Geronimo Web site update

[Hernan Cunico <hc...@gmail.com>]

Hi All,
I created a JIRA with the new Web site based on the template from EPIQ.
So far, although I mainly focused on the template I also edited some of the content.

I have not modified the build method so it still uses ant/anakia.

Please send your comments and suggestions.

https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/GERONIMO-1611

Cheers!
Hernan

Re: Geronimo Web site update

[Hernan Cunico <hc...@gmail.com>]

Hi Glenn,
Thanks a lot for your comments. See my replies inline

Epiq Geronimo Team wrote:
> Great work, Hernan!  Its good to see you organizing stuff too.  Our team 
> quickly ran through the site.  Here are our initial comments on the 
> Apache Geronimo web site we reviewed located here:
> 
> http://people.apache.org/~hogstrom/website
> 
> 1. The black border around the bar on the left side makes the navigation 
> area look really dark.  Everyone here thought we should either change 
> the border color to the light blue (to match the same as the header for 
> the table).  Or else make the left side look more like a bar and border 
> white like in the mock up.
> http://people.apache.org/~hogstrom/website/contributors.html  
> (contributors table)
> http://people.apache.org/~bsnyder/geronimo/site/
> http://people.apache.org/~hogstrom/website/schemas.html
> 
> On these examples, it makes the table look a little less dark.  The nav 
> bar would likely look cleaner and people would still be able to quickly 
> identify it as a nav bar.  Maybe the way Hernan did it with a thinner 
> light blue border is the way to go for a site with only two columns 
> instead of three.

Fixed, updated the left menu so those tables would have a thin "contour" same color as the header 
(light blue).

 From your original template I thought having one menu on the left would be enough since we also 
have a very complete nav bar on the top of the page. What I did not include from your original 
template are the tables on the right side and the links at the bottom left in the footer.

> 2. The title for each area of the navigation bar is pushed slightly over 
> to the left of the table.  Perhaps adding some cell padding between 
> table and font on the left menu bar would be helpful.

Fixed, added some spacing so the table titles will not be too close the left edge.

> 3. Same thing, between the left nav bar and the main body table.  Adding 
> a little space would likely help.

Fixed, increased the spacing a little bit.

> 4. There is not really a need for bullets on the navigation bar on the 
> left.  Most users will recognize this as a navigation bar and won't need 
> the bullet points.  The bullet points are typically used for items in a 
> series within a document, outline, or text, rather than in web 
> navigation.  In our mockup, we had these on the right side for article 
> highlights or key Geronimo news.

Fixed, removed the bullets although I personally liked the way the bullets looked like in those tables.

> 5. On my Firefox install, the font looks kind of like a Serrif Font 
> instead of a Sans Seriff Font - Seriff fonts don't modern, ie they evoke 
> images of offline stuff like newspapers, type, books, etc instead of the 
> web and modern stuff. (We suggest Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, but those 
> are just a few.)  We checked it on some other computers / browsers, and 
> the fonts were good (Serrif).  Might be something to check, but no big 
> deal.  Maybe my Firefix install is quirky.

Not sure here, I used Verdana throughout the whole site. I test the site with IE 6.0.2900..... and 
Firefox 1.0.7 and it looks good on both browsers.

> 6. On our mockup, we made it with 3 columns.  The third column might be 
> helpful for reading.  The main reason why we made it a three column site 
> was that it is difficult to read the text if it floats all the way over 
> to the left, especially on a short page.  We realize that perhaps 3 
> columns might be be hard to do in the content management system, 
> though.  Perhaps it is something to do in the next version of the web site.

Not sure what you mean by text floating all the way to the left. We can put the third column back 
but that will shift the "panning" from horizontal to vertical ( I personally prefer not to scroll ).
I am also trying to think what other critical info (and dynamic) we may want to put in those tables 
(spread all across the site) that using the *Geronimo News* section will not suffice.

> 7. In the sections where there is a blue bar running horizontally across 
> the screen, it might help to slightly reduce the space between the 
> header title text and the bar - maybe just a little bit.
> 
> Those are a few of our suggestions / comments.  There are also a few 
> broken links, but those are easy to find.  Anyway, Hernan has put this 
> together quickly and admirably.  Let me know if you guys need any more 
> feedback or graphics.  I'm sure other people will have some valuable 
> comments as well.

