Truly awful.
No doubt will be rectified in time, but the deeper issue is that once again, the priority is the projects of the permanent staff, not the membership in general.
And if you do try and find an explorer event, (which is all that is really being promoted, because the actual sport is now a password protected state secret), you draw a complete blank within 30 miles radius of most locations.
New BOF Website
Moderators: [nope] cartel, team nopesport
Re: New BOF Website
It looks to me as if they've mainly just reskinned it rather than having made any more substantial changes - and I have to say that it does look superficially nicer (or at least less 1997) than the old one.
Rolling the replacement site out to live before you've finished actually building it is admittedly an unorthodox approach to web development, but hopefully they'll rapidly add additional features such as a link to the fixtures list. Perhaps we'll even get to find out what units go with the "radius" box on the "search event fixtures" ("search races"?) page.
Rolling the replacement site out to live before you've finished actually building it is admittedly an unorthodox approach to web development, but hopefully they'll rapidly add additional features such as a link to the fixtures list. Perhaps we'll even get to find out what units go with the "radius" box on the "search event fixtures" ("search races"?) page.
British Orienteering Director | Opinions expressed on here are entirely my own, and do not represent the views of British Orienteering.
"If only you were younger and better..."
"If only you were younger and better..."
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Scott - god
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Re: New BOF Website
.... and if you select page 2 of the list (or any page >1 and <67 (current last one)) you
will get a list that isn't the page 1 list of the 1st 20 events.
Plus it really sucks on my smart phone
will get a list that isn't the page 1 list of the 1st 20 events.
Plus it really sucks on my smart phone
- MIE
- green
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Re: New BOF Website
Our website developers are working on populating the website which may take several hours
Put it live then let the users test it. Standard IT approach.
- drobin
- light green
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Re: New BOF Website
Some tests I did in Firefox:
BOF website home page (first load) - 5.71 MB
BOF website home page (subsequent load) - 138 kB
SOA website home page (first load) - 365 kB
SOA website home page (subsequent load) - 7.6 kB
If you wish to carry out said tests, in Chrome/Firefox, press F12 to open developer tools and then go to the network tab. Reload the page, and it will show you all the requests made to fetch resources.
BOF website home page (first load) - 5.71 MB
BOF website home page (subsequent load) - 138 kB
SOA website home page (first load) - 365 kB
SOA website home page (subsequent load) - 7.6 kB
If you wish to carry out said tests, in Chrome/Firefox, press F12 to open developer tools and then go to the network tab. Reload the page, and it will show you all the requests made to fetch resources.
- john.o
Re: New BOF Website
I can't find "Find an event" to search it (not logged in).
So much for growing numbers and attracting new blood.
(I have emailled my initial comments to BO.)
So much for growing numbers and attracting new blood.
(I have emailled my initial comments to BO.)
curro ergo sum
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King Penguin - addict
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Re: New BOF Website
Has anyone found the Resources pages eg Rules, coaching support stuff, etc?
I assume it isn't loaded yet but , as the old site isn't available, can't access any of that information.
Site doesn't display well on ipad.
All my experience of new websites is that you run with the old one while you populate the new one and test it (content-wise, how it displays on devices,etc) until everything works and then you go live. That way, you provide a seamless service to your customers/members without annoying them.
This is no customer/member focus about this - that's what really annoys me.
I assume it isn't loaded yet but , as the old site isn't available, can't access any of that information.
Site doesn't display well on ipad.
All my experience of new websites is that you run with the old one while you populate the new one and test it (content-wise, how it displays on devices,etc) until everything works and then you go live. That way, you provide a seamless service to your customers/members without annoying them.
This is no customer/member focus about this - that's what really annoys me.
- O lady
- yellow
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Re: New BOF Website
O lady wrote:Has anyone found the Resources pages eg Rules, coaching support stuff, etc?
I assume it isn't loaded yet but , as the old site isn't available, can't access any of that information.
Site doesn't display well on ipad.
All my experience of new websites is that you run with the old one while you populate the new one and test it (content-wise, how it displays on devices,etc) until everything works and then you go live. That way, you provide a seamless service to your customers/members without annoying them.
This is no customer/member focus about this - that's what really annoys me.
You've got to Log In to find anything useful. All the resources are there under the 'Get Involved' heading.
Looks OK on my iPad Mini.
- redpossum
- yellow
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Re: New BOF Website
Truly appalling:
1. As already said, you have to log in to see much - and if you close your browser, you have to do it again: no "keep me logged in" feature as on most websites. Who's going to want to log in every time they want to see event fixtures?
2. If you log in with the wrong details (I entered my email address rather than BOF number, it might have been helpful to say that username is membership number), you don't get any sort of error, it just goes back to the default page.
I agree with others: keep the old site live until the new one is complete and tested, then do the switch.
1. As already said, you have to log in to see much - and if you close your browser, you have to do it again: no "keep me logged in" feature as on most websites. Who's going to want to log in every time they want to see event fixtures?
