We discussed two potential redesigns of the main page:
1) Pare down the front page drastically. Remove most of the text, so users would not have to scroll down at all on the home page. The logo would remain at the top and would move toward the center (this is more of an aesthetic change than a usability change). The navigation bar would also move toward the center to be more inline with the user’s eyesight which would follow the body of the page. A “log in” button will be added to the top of the page. We would leave the slideshow and add in an clear and focused “about” blurb. The inspiration for this redesign came from the Gapminder main page. http://www.gapminder.org/
Gapminder home page
Usability advantage: The main page looks cluttered. It is difficult to decide where to look or click. As evidenced in “dreadful dropdowns” the navbar is difficult to use in its current state. Users cannot decipher what information will appear when clicking on links. This discourages site browsing and extended use. First time users should be drawn in to a simple, clean, page and will be able to determine the mission of the site at a glance. Returning users will easily be able to see where to click to log in and contribute.
2) Have a simple navbar to the left and add a basic search bar at the top right. Then add lists that represent the more important dropdowns (“data” and “processing”) with clickable links in the main body of the page to the left. This second iteration is modeled after the NOAA National Climate Data Center. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
Usability advantage: This version would allow users to scan their options from the main page. There still might be some information overload, and the site won’t be as friendly to novice users but people with particular data needs would be able to find what they need quickly.
Climate Data Guide Redesign 