[Qgis-developer] Simplify the download pages

[Martin Dobias]

On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 1:09 AM, Alex Mandel <tech_dev at wildintellect.com> wrote:
> Based on some feedback I've gotten from some users the download pages
> are still too complicated and have too many choices. It's not clear to
> anyone but advanced and involved users what the right thing to get is.

I also get feedback from people that the pages are confusing. I post
my suggestions that might improve the usability (not limited to
downloads):

1. Main page
The text content is too dull to read it. People are in a hurry and
usually want to know a) what is qgis, b) how does it look like c) how
to get it.
Therefore I suggest:
- a short statement about QGIS in larger font + link: learn more
(leading to about QGIS page)
- big download button on the right side
- small screenshot below the download button + link: more screenshots
- below this there could be a news section (hackfests, releases, ...)

2. About page
I would suggest to merge it with "features" page and make the
screenshot smaller (again with link to more screenshots) because
otherwise it doesn't bring any news besides the short history.

3. Download page
For a good orientation, I would suggest to have these 4 options
(aligned in a 2x2 table, large font):
- Current version
- Long term support version
- Plugins
- Sample data
Each option would be a link to a separate page and could have a small
annotation text below the link.
Finally at the end of the page there could be a list of pages for
older releases.

4. Download page for any version
First a short introduction what the version is about (current release
/ LTS / older release).
No tables, just a section (ideally with a platform icon for easier orientation):
- WINDOWS
  - standalone - with/without grass
  - osgeo4w - instruction
- MAC - instructions
- LINUX - instructions for various distributions
- SOURCE


I believe this would make the first impression a bit better...

Regards
Martin