New home page for Micro.blog manton.org
@manton This is good. I think the hardest part for newcomers to wrap their mind around, is the dual nature of MB: blog platform and social network.
Although, at times, I'd like to seperate the two on a post by post basis. There are times when I want to blog about controversial things and throw them only out to Twitter and not syndicate to MB. I'd like an easy way to choose what is being syndicated where but still have it all available on my blog.
@manton It's good there's now a prominent link to the Help on the home page. When first visiting the site I had a hard time understanding how it works or getting a list of the major features without readily available information.
@amoroso Yeah, next step is to make sure the help page is linking to the right information more prominently. Thanks!
@manton Looks great and conveys the idea very well.
It would be great if you could point users on how to do this -->"you can use Micro.blog for free with an existing blog" (from the Get Started page)
@pratik We have this help page about WordPress. One thing we've learned is that if we point people to external hosting too early, they get lost and give up. Hosting on Micro.blog is the best place to start for nearly everyone.
@manton that looks good! I'd just gone there recently, thinking of recommending the service to someone, and felt like that first impression could be clearer. this is đ! the one thing that still occurs to me is that the lack of pricing/plan details right up front seems bait-&-switchy to me. one of the strengths of m.b is that it doesn't trap people in a closed system, but not being upfront about cost makes it seem like it might be one of those (very common) online apps that does.
@manton Looks great. Much better introduction to M.b. Is it supposed to be loading Avenir? Seems much different than the fonts used in the apps/site.
@cdevroe It should be Avenir Next on the home page and in the apps. I think the fallback fonts are different, though. I can make that consistent.
@manton @simonwoods @cdevroe In my Dialog, the new Home page doesn't load at all. It just switches to the top of the Timeline in the web browser.
@Ron The new home page is just for new users who are not signed in to Micro.blog already. You can see it if you sign out or use a different browser (or something like private browsing mode so Micro.blog thinks you're new).
@manton How were so many of the other regulars able to see it? They're all savvy enough to use another browser? Wouldn't we want a URL to give to people who might want to consider using micro.blog? Also, I see the First Steps page still doesn't recommend that people setup an About page before following new people. I thought that was resolved many weeks ago when there was a discussion about it. I've spent time looking for the thread in my private system of keeping track of threads (without success), but I'm positive it happened and that @macgenie was in the conversation with me. I don't remember who else was in it. After that, I noticed Jean welcoming new people and suggesting they put a few lines in their About page. Was it decided to just do it that way, rather than what I had suggested?
@Ron Sending people to just "micro.blog" is the best. I'll update the "first steps", must've been an oversight... We definitely added that tip to the welcome email that people get when signing up.
@Ron Recommending to set up an About page is very good advice but it's amazing how many supposedly experienced bloggers still don't have one, or waste the opportunity by providing little or obscure information in the page.
@manton And I agree. However, I need to convince some of my more tech savvy friends to put their actions where their rants are đ Thanks for the link.
@johnjohnston Or could just add a hyperlink to that help page for that text that @manton pointed me to.
@johnjohnston @pratik Earlier versions of Micro.blog also had an option when registering to add an external blog right away, but we simplified it so avoid losing people. Likely something we should revisit. Thanks!
@manton While one of the pricing tiers is mentioned on the register page.
There's so much value in the two tiers of pricing that aren't being put out in the open. I just wrote this copy to see if it might help.
Let's pretend they are called Free Forever ($0), Standard ($5), and Plus ($10)
Free Forever ($0) Have a blog already? Add your existing blog's RSS feed and start engaging with the micro.blog community right now.
Standard ($5) - Start a blog on your own domain in 5 minutes or less - Post from anywhere with out mobile, desktop, and web clients. - Publish short posts without titles and get more of your thoughts out into the world. - Syndicate your posts natively to Twitter, LinkedIn, Mastodon, and more.
Plus ($10) - Produce a real podcast that you can run right from your phone with our easy to use app (or upload mp3s). - Share short videos a with your audience and engage in a whole new way without having to use multiple tools.
@handy alternatively, you could call the plans Community ($0), Publisher ($5), and Producer ($10) Those might have more of the vibe of the app.
@amoroso Exactly right! I have also advocated in the past that new prople should also be encouraged to check the Mentions tab often. For a while I was welcoming new people, but not getting replies, likely because the new people didn't know to check Mentions, so they never knew I had written to them! I've been pleased to see your excellent contributions to the platform. Keep up the good work.
@manton The new home page looks good on the desktop, but it doesnât look like the content is arranged in the correct order on mobile (this is portrait, but landscape has the same problem, just with a wider single columnâMobile Safari, iOS 12.x, iPhone 6S).
Seeing the desktop view, Iâd expect mobile to have Heading for Number 1, text and sample content for Number 1, Heading for Number 2, text and sample content for Number 2âor, if you want to keep both âWhat it isâ headings above the fold, have them at the top, numbered as now, but have them then again, unumbered and perhaps smaller and/or with a 1-2px rule beneath, just before each oneâs explanatory and example text. Having the headings right before their sections would not only make the text make more sense by putting it in context, but also help break up what is otherwise a huge âwall of textâ on mobile.
@manton I think I've figured out the issue. Windows 10, nor my personal install, has Avenir Next. On the app the fallback is Segoe UI or Verdana, while on the homepage it is Helvetica. But for some reason they are not kicking in. I haven't kicked the tires further though. But thought you should know.