2. If you log in with the wrong details (I entered my email address rather than BOF number, it might have been helpful to say that username is membership number), you don't get any sort of error, it just goes back to the default page.
I agree with others: keep the old site live until the new one is complete and tested, then do the switch.
- roadrunner
- addict
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Re: New BOF Website
There is now a working link to the event list from the pre-login pages. Phew.
It's in the "Go orienteering" page which is intuitive, but you have to scroll right to the bottom and the link isn't that obvious due to the colour styles used.
The ordering of the "Go orienteering" page is interesting. Most of us would order the page the complete reverse of how it is, with events first, then xplorer or poc's. That either says something about editorial control, or someone's viewpoint about the importance of club events re development.
Lots of websites/organisations use the "beta version" approach - have two concurrent websites (or section of websites) running concurrently, with one labelled "beta/try our new site" etc. As well as minimizing disruption, this also gets really good feedback from a wide range of user and softens the transition for those people who are very familiar with the old site. I think that approach would be really good for BOF with its acknowledged communication issues/challenges. I know this approach is more expensive in the short term, but a quality website pays back long term.
Out of interest, who decides on the website design, BO employees, a committee of orienteers?
It's in the "Go orienteering" page which is intuitive, but you have to scroll right to the bottom and the link isn't that obvious due to the colour styles used.
The ordering of the "Go orienteering" page is interesting. Most of us would order the page the complete reverse of how it is, with events first, then xplorer or poc's. That either says something about editorial control, or someone's viewpoint about the importance of club events re development.
Lots of websites/organisations use the "beta version" approach - have two concurrent websites (or section of websites) running concurrently, with one labelled "beta/try our new site" etc. As well as minimizing disruption, this also gets really good feedback from a wide range of user and softens the transition for those people who are very familiar with the old site. I think that approach would be really good for BOF with its acknowledged communication issues/challenges. I know this approach is more expensive in the short term, but a quality website pays back long term.
Out of interest, who decides on the website design, BO employees, a committee of orienteers?
- SeanC
- god
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- Location: Kent
Re: New BOF Website
Looks like this has gone live prematurely and without sufficient usability testing.
I would have though the best action at this point would be to revert to the old site until the new one is ready as even minimal testing of the new one has exposed significant issues.
Surely its normal practice to run the two sites in parallel for some time - or at least to make sure the new site has all the key functionality of the old site before it goes live.
To put site live without a fixtures list that is the lifeblood of orienteering and the primary way that newcomers find out about events does not instil confidence in BOF as an organisation.
I would have though the best action at this point would be to revert to the old site until the new one is ready as even minimal testing of the new one has exposed significant issues.
Surely its normal practice to run the two sites in parallel for some time - or at least to make sure the new site has all the key functionality of the old site before it goes live.
To put site live without a fixtures list that is the lifeblood of orienteering and the primary way that newcomers find out about events does not instil confidence in BOF as an organisation.
- dkr
- string
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Re: New BOF Website
SeanC wrote:The ordering of the "Go orienteering" page is interesting. Most of us would order the page the complete reverse of how it is, with events first, then xplorer or poc's. That either says something about editorial control, or someone's viewpoint about the importance of club events re development.
The links to POC and map downloads are pretty useful. Putting xplorer ahead of other events sends a pretty strong signal about "British" orienteering to those of us living in countries where xplorer isn't available...
Xplorer offers 5 events in May, Events offers 240. "someone's viewpoint" is totally detached from reality.
WOC2024 Edinburgh
Test races at SprintScotland (Alloa/Falkirk) and Euromeeting (near Stirling).
Test races at SprintScotland (Alloa/Falkirk) and Euromeeting (near Stirling).
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graeme - god
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Re: New BOF Website
graeme wrote: Putting xplorer ahead of other events sends a pretty strong signal about "British" orienteering to those of us living in countries where xplorer isn't available...
Aye.
Orienteering - its no walk in the park
- andypat
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Re: New BOF Website
Don't like it. Huge images, graphics, need to scroll down to find information or to read a page.
Cannot find other information. Why do we need to log in to see fixtures and so on.
Rankings list seems to have gone back in time by about 3-4 weeks (i.e. no points for Easter weekend onwards).
They should have had a parallel website that could be tested and to get feedback whilst still keeping old website live.
Cannot find other information. Why do we need to log in to see fixtures and so on.
Rankings list seems to have gone back in time by about 3-4 weeks (i.e. no points for Easter weekend onwards).
They should have had a parallel website that could be tested and to get feedback whilst still keeping old website live.
- charles2
- orange
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Re: New BOF Website
I personally like the chosen graphics. I hope we don't have to log in to access fixtures lists on the final version and the fixtures list is accessible to everyone without logging in. If I was considering a new sport, I'd be keen to find out what it offers our family, both this week and the possibilities later when some of us might be keen to explore what the sport offers. For an attractive "adventure sport" an event in the Lake District might be just as big a hook, as a run in a Manchester park 15 minutes down the road from us.
Last edited by maprun on Wed May 03, 2017 6:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- maprun
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