our new front page

[garionhall]

www.abbywinters.com. Check it.

We have our flame retardent suits on, and are ready for your constructive criticism.

[MightySpork]

Well, it's different, that's for sure. On behalf of Web surfers in less-than-private locations around the globe, thank you for not having the video newsletter play on load.

Regarding the large animation at bottom: For the benefit of those of us who don't read that fast (and may overlook the interactive control effect in the upper left corner), I suggest you put more time between transitions so that we can read those sentences.

Regarding your slogan: Real (period) Passionate (period) Unscripted (no period? whuh?)

Regarding the icon for "Press" using a picture of a butt: Any commentary intended?

PS: Is there a reason why I'm seeing an animated version on Firefox and Opera and a non-animated version on Safari? (Mac)

PPS: Has the age verification feature been abandoned?

[willow]

Originally Posted by MightySpork

Well, it's different, that's for sure. On behalf of Web surfers in less-than-private locations around the globe, thank you for not having the video newsletter play on load.

Our pleasure. Thanks for your feedback

Originally Posted by MightySpork

Regarding the large animation at bottom: For the benefit of those of us who don't read that fast (and may overlook the interactive control effect in the upper left corner), I suggest you put more time between transitions so that we can read those sentences.

It's been the subject of much debate - some people wanted it even faster. We need to strike a balance between readibility and making it clear very early on that there is more going on than the opening banner. We will fine tune this down the track if necessary.

Originally Posted by MightySpork

Regarding your slogan: Real (period) Passionate (period) Unscripted (no period? whuh?)

A graphic design decision. You'll find similar things elsewhere if you look.

Originally Posted by MightySpork

Regarding the icon for "Press" using a picture of a butt: Any commentary intended?

Hahaha. You know, I honestly don't think it occurred to any of us.

Originally Posted by MightySpork

PS: Is there a reason why I'm seeing an animated version on Firefox and Opera and a non-animated version on Safari? (Mac)

Possibly you have Javascript or Flash disabled on Safari. We tested it quite thoroughly with Safari and it worked just fine.

Originally Posted by MightySpork

PPS: Has the age verification feature been abandoned?

Yes.

[MightySpork]

Originally Posted by willow

A graphic design decision. You'll find similar things elsewhere if you look.

Just my opinion, but they look like mistakes in those other places, too.

Regarding Safari, here are my Security preferences:



... and here's what the home page looked like when I browsed it (reduced to comply with forum rules):

[willow]

Do you know what flash version you have installed for Safari?

[MightySpork]

Apparently, I don't have it at all. I went to Adobe's Flash version testing page, and got this message:



But your home page never prompted me for the plugin. I don't use Safari as my main browser, so I have only the plugins that Apple installed for it, but I was just curious about how it would look there.

One last observation about the video newsletter embedded in the page: During playback, a progress meter appears, and it covers up the models' names and the abbywinters.com logo.

[willow]

Originally Posted by MightySpork

But your home page never prompted me for the plugin.

Thanks. We'll certainly look into it.

Originally Posted by MightySpork

One last observation about the video newsletter embedded in the page: During playback, a progress meter appears, and it covers up the models' names and the abbywinters.com logo.

Yes, we know. We're working on that one, but it may be a while before we can fix it.

[MightySpork]

Originally Posted by willow

Thanks. We'll certainly look into it.

Actually, it occurs to me that you might not want to prompt people to get the plugin. From a marketing perspective, it would be wiser to let Flash-less users interact with this alternate version of the home page rather then sending them off to get the plugin.

[garionhall]

Originally Posted by MightySpork

Well, it's different, that's for sure. On behalf of Web surfers in less-than-private locations around the globe, thank you for not having the video newsletter play on load.

This was much debated. I kinda think we maybe SHOULD, and the marketing dept thinks we DEF should.

Regarding the large animation at bottom: For the benefit of those of us who don't read that fast (and may overlook the interactive control effect in the upper left corner), I suggest you put more time between transitions so that we can read those sentences.

Yah. again, we spent a fair amount of time on tweaking this. If you mouse-over it, it pauses. As Willow says, we can play with it. the words are not critical to understanding the meaning, tho. Our idea was, they are keywords not sentances, and reading only a few of them will get the emssage accross.

Regarding your slogan: Real (period) Passionate (period) Unscripted (no period? whuh?)

Willow, I think that is a mistake, and should have a period after it?!

Regarding the icon for "Press" using a picture of a butt: Any commentary intended?

...it'd be a nice thing to PRESS against?

