Identify possible pages to design

[RichardLitt]

Let's do some brainstorming on what sort of pages we want to have on the site, now that we know some basics.

[HanieJ]

What about we try this step on a wireframing tool?

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The answer to my question: too early! we need a website map first!

[HanieJ]

This is how I see it in general(I know details might be too much, but it helped me to set my website map in minimum format):

To breakdown:

• Homepage
  • value prop
  • A map
  • search bar
• Bookstore page
  • name of store
  • pictures of the bookstore
  • Amenities
  • featured books
  • events (upcoming with a link to past events) with subscribe button(going to newsletter)
  • about bookstore
  • show on the map
  • users stories about the bookstore.
• user login/sign up (they can create a bookstore page with sign up)
• Bookstore owner(or user) page
  • profile (username, password, email)
  • all the fields of the bookstore page
  • users stories to approve
• About us/website
• Contact
• Admin page
• Curator page (person who will choose which bookstore to publish)

Where is community? to me a facebook group would be perfect to chitchat, share the pictures, stories, introducing new stores, answering questions, etc. I also wanted them to have a way to post their story/experience directly to our website. So I added a section like a message-board to the bookstore page. But if we want to have something like TripAdvisor for bookstores, that would be exciting too!

[vlillies]

Adding to @HanieJ's work.

• Homepage
  • Value prop
  • A Map
  • Search bar for location or bookstore name
  • Login or username if logged in
  • Featured bookstores?
  • News & events?
• Bookstore page
  • name of store
  • pictures of the bookstore
  • Amenities
  • featured books
  • events (upcoming with a link to past events) with subscribe button(going to newsletter)
  • about bookstore
  • show on the map
  • users stories about the bookstore / testimonials / ratings .
  • Sign in
  • e-mail + password (or facebook / google ?)
  • Sign up
  • Username, e-mail, location(country/city), avatar pic.
• User Portals
  • Starred bookstores
  • Message box?
  • User info:
    • Username, e-mail, location, avatar pic, password reset.
• Bookstore (owner) portals
  • List of bookstores / location selection ( 1 owner managing multiple store pages?...)
  • Verify identity ??
• Bookstore Creation page(s)
• About us/website
• Contact
• Admin page
• Curator page (person who will choose which bookstore to publish)

Several issues/thoughts:

• Who can create a bookstore pages?? (owner or fans??)
  • What if the owner wants to remove/modify content?? (ex: bad review)
  • Is the site primarily for the community, the owners, or both? How will these (possibly conflicting) priorities be managed?
  • Does content need to reviewed/approved?
• Will having discussions on facebook take away from or add to the usefulness of the site?

Some of these may already have been covered but seem important enough to give more thought.

[vlillies]

Am I doing this right??

[HanieJ]

My assumption for the website:

• It is basically a directory!
• Anyone can create a bookstore page! no problem! A curator will clean it up.
• The only content editor will be bookstore owners(or people who are promoting the local store - let's say me, writing about a bookstore in Iran).
• Users(book lovers/readers) can just publish their pictures and stories (without the headache of registering) and bookstore owner will accept or deny them.

Am I right?

[Jojokats]

I'm not sure but I think we should determine the AI first then design the features.

The first step in design a real solution is the general structure of the thing.

UX for Beginners

We would need to draw the site map.

[RichardLitt]

@HanieJ and @VernL, thanks for jumping in! This is precisely what I thought would be useful for us to think about next. Here is my take:

Homepage

• Value prop
• Featured bookstore with content
• Login or username if logged in

I don't think we need to have a map on the front page. I want this to be a bit more like the slow web movement - long, editorial content pushed first. You can see the map page to go and look for more bookstores - for now, it's more of a serial website. Make sense?

Blogpage

• News & events

Map page

• A Map
• Search bar for location or bookstore name
• Starred bookstores (if logged in)

Bookstore page

• Name of store
• pictures of the bookstore
• Longform content about bookstore
• Amenities
• Featured books
• Events (upcoming with a link to past events) with subscribe button(going to newsletter)
• about bookstore
• show on the map
• User stories about the bookstore / testimonials / ratings .

Sign in page

• E-mail + password (with Facebook // Google option using OAuth)
• Sign up option

User settings

• Username, e-mail, location(country/city), avatar pic.
• Password reset (or: Disable password by using OAuth, require them to sign in via email)
• Notifications (Or: No notifications. Would be cool to do this entirely by email.)

Bookstore owner portals

• Set featured books
• Upload events
• Verify identity section (can be done via email)

Content Editing Page (Bookstore Creation page)

• Editor
• Upload images
• Post draft
• Save

About us/website

• Contact

Admin page

Curator page

---

Who can create a bookstore pages??

