[Pydotorg-redesign] RE: [marketing-python] Zope and python.org re-design

[Kevin Altis]

> From: Roy Smith
>
> As a totally unscientific survey, I just looked at a few
> language-specific web sites and evaluated them according to my own
> personal aesthetic opinions:
>
> TCL (http://www.tcl.tk/).  I like it.  Looks professional without being
> too glitzy.

This is way too busy for me.

> Ruby (http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/).  Neat and clean, but sort of ugly.
>   Too monochromatic.

Yep, trying to use "Ruby red" everywhere is a bad idea. Worse even than our
Blue on blue ;-)

> Java (http://java.com/en/index.jsp).  Ugly.  Overdone and
> information-free.

Interesting, I never go there. The real Java home page has always been:
  http://java.sun.com/
which is a completely different experience. I wonder if Sun thinks the only
people that will go to java.com are people hearing about Java for the first
time and expect a "brochure"?

You might also want to look at:

  http://www.php.net/

  http://www.mysql.com/

  http://www.postgresql.org/

  http://www.blender3d.org/ (the sell)
  http://www.blender.org/

  http://www.microsoft.com/net/
  http://www.microsoft.com/net/technical/
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/

  http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/
  http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/mx/flash/
  http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/

  http://developer.apple.com/

Notice that like Sun has done with Java, there is a clear difference between
what is presented for potential customers and existing customers with .NET,
Flash MX, and Blender. Once you've bought into .NET you go to MSDN, with
Flash you go to the dev center. Once you're a customer you have a different
bookmark that you're going to keep and/or it is basically one click to get
from the home page or in the case of .NET it actually requires two or three
because they just need to "sell" a lot more and the real MS developer
already knows to just go right to MSDN.

Personally, I think the home page should have a lot more "sell" with
convenient links to the "meat" for existing developers including search on
the home page. There can be a lot of sub-pages with more of the success
stories, white papers, case-studies, audio, video, etc. but www.python.org
is the URL you're always going to give to someone that doesn't already use
Python, so we have no choice to make a good impression on the home page.

I guess I'm in favor in the long-term of treating presentation of the Python
product more like Java, Flash MX, and .NET. However, a mysql.com or php.net
site is better in the short-term. php.net probably strikes the best balance
for a single site that has good sell qualities on the home page while still
having an extremely clean design and lots of one-click links and search to
the useful stuff for existing users.

Note that the whole issue of users being able to contribute comments to
pages is a separate  discussion but certainly one of the more unique aspects
of php.net. Something for us to consider in the long-run, but probably not
now.

ka