[garionhall]

Originally Posted by MightySpork

One last observation about the video newsletter embedded in the page: During playback, a progress meter appears, and it covers up the models' names and the abbywinters.com logo.

Move your mouse off the playback window, and the nav is removed, yes?

[MightySpork]

Originally Posted by garionhall

Move your mouse off the playback window, and the nav is removed, yes?

I'll take your word for it. Nothing prompts the user to do this, so don't count on them doing it consistently.

[MightySpork]

Originally Posted by garionhall

This was much debated. I kinda think we maybe SHOULD, and the marketing dept thinks we DEF should.

Well, tell your marketing department that the "people with children and wives in the room next door" department thinks you DEF should NOT.

And actually, the "play with me" overlay is a clever compromise. You've taken what you folks consider to be a drawback and turned it into something fun and involving. Stick with it.

See, here's the thing: The Web is not like television, I think, because people are are more actively engaged when using the Web than when they're passively watching TV. People seem to expect more control over the experience online than in other electronic media. I know that I resent it when a Web page takes control of the experience away from me by doing things without my consent -- and sites that resize the window and/or play sound when I'm not ready for it are my top peeves.

[Gerza71]

Well its different and its loud. Maybe its me or its the first time I used that front page but it took the browser which I using FireFox version 2.0.0.13 a long time to get into the members news page. Maybe there is so much information to gather. But at the last front page it took just about straight away to get into the members news page. The last I log in it was this morning. All in all it works good. You should bring back that age thing. To protect yourselves.

Gerza71

[MightySpork]

You should bring back that age thing. To protect yourselves.

It's not just the protection, but also the goodwill. For so long, the site has been quite scrupulous about screening minors from seeing things they shouldn't see; even the images in these forums can't be seen by non-members. Surely this has contributed to the site's reputation for high ethics.

But the new home page could be interpreted as a dramatic turnabout in policy. Not only is age verification gone, but so are the links to ASACP and other resources for concerned parents. People will notice (look how little time it took me to notice).

[MightySpork]

Moving on to the mood: This new page is definitely aiming at the 18-35 age group. The prior versions of the home page were much more serene and dignified, and coupled with the way Abby models remind us older members of the kind of "nice" women we used to see before porn got tattoos and implants, I imagine this made the site very appealing to people in my age group.

I can't really bring myself to criticize this aspect of the change, because I fully understand the need to reach out to the younger audience. But it's hard not to feel a bit left behind.

[doinel]

The first thing I spotted was the icon 'Model For Us'. It shows the long overdue beach video of Verity shooting Ivana. I really hope it will see the light of day real soon, now that it is featured at such a prominent place.

Second thought, the page is far more agitated and holds more information than the previous one. It aims for a younger spectator than me, but that's ok. Aesthetically I like the calmer, less flashy page more.

doinel

[garionhall]

Originally Posted by MightySpork

But the new home page could be interpreted as a dramatic turnabout in policy. Not only is age verification gone, but so are the links to ASACP and other resources for concerned parents. People will notice (look how little time it took me to notice).

eeeks, thanks for the reminder, we'll get these added.

[Lesley]

Originally Posted by Gerza71

...but it took the browser which I using FireFox version 2.0.0.13 a long time to get into the members news page....

Gerza71

Over 30 seconds, far too long.
I was bored with waiting and think of going elsewhere!

L

[geoff07]

It didn't work too well for me (Firefox/Ubuntu). The top right box was blank and the middle box on the left was only partially complete. I will figure out how to do a screen grab on this machine and send it to you.

[geoff07]

its a .png if I did it right. It should be attached (but I can't see anything to confirm that).

[bookmanz]

Firefox 2.0.0.13 looks good and loaded pretty quick.

IE7? Well there is no animation running and the There is no PLAY ME toolbar for the Newsletter. Julietta picture for the newsletter is different.

See

[willow]

Originally Posted by bookmanz

IE7? Well there is no animation running and the There is no PLAY ME toolbar for the Newsletter. Julietta picture for the newsletter is different.

See

This is the view presented when your browser either does not have the flash plugin, or has it or Javascript disabled.

[willow]

Originally Posted by geoff07

It didn't work too well for me (Firefox/Ubuntu). The top right box was blank and the middle box on the left was only partially complete. I will figure out how to do a screen grab on this machine and send it to you.

Almost certainly a flash plugin issue. Please note that we do not support Linux. However, I use Ubuntu myself and the portal works just fine for me.

[Lesley]

Originally Posted by willow

Almost certainly a flash plugin issue. Please note that we do not support Linux. However, I use Ubuntu myself and the portal works just fine for me.

