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

[marahmarie]

For me, the "Oh wow!" factor was "No ads! Not even on free accounts!"

Outside of that, the wow factor ramped up for me greatly in little things I learned over time once I moved my LJ content here, so I would think it would be great for users to have access to a "Fun Facts" list before or immediately after joining Dreamwidth that lists all the advantages over "other" blog/journal sites that right now you can't learn about without reading various posts scattered across dozens of personal journals and communities.

For instance (and for me, it's little things like this that really add up to one big "Wow!") - these are in no particular order:

---Custom CSS on all pages of your journal even on free accounts
---Access to all system style sheets on DW even on free accounts
---The longer character limits on custom CSS (we don't have to self-host our custom styles that run really, really long - yay!), and much longer character limits both on entries and comments
---Ability to add a "reason" to edited comments on paid accounts
---Accessibility is a priority around here, not an afterthought, for all users
---Navbar always includes format=light option, which is a godsend for many of us, and sometimes that has not so much to do with accessibility as it does with aesthetics
---OpenID cross-platform accessibility
---More emphasis on how you can import not just LJ posts but friends lists, and how it's easier to sign in/comment with OpenID than many might think

This is by no means a full list of small advantages adding up to one big "Wow!" for me, but I'm so sunburnt it's making me unusually sleepy, so the list could be more thorough, I'm sure, if I was capable of deeper thought right now.

But stuff like that, in general, all on one "Fun Facts" type of page that's either linked to a sign-up page or available immediately after one has signed up (perhaps by redirect, or else there's just a link).

Hope that helps...just some of my food for thought...

[denise]

Argh sunburn! Do you have 100% pure no-alcohol-added aloe vera gel? (You can usually find it in the drugstore; just read hte label carefully.) That helps like WHOA to heal it.

(Thanks for your suggestions, too, but mostly I just wanted to tell you about the aloe gel. *G*)

[marahmarie]

Thank you! No, I don't. It was the first thing I thought of last night after I could barely move from how tight and burnt my skin was, but if there's any around here, I can't find it. Sleep seemed to help a lot, though, and some website recommends vinegar, of all things, in a spray bottle, sprayed right onto affected skin, so if it gets bad again tonight, I may just try that. :)

[iridesce]

My favorite sunburn remedy is lots of coconut oil / cocoa butter ( 80 / 20 ). Probably one application every hour. This relieves the tightness and allows for healing.