TPR New Front Page In Development!

[Blue Turbo]

I chose option one. The twitter feed is very nice but it also reduces the size of the slideshow which I felt was a little to large on the second option.

[bert425]

I'm a fan of Option 1 myself. It's a lot sleeker and the Twitter updates section is a nice touch.

 

ditto.

 

Option one looks a lot cleaner, and I love the twitter updates.

[moviemansig]

I'll go with option two because I find the Twitter feed distracting.

[TravisB]

I love option 1, it's very 21st century. Also the twitter feed is a nice touch!

[beatle11]

Having the Twitter feed on the front page just makes sense. Option 1 is best in my opinion.

[KBrylczyk]

I'm with Dan on this. Option 2 is better because of the cleanliness of it. The Twitter bar throws the entire layout off-kilter.

 

Perhaps if you combined the TPR Updates bar with the Park News, Etc bar and put the Twitter feed opposite it would look much better.

[805Andrew]

I voted for option #1 because it provides same features as option #2 plus adds the Twitter feed from TPR's account. I don't use Twitter but I like the option to read TPR's tweets on the TPR homepage if I want. Also #1 looks cleaner than #2.

[odene497]

Option 1. It's more concise, I can see more at once. I don't care about Twitter, but can see where that's a nice touch. I just don't like how with 2, I just get the big picture, and have to scroll before I start seeing updates under it.

[ozziboy]

I voted for option 1. Even though I don't use twitter, the giant image on option 2 just seems to chew up too much space on the page.

 

When I visit the site the first place I look is always the top of the right side column of news and updates, and then read down to see what I need to catch up on. One thing I couldn't find on the new design is a "more" link at the bottom of the scrolled news list, which is useful if you don't get a chance to catch up in a long time.

 

Another thing I often click on the original page is the "Random Stuff!", because I notice old items I'd never been aware of, such as older trip reports. It seems to have been scrapped in the new design, but for me personally I'd use that rather than the twitter area. As others have commented, fans of twitter probably follow tweets by more immediate means anyway, like on their phones.

[megalyte]

I chose Option #1 because I feel that social media is a big part of online communities today, and even if people don't use social media (in this case, Twitter), it may still come in handy to have the sidebar for the absolute latest updates from TPR. Also I chose #1 because I felt that main feature picture on #2 was way too big and it made the page so long that you couldn't see any of the "News & Updates" and "TPR updates" columns. For these reasons, I felt #1 was the best option.

[Mrlittle]

I went with option 1 with the Twitter feed. I have Twitter but I hardly use it. So when I get on it, I scroll through and miss a lot of the updates since I follow so many people. Sometimes, I won't even see an update on my feeds because its full. Also like others have said, not everyone is on Twitter so now they could see the tweets. Either way, excited to see the homepage update discussion back.

[TDR62]

I prefer option one as is looks like an evolved page whereas the massive picture in option 2 is quite distracting

[matteocrepaldi]

I prefer option 2. I am not too much into Twitter!

[vuurvogel]

I voted option 1

 

Although I am not a big fan of the attention the twitter feed asks. It could be blended in more. I really like the overall 'feel' and seeing lots of stuff in one eye blink.

 

The head article picture in option 2 is just to present.

 

So option 1 for me

[rollin_n_coastin]

First off, this is hugely exciting and they both look good and years ahead even! Thanks for letting us comment.

 

I really like the overall layout, look and feel of Option 2 since it is much more modern looking than Option 1 and the top right Twitter Feed box being stuck in there, almost orphaned, really throws off the clean, uncluttered design otherwise. Maybe the twitter feed box isn't in the right spot? Maybe a ticker across the page somewhere or a live feed slide as part of the scrolling images? Most dedicated social media feed areas I've seen are on the bottom half of websites, if included at all since users go directly to apps for social media updates anyway.

 

I looked at it from the perspective of everything being a place holder. If Twitter wasn't in that upper right hand box, would as many people still have chosen Option 1 or was it chosen just because the Twitter feed is there right now? Even if it was something else in Twitter's spot, including other social media feeds or trending forum topics, I'd still personally choose option 2 just based on layout.

 

On a widescreen monitor at normal resolution, the difference between the two is about two rows of content less in Option 2 for scrolling purposes.

[SteveC]

defo No.1. As has already been said, I too have no twitter account but seeing the feed will perhaps alert me to a link I may have missed elsewhere. Nice work

[MJD51265]

I like #1. Looks great, easy to see what you are looking for. Maybe it is the Twitter feed that completes it!!

[coasterbill]

I like both designs but I much prefer option 2.

 

I'm a creative director who deals with web and graphic design pretty much all day every day so I wanted to commend you on the amount of time and thought you clearly put into this. It's nice to see 2 mockups actually built out and functional and it's even nicer to see you include your members in the design process.

 

I know web design is always a balancing act between content delivery and aesthetics and I feel like that's the conundrum with the Twitter bar (at least for me). I think option 2 is much cleaner and looks a lot more modern since it doesn't have that Twitter frame. By the same token I know you've been polling us about social media lately and I assume your motivation for putting the twitter bar there is because that's something you really want to push. If that's the major motivation then by all means put it there.

 

One thing though, based on your tweets your Twitter account seems to be a tool for driving traffic to your website which is a good thing. But your last few tweets...

 

Our update from @SeaWorld Wild Days Weekends event. Please check this out: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1399531#p1399531 …

 

I just posted our full report from @SeaWorld's Wild Days weekend. Check it out here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1399531#p1399531 …

 

TPR has a new front page layout in development and we could use feedback. Click: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=66880 …

 

either appear or probably will appear on the lower right or lower left side of the website anyway (I'm assuming this thread will make it's way there at some point too). If the Twitter account will have 75% the same content as those 2 bars already do then I might lean towards option 2. Again, that's just some food for thought (and you may have already thought about it). You know better than anyome how you want to run your Twitter and I'm not very familiar with it as I'm more of a Facebook guy myself.

 

Honestly you guys could write a book on social media marketing and user interactivity. While you do have the distinct advantage of dealing with subject matter that's fun, very few sites combine great social media and a great website the way you guys do. I'm sure whatever design you pick will maximize user interaction since that always seems to be your key focus. The good news here is that you really can't go wrong. Both options are better than what you have now... and I like what you have now.

[A.J.]

Another thing - where did the Game Exchange link go?

 

Also, the black bars look GREAT!

[RCoasterny]

I liked the twitter feed. It's nice to have a "go to" point to see all of your tweets in one spot, instead of having your tweets buried in everyone else's tweets that I'm following. I do have one minor nitpick: the font used in the buttons across the top of the page. I would prefer using a sans serif font, since the rest of the page uses sans serif font. The font kind of looks like an old 1980's font. :/

 

Someone mentioned a while back (on the 1st or 2nd page of comments) that there was a problem with scrolling. Just watch where your cursor is- once a scrollable window comes into focus with the cursor, that window starts scrolling. As long the cursor is out of any scrollable window, the entire page will scroll just fine.

[southcenter]

Option 1 - Twitter feed!

[Cyrbuzz]

Option 1 looks great. I like the larger Announcement section and the scroll of the subjects in announcements. The Twitter display is nice too.

[tarheel1231]

I couldn't tell the difference, so...... do whatever.

[Her0ofLime]

Option one definintly, I really like having the Twitter feed right there instead of actually going to twitter, because i'm super lazy.

[robbalvey]

Another thing - where did the Game Exchange link go?

We pulled it as I feel that most of the people that use it, know about it already, and we eventually just create a sticky in the Games Forum with it.

 

Also, the black bars look GREAT!

Ha. Thanks. What's the saying? "Great minds..."