Client download page

[geobabe1]

Title

Client download page

Short, concise description of the idea

Make text on the client download page a bit more clear as to where to find the client.

Full description of the idea

I had a conversation with a friend this morning and he was very frustrated trying to find a client I was recommending. He found the main download page, but evidently

Comments

[timwi]

Yes, I found this extremely frustrating and confusing too. It clearly looks as if there were no download links, and it is completely unintuitive to go to the journal to look for download links.

[loozinmyslf4ya]

I agree. It took me hours just to find the page to download a simple client. But, I think they did it so you have see the latest in the change log, and have the latest client. Otherwise, it would require developers to change the page everytime there's a change, and requires them, too, to have to check up on the journal to see any updates and provide the latest link.

But, it'd be cool if someone is willing to do that?

[snarkbite]

I agree, and I think the change could be done easily by simply altering the line that says "Watch FOO for updates."

That line appears for every client available, so just make it say "Visit FOO to download the latest version of this client." Or whatever's appropriate, but get the word 'download' into that line of text.

[beginning]

"...just make it say 'Visit FOO to download the latest version of this client.'"

But even then, people don't know where to look for the link to download. They don't know whether to go to the journal's userinfo or LASTN view. They don't know how to use the external sites they get linked to. Some people try to download directly from the links on /download/ pages. I've seen client webpages that are disorganized and confusing, and there's nothing LiveJournal can do to prevent that. That's up to the individual developers to figure out, and since there's no set layout that developers should be using for their client webpages, sometimes you wonder where you've ended up after clicking on the links. (I'm not saying we need a set layout, of course, just pointing out how some users look at it.)

I don't think a simple wording change can fix this. I think the format of the /download/ pages also needs to be reworked. I just don't know how yet.

[ruakh]

100% agreed.

[beginning]

The entire /download/ sections needs to be reorganized, in my opinion. The main page is alright, but the individual OS pages are awful. Just the fact that even the FAQ on the subject still doesn't clear things up for people shows you that something about the /download/ pages is wrong. We need some new way to link the individual journals and sites that will make things clearer. I'll fiddle around and see what designs I can come up with.

better organisation!

[scientaestubiqu]

I'd also like to see a table of features.

Most people are looking for a client with certain features.

You shouldn't have to download them all to find out what features they have.