Replies

1. 
   _mj_ | Mar 24, 2020 09:06pm | #1

   Yeah, me too. Same with the podcast.

2. FWW Editor
   ben_strano | Mar 25, 2020 08:27am | #2

   Brainstorming, in an ideal world, how would it function? I personally don't see way around the lists, but I do wish they had more than 10 results per page.

   So, this is an internet "hack" I use all the time. Go to page two, and look at the url... https://www.finewoodworking.com/section/shop-tips/page/2

   Change that "2" to "12" or whatever you want. You're now on that page. I do this all the time... on lots of other websites too.

   But we're always open to other ideas!

3. 
   _mj_ | Mar 25, 2020 08:54am | #3

   Hi Ben, For the podcast, there is no easy way to even find it on the FWW site. The "more" tab does not show it. You have to go to the main menu and scan to the far lower right corner. If I had just dropped in I would never know STL existed.

   When you get to it you are on page 1 of 22 and the only option is "next". If you hit next you wind up on page 2 and your 'hack" can be used.

   I guess a list page for STL would be nice, just titles & topics to find content relevant to a current topic of interest?

1. FWW Editor
   ben_strano | Mar 25, 2020 12:48pm | #4

   I hear ya. The fact it isn't in the "more" tab bothers me too. We took it out of the main menu because nobody clicked on it. You and I are in the minority on this one, most don't get the podcast via the website.

4. 
   lat_axe | Mar 25, 2020 01:11pm | #5

   FWW website is a database. All databases need: a schema of how to organise all their content; a naming convention that names similar things the same way and with meaningful words not codes; an index of the database content with as much cross-referencing as is practicable.

   You don't really have these in a singular ordered way managed by a configuration manager. Unless you do, the search & find processes will remain frustratingly ad-hoc.

   The search engine can eventually find things but it's a klunker and gives unintelligent results a lot of the time - great lists of articles and vids from most query terms, no matter how carefully constructed by the searcher.

   You could appoint a configuration manager but I can tell you, from bitter experience, that it's a real uphill struggle to get the providers of the data in an already disorganised database to change their habits or conform their existing contributions to a single new standard of metadata.

   Lataxe

5. 
   russ_rva | Mar 25, 2020 01:25pm | #6

   Ben-

   Thanks for the hack. A reasonable work-around.

   I am not a web designer, so I don't have a better suggestion. But I do see options to specify "results per page" and a short list of sequential numbers that link directly to specific pages. These features are typically associated with on-line catalogs like those maintained by parts suppliers. Perhaps this is the kind of data base distinction that Lataxe is referring to in his response.

   I am also not a publisher. But I believe that ease of navigation is an important factor in reader satisfaction and subscriber loyalty. Perhaps you can bring this to the attention of the publisher.

   Russ

6. 
   geedubbee | Mar 25, 2020 05:30pm | #7

   Yep, a common thread going on here. Web designers that use the "back" button to reload a previous page as if being visited the first time are breaking the usability of browsers as a front end.

   When I complete my use of a selection from a list and close that selection, I should be returned to where I can from; exactly where I came from. Failure to do so is a design choice and a poor and lazy one at that.

   Do a quick search on things like back-button-expectations, problems-with-web-pages-that-employ-overlays and so forth. Unexpected results to standard navigational expectations rank pretty darn high on website abandonment statistics. How expensive is a good programmer now?

   I actually abandon FWW Online for periods of time due to the broken navigation when reading articles that result from a search. At some point I will get so tired of having to page ahead 3 times to get where I just was that I avoid the site for days at a time.

   P.s. My apologies to the programmer if they wanted to do it right but, got over ruled.