Site tour for new users

[denise]

So, I figured this would be a good place to start brainstorming :)

I'm in the process of putting together a site tour for new users: a simple overview of what DW is, how it works, what you can do, how you can find interesting things to read, etc.

I have a very vague idea of what it should include, but I haven't yet decided anything about how it should be structured. I thought that before I come up with anything, though, I'd toss it out to y'all and see what you thought, so as to avoid prejudicing the conversation and brainstorming with my ideas.

So:

* Putting yourself into a new user's shoes -- both someone coming from LJ and someone coming to DW from other backgrounds -- what would you expect to see in a "getting started" type site tour?

* How would you expect it to be structured?

* What would be the most effective things to include that would make you say "oh, wow!"

* For those of you who are relatively new, what were the first pieces of information you sought out? What were the most helpful things to know? What were the things that drew you to DW in the first place?

Comments

[stepps]

While a lot of the features are the attraction for LJ users, I think a tour needs to be very brief and simplistic. It is after all a tour to get people orientated, and then they are to go off and mess around on their own, knowing were the kitchen is, the bathroom, and where to find the person in charge or the other housemates when need be.

I like the kind of tours that have a lot of screenshots, so that one can see clearly where a feature is located or how it'll look while it's working. Screencasts of an action can be helpful too.

I think a guide of the menus, with some explanation of what each does (eg what is the reading circle, what is a community) is essential, along with things like where and how you can customise your layout and icons, where and how to find people and subscribe to them (I remember after making my LJ I was at a loss as to what to do then. Took a while to actually find the friends feed page, and figure out how to find and add friends). How to post (including adding cuts, images, embedded media).

The kind of guides I've used on other sites that have been helpful are the ones that don't give you too much info on one page, and move you through a set of pages with different info for different things you could do. I've included the tours from other sites that have actually helped me a lot (both of these sites take you to the tour after you create your account, which is the best way to not miss it, I think).

Some blogging sites I know also give example blogs to see what people use them for, how they've been customised, what they look like with text and media posted. This could include comms?

Delicious.com Getting Started
Soundcloud Tour

[iridesce]

"I like the kind of tours that have a lot of screenshots, so that one can see clearly where a feature is located or how it'll look while it's working."

"The kind of guides I've used on other sites that have been helpful are the ones that don't give you too much info on one page, and move you through a set of pages with different info for different things you could do. "

Agreed