I think that only the site authors should be able to fully publish a bookstore. However, we should allow people to suggest bookstores, which can be added with content. It may be best to create two tiers for content - one for stores which we have featured, and others which are community added.

Is the site primarily for the community, the owners, or both? How will these (possibly conflicting) priorities be managed?

I would say it is primarily for the community. Being a bookstore owner is hard! I don't want to stress them with extra work.

Where is community? to me a facebook group would be perfect to chitchat, share the pictures, stories, introducing new stores, answering questions, etc. I also wanted them to have a way to post their story/experience directly to our website. So I added a section like a message-board to the bookstore page.

I think Facebook would work (although I personally hate it). I think we can also implement a Disqus board. I think it would be best if user content didn't go directly on the website - I'd rather it was more curated from the community, and we can eventually ask users if we can use their content for the featured work. Make sense?

Can a bookstore owner control their own page?

I would say no, beyond changing featured books and events. Otherwise, we end up having them be arbiters of all content, which will be exhausting.

Users(book lovers/readers) can just publish their pictures and stories (without the headache of registering) and bookstore owner will accept or deny them.

I'm not sure about this, either. It should be fairly easy to register.

I'm not sure but I think we should determine the AI first then design the features.

What do you mean by AI, @Jojokats?

[vlillies]

It may be best to create two tiers for content - one for stores which we have featured, and others which are community added.

Great Idea!

I'd rather it was more curated from the community, and we can eventually ask users if we can use their content for the featured work. Make sense?

I like it! We could also have an optional "formal" submission process for bookstore owners/community members that want to help out/feed our database. It could be as simple as an e-mail submission with a list of suggested items (i.e. Several Photos, Location, hours, etc.)

I would say no, beyond changing featured books and events. Otherwise, we end up having them be arbiters of all content, which will be exhausting.

I agree with this and feel like bookstore owners should not be given special privileges. It is conceivable to give some kind of admin privileges to members that actively participate in the community. Probably a future issue.

Users(book lovers/readers) can just publish their pictures and stories (without the headache of registering) and bookstore owner will accept or deny them.

I envision a messaging/commenting system like amazon that would allow users to leave feedback and attach images. We could then use this content to complement our info!

I suggest we stay away from a 5 start rating system, seems kind of unoriginal. If it's a bad store, let's just not include it?!

[Jojokats]

@RichardLitt I meant that we should establish the Information Architecture, creating the structure first before jumping into the details of each page. IA

[Jojokats]

@VernL I think we should use the 5 star ratings. Users should be informed as well beforehand if it's worth going to that store, if service is bad....

[vlillies]

From meeting notes, our MVP will include:

• Homepage with featured bookstore (monthly?)
• Bookstore index page with map & dynamic icons / list of bookstores
• Blog page for news
• Message board / user comments will be off site (facebook?)

Anything to add?

[RichardLitt]

We also need a single article page - one bookstore page.

That should be it for now, I think.

[ZJaf]

We also need a single article page - one bookstore page.

based on my understanding this will be the home page. Am I right?

[RichardLitt]

based on my understanding this will be the home page. Am I right?

The homepage will change. We'll need a page that also shows older articles.

[ZJaf]

The homepage will change. We'll need a page that also shows older articles.

So it will be a page only for bookstore information. Can I work on that instead of Homepage? ( I mean the front-end of it)

[RichardLitt]

Can I work on that instead of Homepage? ( I mean the front-end of it)

Both will be similar - they'll share design considerations.

Not sure what you mean by Homepage for now. Do you mean the index file issue I assigned? That is a small thing to help us learn how to craft better PRs, for now. :)

[ZJaf]

Not sure what you mean by Homepage for now. Do you mean the index file issue I assigned? That is a small thing to help us learn how to craft better PRs, for now. :)

AHA! Well it is not easy to guess what you are thinking about! 😄

[RichardLitt]

AHA! Well it is not easy to guess what you are thinking about! 😄

The idea is for me to assign small tasks, for now, to be able to help you all more. Generic 'go learn node' hasn't been helpful, so I'm trying to be more assiduous with actionable tasks that I can help with more. :)

[ZJaf]

The idea is for me to assign small tasks, for now, to be able to help you all more. Generic 'go learn node' hasn't been helpful, so I'm trying to be more assiduous with actionable tasks that I can help with more. :)

<3 thank you... really appreciated

[RichardLitt]

Closing, as this is done. I've opened other issues for some of the pages here.