I mainly focused on upgrading the template so now I will focus on the structure and content. What 
links you found broken? I don't remember changing the links

Again, thanks a bunch for these detailed comments and suggestions, this really helps to build a 
great site.

Pls do not limit to comments on just the template, comments/suggestions on the content will be 
greatly appreciated too :) .

Cheers!
Hernan

> 
> Glenn
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hernan Cunico wrote:
> 
>> Hi All,
>> I created a JIRA with the new Web site based on the template from EPIQ.
>> So far, although I mainly focused on the template I also edited some 
>> of the content.
>>
>> I have not modified the build method so it still uses ant/anakia.
>>
>> Please send your comments and suggestions.
>>
>> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/GERONIMO-1611
>>
>> Cheers!
>> Hernan
>>
>>
> 
> 

Re: Geronimo Web site update

[Epiq Geronimo Team <ge...@epiqtech.com>]

Great work, Hernan!  Its good to see you organizing stuff too.  Our team 
quickly ran through the site.  Here are our initial comments on the 
Apache Geronimo web site we reviewed located here:

http://people.apache.org/~hogstrom/website

1. The black border around the bar on the left side makes the navigation 
area look really dark.  Everyone here thought we should either change 
the border color to the light blue (to match the same as the header for 
the table).  Or else make the left side look more like a bar and border 
white like in the mock up. 

http://people.apache.org/~hogstrom/website/contributors.html  
(contributors table)
http://people.apache.org/~bsnyder/geronimo/site/
http://people.apache.org/~hogstrom/website/schemas.html

On these examples, it makes the table look a little less dark.  The nav 
bar would likely look cleaner and people would still be able to quickly 
identify it as a nav bar.  Maybe the way Hernan did it with a thinner 
light blue border is the way to go for a site with only two columns 
instead of three.

2. The title for each area of the navigation bar is pushed slightly over 
to the left of the table.  Perhaps adding some cell padding between 
table and font on the left menu bar would be helpful.

3. Same thing, between the left nav bar and the main body table.  Adding 
a little space would likely help.

4. There is not really a need for bullets on the navigation bar on the 
left.  Most users will recognize this as a navigation bar and won't need 
the bullet points.  The bullet points are typically used for items in a 
series within a document, outline, or text, rather than in web 
navigation.  In our mockup, we had these on the right side for article 
highlights or key Geronimo news.

5. On my Firefox install, the font looks kind of like a Serrif Font 
instead of a Sans Seriff Font - Seriff fonts don't modern, ie they evoke 
images of offline stuff like newspapers, type, books, etc instead of the 
web and modern stuff. (We suggest Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, but those 
are just a few.)  We checked it on some other computers / browsers, and 
the fonts were good (Serrif).  Might be something to check, but no big 
deal.  Maybe my Firefix install is quirky.

6. On our mockup, we made it with 3 columns.  The third column might be 
helpful for reading.  The main reason why we made it a three column site 
was that it is difficult to read the text if it floats all the way over 
to the left, especially on a short page.  We realize that perhaps 3 
columns might be be hard to do in the content management system, 
though.  Perhaps it is something to do in the next version of the web site.

7. In the sections where there is a blue bar running horizontally across 
the screen, it might help to slightly reduce the space between the 
header title text and the bar - maybe just a little bit.

Those are a few of our suggestions / comments.  There are also a few 
broken links, but those are easy to find.  Anyway, Hernan has put this 
together quickly and admirably.  Let me know if you guys need any more 
feedback or graphics.  I'm sure other people will have some valuable 
comments as well.

Glenn





Hernan Cunico wrote:

> Hi All,
> I created a JIRA with the new Web site based on the template from EPIQ.
> So far, although I mainly focused on the template I also edited some 
> of the content.
>
> I have not modified the build method so it still uses ant/anakia.
>
> Please send your comments and suggestions.
>
> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/GERONIMO-1611
>
> Cheers!
> Hernan
>
>