It's fine on my Linux box.

L

[bookmanz]

Originally Posted by willow

This is the view presented when your browser either does not have the flash plugin, or has it or Javascript disabled.

Thanks Willow. That view looks pretty good. I'll try the site with Flash added in later.

Guys have a lot of good verbiage. Good job picking keywords. But, I think you're missing one. Fun.
Especially for SOLO, that material is not always passionate or raw like IM and GG, but it is always fun.

[takochan]

It's a while since I've visited the front page — and wow, the surprise was considerable. On the whole, though, I found it quite appealing, if perhaps a tad crowded...

takochan

Oh, and I do endorse the concern about age verification

[MightySpork]

Regarding the photo used to illustrate masturbation: I think she's doing it wrong.

[Lesley]

Originally Posted by MightySpork

Regarding the photo used to illustrate masturbation: I think she's doing it wrong.

LOL

L

[louseboy]

Originally Posted by MightySpork

Well, tell your marketing department that the "people with children and wives in the room next door" department thinks you DEF should NOT.

And actually, the "play with me" overlay is a clever compromise. You've taken what you folks consider to be a drawback and turned it into something fun and involving. Stick with it.

See, here's the thing: The Web is not like television, I think, because people are are more actively engaged when using the Web than when they're passively watching TV. People seem to expect more control over the experience online than in other electronic media. I know that I resent it when a Web page takes control of the experience away from me by doing things without my consent -- and sites that resize the window and/or play sound when I'm not ready for it are my top peeves.

Pretty much agreed with everything MightySpork says here, especially the part about web sites not trying to take control away from you. Let me decide if I want to watch the video or not.

Also, I think the three pictures in the flash thingy at the bottom aren't necessarily the most representative. If I was basing a first impression of the site on just that, I'd expect to see lots of buttholes. For me, at least, the site is about all kinds of beautiful young women. And then you get to see them naked... and doing things.... But it all starts with the women (or girls, if you prefer to call them that), and I think your previous front page did a better job of conveying that. I understand the need to update the front page, both because of the split and because it was starting to look a bit old-fashioned, but I think you could choose images that better represent the typical content.

[Lesley]

Originally Posted by louseboy

.... But it all starts with the women (or girls, if you prefer to call them that)...

We like to call them models.

L

[trebor]

The new front page looks great. I definitely like how you decided to use the slideshow, gets a lot of information up front without making the page too cluttered. Here's a couple of quick comments/suggestions:

1. I would think about slowing down the speed of the slideshow at least slightly. It's a little bit too fast now to get a look at the content, particularly if people don't realize you can pause it using the rectangles in the upper right corner. This kind of feature is probably common enough that you could slow down the speed a bit and most people will still realize that there is more than one image.

2. It would be nice in some way to incorporate an image from one of the large group tier 1 shoots somewhere on the front page, like you did on the old front page. These shoots are something that are pretty unique to the site and give a great representation of the tone of much of the content you see on the site. Not sure where you would put this though. The slideshow would be a great spot for it except that there you need to have one image per section to make the site structure clear, you couldn't really replace the tier 3 image for the girl girl slide.

3. As has already been commented I would definitely change the image on the slide for the intimate moments. Having a full body shot as is the perspective in the actual videos would better represent what the videos are like.

[Stonefly]

Gross. Garish. Tasteless. Unpleasant. And a dramatic change from the Abby we've known for the past many years. This front page makes no sense to me at all. Instead of promoting those things that make AW special, this looks like 1000 other tasteless websites. Which is why I don't patronize those others. I've already sent Abby more detailed and specific comments in an "instant feedback" message. I can only hope and pray that someone sees the light and removes this awful thing. Also, it would be best to think about what you're trying to sell (beautiful, natural, varied, young Aussie girls) and then start from first principles to think how you might want to do that. Ghastly!

[Havemercy]

I like the prominent display of your AAIA awards. Clever!

However, I agree with Stonefly that the rest of it could be any one of hundreds of lame sites. I have the news page bookmarked, and never use the current front page. Will I still be able to do that? Assuming the news and interior pages remain "serene and dignified," those of us who prefer the calmer look can conveniently bypass the new entry. Or will the interior pages be getting the same treatment?

The newsletter signup needs a semicolon after "worry", i.e. "Don't worry; we'll never share your email." Or, to be young and hip, you could use an M-dash. In the bottom flash section, the sequential animated rectangles above the section titles are distracting and busy, imo. Could they be removed?

