Most of the recent C2 site re-design has been well received (new site front page, new AutoTrade Performance Reports, new Trade Entry screen, new AutoTrade Setup Wizard, new System Finder, new Best Systems lists)… with one exception.
The new Dashboard page has received mixed reviews. Some people seem to really like it, but many, many people have taken the time to tell me they hate it.
I’ve been trying to incorporate some of their feedback over the last few weeks. Some of the changes have been subtle, others more noticeable. I’ll describe them briefly here.
From the list of “subtle” changes, you might notice that typography and layout uses responsive design, meaning that the page changes dynamically at various browser-window widths. Narrower browser windows show a bit less detail with smaller type; larger windows show more detail with larger type, more white space, and also some additional content.
But the responsive design stuff is small potatoes compared to the two major changes that I have released over the past few days. The first major change was to alter the default behavior of clicking on a system anywhere on the Dashboard. In the old days, clicking on a system opened a pop-up window with most System Details appearing right within that popup. The idea here was to let people stay on the Dashboard, without flipping pages. But a lot of people seemed to hate that behavior, so now the default behavior of the Dashboard has changed:
Now, clicking on a system goes directly to the system page… no pop-up windows. There is one exception. If you click the little arrow icon on the right of any system line, you bring up a tiny pop-up with some additional commands you might want to access with regards to the system in question (AutoTrade it, add it to Watch List, hide it, add it to Live Feeds, etc.)
The second major change you’ll notice is that the My Systems area now appears at the top of the page, with large, easy to read charts. When a trade happens the system lights up, and a message appears right below it. This behavior echoes the “old” Dashboard page which so many people liked.
Both these changes are configurable by clicking the gear icon at the top left of the page (where it says “Dashboard Options”). So if you are a new Dashboard die-hard, and you thought the original layout and behavior was perfect, you can configure your Dashboard back to the way you like it.
So, in closing, if you are one of the people that spewed vomit all over his or her keyboard when trying out the new Dashboard over the past few months, let me encourage you to (1) take a deep breath, (2) keep an open mind, and (3) try it again.
I’m interested in hearing your feedback - particularly if you were one of the vocal critics of the first iteration of the new Dashboard. (Of course if you’ve never spoken up before, I welcome your feedback too.) You can post feedback here, but if you prefer to keep it private between me and you, you can email me at help@collective2.com.
I’ll be adding additional customization choices over the next weeks to try to make the Dashboard fit your needs, so let me know what works or doesn’t work.
Matthew
My emotional response to the current dashboard is complex, but it is growing on me. I miss seeing all of the new forum posts rather than just the new ones in the C2 forum. Other than that personal idiosyncracy, I think it looks very good, and is easy to navigate/use.
Thanks for all of the work you have put into the site redesign and upgrade. Great job!
Matthew, you are one heck of a coder, probably a very nice guy, a great cook, and may even make your own clothes.
But you aren’t an art director.
I’ve always felt that Collective2 could really use the services of a very good designer/art director, and that the site really suffered without those talents.
Beyond the level of coding and performance, the look of nearly every page is, IMHO, very slapdash and not what it should be for such an otherwise solid site.
Please don’t forget “one heck of a lover” too.
As long as we have the ability to go back to the “old” version, I’ll be happy. C2 has many ways to improve itself, but cosmetics, in my opinion, wasn’t high on the list.
At least Private Messages are now stored–that was a major technological leap!
As always AWESOME work by MK & C2. Just a few items of personal interest (A) I liked the (old) mouseover effect to view system charts in direct contrast to the S&P 500. (B) I liked the (old) frontpage view of all forum posts and © I liked the presence of chat visible on the homepage. Seems these have all been done away with ;( gA
Also, without the mouseover effect one can’t readily see if the nice uptrend of green is for a month or three years…
