RE: Website Redesign

["Brad" <zebrairis1@aol.com>]

Dear John (IJ:

First I must congratulate you on actually attracting some interest within
the AISdiscuss family. Second, I request that you save my following comments
as part of the input you receive on content and focus for the redesign of
the AIS web site.

Bob P: The issue of both hiring a professional designer and John authority
to select this person are moot issues and shouldn't be discussed any longer.
The Board voted on these issues already and discussion on this should stop
once the Board votes.  Personally, I can not identify any other member of
the Board more qualified to assume this task.

However John, Bob P has a sound point about the need to settle on an
overarching goal for the new site and the focus of the content on the site
to achieve this primary goal. 

Although I've begun to feel my attempts at logically approaching issues and
of providing options is frequently misunderstood, I'll try again.

First the FOCUS: I believe the primary focus of our web site needs to be
"selling the experience of growing irises to people of all ages." (I can't
underline so quotes are used for emphasis) The AIS has a great mission
statement, but we can't fulfill it unless we have money to do so. To get
money we need member's dues. However, an approach of filling the site with
"pretty pictures of irises" will be far less effective than filling the site
with pictures of happy people of all ages growing irises, receiving awards
and enjoying the camaraderie of current members of the AIS. These pictures
may be random, but each should include a sentence of text identifying the
people and what function of the AIS they are enjoying. (These pictures
should be of ordinary members and not just celebrity shots of the well-
connected.) Also pictures of attractive landscaping uses of irises will also
sell people on the idea of growing them. (Pictures of fields of irises while
pretty will do little to "sell" an average gardener.) We need to sell the
experience of growing irises to people first before we can expect them to
want to join the AIS. Most of us "got hooked" on irises before we became
members of the AIS so the goal of the site is to encourage general gardeners
to try them and to select the classes that are mostly likely to grow in
there gardens which leads to the next topic.

Second, my personal opinion on how to provide and fulfill this focus:

    1. The first or second link on the home page should be something
clear like gardening/landscaping with iris. This link should go to a page
with brief but specific suggestions on which classes of iris grow best in
what zones and in what kinds of soil and soil acidity.

    2. On this general information page there should be a separate link
to each class of iris mentioned.  This link should lead to specific
information on the gardening uses and the climatic and soil requirements for
this class plus planting and general cultural information for this specific
class also. WE MUST ONLY ENCOURAGE NEW GROWERS TO INITITIALLY PLANT THE
CLASSES OF IRIS THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO THRIVE IN THEIR GARDEN. New growers
who plant the wrong types of irises will experience failure and NEVER become
an AIS member.

    3. Finally, these specific iris class pages should have a link to
the AIS section representing them and also a link to the specific commercial
gardens that stock this class of irises. No wild goose chases for our new 
friends!

John J(Please use the last initial when identifying someone in your
comments) These are the only suggestions I have to offer.  If anyone out
there agrees with my suggestions, please let John know I'm not just a zebra
"braying" at a ghost. If you have a better suggestion make sure you let John
know even if you are afraid to post it on AIS discuss. He has a huge
responsibly in the redesign of our site so give him input NOW instead of
complaining after it is done.

Cheers! Brad K


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org [mailto:owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org]
On Behalf Of Robert Pries
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2008 2:11 PM
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Website Redesign

With regards to camels, they are much more effective than horses for the
long haul in the desert. Horse are inclined to quit on you. No one person
can anticipate the needs of a diverse society such as AIS. Frankly I am not
impressed by surveys I much prefer the give and take of discussion. Much of
what John has said I agree with fully but I would love to see some examples
of the web designers work. I would value what some of the younger members of
our group would think of the designs. As I tried to explain before it is not
just the web design but the content and goal you are trying to reach. the
web-designer will give you whatever you ask for.

----- Original Message -----
From: "John I Jones" <jijones@usjoneses.com>
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2008 3:48:28 PM (GMT-0500) America/New_York
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Website Redesign

Over the past year numbers of people have responded to my question
about what the website should convey to the viewer.

I have all that. There is a worksheet that I have posted at
aisboard.org that any of you that are interested may fill out and
return to me. I need them quickly.

The process will be iterative with concepts being presented and
commented on before proceeding to a final design and implementation.
I will listen to everyone's comments. As you might imagine not all
comments will be compatible with each other.

The majority of the content on our website will not change. It can't,
we need to have it. Certainly we will need some additional content.

Bob said: "Our present website is very good in sevral ways. It
provides a structure that allows for our corporate entitity to
function very well. It is like a yellow pages for all the information
that a director or member needs to intereact with our administrative
structure. Our future website should be able to perform in this way
also.

The problem is in what our website conveys to new prospective
members. They are not interestested in when we were encorporated
(sic) or what our prganizational (sic) structure is. A prospective
member wants information about Irises and ideas on how they might
enjoy growing them. The organizational structure may be become
important later if they are excited to join.

People are generally enthused by pictures and opening pages should
empahasize benefits of belomging but at the same time entriquing the
viewer with the flowers and te plants.

When people come to the site they should be greeted with a warm
friendly opening and a clear menu that wil give them several options
that appeal to teir interests. There should be a committee formed to
create an outline of topics and the content created fo these topics.
It is possible to advertise along one side of our webpage other areas
that may interest the initial viewer getting them more envolved (sic)."

I agree with all of that and have, and will continue to, communicate
those sorts of input to the designer.


Let me be clear about a couple of things:

1. We need a professional designer who is up-to-date on the latest
issues on webdesign, navigation and communication.

2.  Organization and ease of navigation for all aspects of the
website are key.

3. The first impression of the site should be keyed to irisarians and
prospective irisarians, not administrative and business users.

4. The most common thread I have seen from all the responses on the
website redesign has been how much people liked the daylilly home
page which displays a different picture (from a fixed library) every
time you reload the webpage. I intend to do something similar but
without using so much of the page space so that we can have more
graphic and informative choices instead of, for instance, the long
list of hard to read links that appear on the daylily page.

Lastly, I have been tasked by the Board to manage and implement a
website redesign. I will continue to elicit comments and present
ideas/samples but, final decisions rest with me, not with a committee
unless you want a camel instead of a horse. If this is not the
perspective of the Board, please let me know now and I will gladly
hand the project off to someone else.

John








On Aug 24, 2008, at 11:30 AM, Robert Pries wrote:

> I am unclear as to what a designer would do and would we like the
> result. It seems to me that before paying for a redesign we would
> want to know what it entailed. This is sort of a which cmes first
> the chicken or the egg. I think it generally has to work in tandem.
> I certainly would like input on any ideas as so as to ensure they
> are sound marketing of our product. I would like to see sample of
> what the designer has done before. I am certain this shows some
> coceipt on my part but I think I could put together a design I just
> could not implement it. As PR chair I really think I should nbe imn
> contact with th designer. To me a design is content driven not the
> content driven by the design.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John I Jones" <jijones@usjoneses.com>
> To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
> Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2008 2:39:41 PM (GMT-0500) America/New_York
> Subject: [AISdiscuss] Website Redesign
>
> I finally been able to get some time from a designer I have used
> before and am in the process of contracting for a redesign on the
> website.
>
> I will keep you all appraised of the progress.
>
> John
>
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