Some thoughts

• The slideshow only has two items in it. That doesn’t make for much of a rotating slideshow. I think coming up with 4-6 slides that really encapsulated the core concepts of the Climate Data Guide would make a much stronger front page.
• Noticed that some of the nav bar links have hover text that describes what the link is about. This is just plain bizarre. If your nav link requires explanation. Then you are doing it wrong. A nav link should ideally be brief and easily understood so as to simplify navigation. Their nav bar has soo much in it that it somehow manages to complicate it. I tried to take a screenshot of the hover text but my mac isn’t playing nice tonight. One example is that if you hover on the link “External” it says “external sites relevant to the Climate Data Guide”
  • This brings up the point why didn’t they just use the word “links” for that menu item. Good user design involves following internet conventions so that the user knows what to expect
• I like the featured topics and popular data sets lists. I think they do a good job of showcasing part of what the Climate Data Guide is all about. Maybe they could become slides?
• Put a log in link up at the top to encourage users to log in and contribute. Perhaps it could be in the upper right hand corner or in the nav bar?
• Clicking About Us and Home taking you to the same page. This is just bizarre, unexpected, and confusing. About Us should take you to a page that gives a brief introduction to what the website is all about.
• This website seems intent on burying the lead. The project is such a cool idea but there is simply too much clutter to really even get a handle on what’s going on. Everything needs to be simplified and streamlined. This may mean cutting some content but in the end a simpler website will be better able to communicate to the user what it is about and that will make people more likely to participate. Increased participation is one of the outcomes that NCAR really hopes to achieve with a redesign.