members.

As is often the case- and which suggests that there are more features which should be made easier to find- there were also a handful of suggestions for features that already exist. There is already a Warrior Cat Terminology Guide linked to on the Help Page, as is there a WCF-specific dictionary. Also, there are already shortened clan descriptions on the Home Page.

Finally, a handful of suggestions clustered around the Plot Planning Page. A few members suggested that we move it back to the blog entries, which I don’t plan on doing for a few reasons. Firstly, since being moved to the Plot Planning Page, more members have participated in plot planning and its generally been more active. With the new system, we can also separate side plot planning and main plot planning; with the blog entries, all side plot planning was forced to happen through the home page chat box or through private messages. As well, the old News Plot Planning Pages blocked out other news entries, and member comments couldn’t include links, which relates to the next idea: more frequent polling. This was suggested in the past but never implemented, in part because blog entry comments can’t contain links. Adding in more polls would allow us to get a concrete idea how many members support an idea and allow members to give anonymous input, which might help with member participation, particularly among newer members who are generally nervous about participating in plot planning. Finally, someone suggested that more plot ideas be given actual dates, which may help member participation in plot by letting members know when to look out for certain plots, and empowering members who otherwise wouldn’t participate with starting events. This would put further constraints on planned events, though, or runs the risk of making the calendar so flexible that it loses its actual value.

Ultimately, here is the feedback that I'm looking for on potential new changes: Should there be a condensed calendar on the home page? Should the seasons be included and if so, how? What should be included in the potential "Quick Links" section? How interested are you in helping with an expanded Ancestry Project? Are you particularly interested in helping to organize this project long-term? Do you have any new landmark ideas? How can the guides be made easier to find? How can the mentor-apprentice page be made easier to find? Do you think there's a place for polling on the Plot Planning Threads? Should we put more defined dates on events? If you would prefer to share your responses/ideas anonymously, you can use the contact box on the help page to do so.