HM

[eberhard]

Originally Posted by Stonefly

Gross. Garish. Tasteless. Unpleasant. And a dramatic change from the Abby we've known for the past many years. This front page makes no sense to me at all. Instead of promoting those things that make AW special, this looks like 1000 other tasteless websites. .... Ghastly!

I agree very much with Stonefly and I think you should remember that not only potential members see your front page, potential models also do. This is not the sort of page that helps you recruit the type of girls we want to see.

[Frans]

Originally Posted by Lesley

Over 30 seconds, far too long.
I was bored with waiting and think of going elsewhere!

That load time isn't related to the new frontpage, the member mainpage just IS that big. Once you've seen it a then go to the frontpage and press 'members' again it's quicker. Also parts of the memberpage aren't served from the EU-mirror which doesn't help (the left (motw) and right (vnl) column pics are very expensive for that reason prolly, 578ms/each).

Anyway, my points;

1. The bottom animation goes much to fast if you want people to actually READ the text. Half that speed would be better.
   
2. The vnl control-bar is in the way when viewing, yes it does go away when you move the cursor outside the vnl-box but that's not intuitive. One would expect the controls to fade away unless the cursor is moved.
   
3. DVD box; I would expect the image of the dvd (left) to be clickable (to shop).
   
4. Review-bar (top) : make it link to http://www.abbywinters.com/main.php?page=testimonials ? I somehow expected to be able to get more info on the mentioned reviews.
   
5. Can you make the bottom-animation stop when playing the vnl (and resume when stopping it of course) ? I personally don't like two moving windows, distracting.
   
6. The IM pic is too explicit/raw/close-up whatever you call it, can't find the word right now. But I'd like pic more like this one from Tammy B's IM (for example). It's less in-your-face. From which IM *is* that current pic anyway? IM's don't usually do close-up (but that's not my primairy problem with it).
   
7. Overall lay-out is certainly more flashy, it's a bit crowded. You can't put the entire tour on the frontpage you know It's more crowded compared to the old frontpage, which was a calm front. This one is clearly more aimed at attracting new members, getting them interested. That's fine, just don't make the entire site so busy come make-over time, ok ?
   

I'm wondering how many members really use the frontpage and then click 'member entrance' ?

[Lesley]

Originally Posted by Frans

That load time isn't related to the new frontpage, the member mainpage just IS that big. Once you've seen it a then go to the frontpage and press 'members' again it's quicker. Also parts of the memberpage aren't served from the EU-mirror which doesn't help (the left (motw) and right (vnl) column pics are very expensive for that reason prolly, 578ms/each).

I am aware of all that, my point is that as a potential member who has never visited the site before, 30 seconds plus is waaaay too long to wait. The tour does the same thing. The first page of the tour must load faster else they are going to go elsewhere.
I would.

The IM picture is totally wrong, unless AW are going to start doing close up anus fingering IM's in the future? Show what you do 99.9% of the time, not what you do .1% of the time (or less).

I never go near the front page, and I am sure the vast majority of members have the main members page bookmarked. But the front page is aimed at catching new members, it's the shop window, and at the moment the door is jammed and take a a while to open, and goods on display are not on sale inside.

L

[garionhall]

thakns for the feedback guys, much appreciated. We'll be incorporating it over the next few days.

[garionhall]

Originally Posted by trebor

2. It would be nice in some way to incorporate an image from one of the large group tier 1 shoots somewhere on the front page, like you did on the old front page. These shoots are something that are pretty unique to the site and give a great representation of the tone of much of the content you see on the site. Not sure where you would put this though. The slideshow would be a great spot for it except that there you need to have one image per section to make the site structure clear, you couldn't really replace the tier 3 image for the girl girl slide.

Yes, once the site is split, we'll have four portals - a common one like this, and one specifically for solo, IM and GG. The GG one will rotate through several GG-specific images.

[cleo]

OMG! I'm on the front page...its a dream come true!! (even though you can barely see it's me)
I kinda agree that it's a LITTLE bit tacky and mainstream porn-ish.
HATE that fact that the IM shot is anal...
DEF. think you need the age verification stuff...you dont wanna get slandered for being dangerous for kids to stumble onto etc.
but, my opinion doesnt really count coz I'm not a paying member...but, my opinions are pretty much the same as everyone else.

but seriously, surely you know age verification is Uber important!!

[alexbee]

One additional comment....

After looking at the front page I decided to take the tour and found it a bit frustrating to constantly have to look for the "continue" arrow. Could this be located in the same place on each page so customers can walk through the tour without taking their eyes off the screen??

Small detail, but you never know what will turn a possible subscriber away.