New Python.org website ?

[Tim Parkin]

Shalabh Chaturvedi wrote:
> Hm. Am I the only one not particularly impressed? Sure the front page is 
> 'slick' but a few clicks reveal a fairly shallow facade of marketing 
> material, with no real content. In general gives the impression of 
> 'phony' company trying to make a big impression. Most good non-tech 
> managers are very wary of such organizations/companies.
Well apart from the front page and a couple of pages providing content
specific to different types of usersm the whole site is the same as it
was before. Do you have a problem with marketing python or with the
content of the python site? Could you expand on why you think the beta
site looks 'phony'?

> 
> My gripes with the whole thing:
> 
> 1. Learn why.., Learn why.., Learn more..? Unless each one takes you 
> directly to a great success story, these should be removed.
These will link directly to success stories.

> 2. There is no (published) Python success story for Google. So link to 
> google.com looks phony. What does 'Google written in Python' mean 
> anyway? The google.com server is Python? One backend script is in 
> Python? Without more information, this just seems likes a shameless 
> attempt to create credibility. (Sure I know Google uses Python 
> extensively, but I'm not the one who needs to be sold on Python).
""Python has been an important part of Google since the beginning, and
remains so as the system grows and evolves. Today dozens of Google
engineers use Python, and we're looking for more people with skills in
this language." said Peter Norvig, director of search quality at Google,
Inc. "

thats what it says on the old site right at the top of the page...

> 3. What is PyXP? Windows XP? Extreme Programming? Again, there is 
> nothing underneath. Where is the NASA success story?
That particular graphic will probably be updated. The Nasa success story
is at

http://www.python.org/Quotes.html


> 4. I have a lot of respect for GvR, but there ought to be more 
> advertising of the fact that the language is not supported by just one 
> person. There is an great dev team behind it and a stable PSF 
> organization. Anyone reading 'developed by one person' is not left with 
> the fuzzy feeling of a mature, well-supported product that is here to stay.
So you think we should add some copy that creates a more positive
impression of python? Thanks for your suggestion to rewrite the copy
regarding the team behind python. Could you come up with some
alternative for this?

> 5. A 'more..' link under Written in Python is sorely missing. It appears 
> only 5-6 apps are written in Python. Where is a link to the cheese shop?
Yep... at the moment content is being migrated across. If you want to
add your assistance it would be of great benefit.



> Managers are looking for maturity, stability, support and unique 
> strengths, not coolness or flashy sites (though presentation definitely 
> helps).
Could you tell me what about the site makes you think it looks 'cool' or
'flashy'?


> Hopefully most of these will get fixed as people 'convert' the site and 
> fill in content. I would urge people to do some 'user' testing - get 
> persons not very familiar with Python and get their honest opinion on 
> the site.
We have done... The feedback was that some pictures would help engage
people who view the website for the first time. This was especially true
of non-programmers who may be assessing python as part of a business
decition (who will probably not get further than the home page).

Most developers tended to want to jump straight into bookmarked parts of
the site or just check the updated news. People wanting to learn about
python would try to find a 'for beginners' link (hence the prominence of
this).

Currently, it is more important to get existing copy across than create
the few new pages that are needed to support the home page. If we had
more volunteers then we could write this new content sooner.

A summary of questions whose answers may help us:

Do you have a problem with the way we are trying to 'market' python?
Which content in particular do you have an objection to?
Could you expand on why you think the beta site looks 'phony'?
Could you tell me what about the site makes you think it looks 'cool' or
'flashy'?
Could you come up with some alternative for the intro copy about python?

Tim Parkin