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Post by letsconnect on Sept 22, 2005 12:04:41 GMT -5
What are the aspects of the website that work for you? Any pages that particularly helped you? Now for the biggie: what doesn't work? And did anything really turn you off? Don't be shy to criticize - I'm not happy with it myself, that's why I'm going to rebuild it, LOL  ! Also, if you have any suggestions how to make navigation (i. e. finding your way around the website) easier, please post them here! |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 25, 2005 10:22:11 GMT -5
I'll start it off: the things that work well at the moment appear to be humo(u)r and information aspects, and also the articles written by various people for the website. The things I'd like to change: (1) Navigation (which currently is cr*p). (2) SIMPLIFY IT!!! There's too much waffle at the moment - some pages could do with heavy editing. Most importantly, simplify the language to make it more accessible, without dumbing things down. There's also some repetition and certain sections could be combined on one page. (3) Have a better section on / way of figuring out fears and possible solutions. The current PDFs/Word files were things I just threw out in a hurry (as is most of the rest of the site, lol). (4) Improve upon the "whole-person-centred" approach (which is sadly absent in places). (5) Instead of having lots of different links pages, have them all on the one page (the dental phobia, dentistry, dentures ones etc.) (6) Get rid of links to commercial websites I don't approve of (7) Have a better "phobic-friendly" dentists database. (8) A separate page on prevention/dental care, based upon a person-centred model. At the moment, there is a section on it on the DIY page, but it could be vastly improved and made more phobic-friendly. (9) A better page on things like panic "disorder", stress, agoraphobia and other issues which can play a role in dental phobia. Any comments/suggestions welcome  ! |
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Post by vicki on Sept 25, 2005 12:51:43 GMT -5
(2) SIMPLIFY IT!!! There's too much waffle at the moment - some pages could do with heavy editing. Might not be a bad idea (sez me - queen of waffling! ;D) but try not to lose any of the content. Because it's written from the phobic point of view, it works better than a lot of info that's written from the 'dental professional' perspective (even though that's usually well-meaning). (3) Have a better section on / way of figuring out fears and possible solutions. The current PDFs/Word files were things I just threw out in a hurry (as is most of the rest of the site, lol). Sometimes things done in a hurry are the best ideas because they're the simplest . The magic of the words in those PDF's was that I could see most of my fears for real - someone somewhere could identify with my fears so therefore it wasn't just me. The content is good - you could also have a way for people to submit fears if they're not listed. ((7) Have a better "phobic-friendly" dentists database. If it was a database that was searchable by location e.g. County or State - that would probably make it easier for people. (9) A better page on things like panic "disorder", stress, agoraphobia and other issues which can play a role in dental phobia. I read somewhere that if someone already has a phobia then there is a possibility that it could lead to other related phobias e.g. dental phobia and claustrophobia. Something explaining the links between these might be good... I also noticed (might be wrong - could just be me!) that when reading the website, on the whole it's aimed at people with a phobia or fear and some sections e.g. 'Dentists' Corner' are aimed at dentists. Perhaps something on the homepage or in the intro text which encourages dentists to read all the information on the site as well as the bits that are for them, might be an idea? It would enable them to see things from both sides of the fence so to speak... and also how what they can do to help relates to individual fears. Obviously when viewing the message board, particularly the support section - that's different and some may feel comfortable reading it whilst others may not. |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 25, 2005 13:28:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback ! Simplify is high on the list... not losing content may be a challenge, but I'm sure there'll be a way of doing it. I keep forgetting that I typed those pages straight into the website (the ones I wrote), without even reading through them again (too embarrassing, lol). Basically, the website as it stands is a second draft. I also forgot to add your idea about "patient walkthroughs" for common dental procedures - there'll definitely be a section about that on the site. Mike has already agreed to write some of them (he's really busy at the moment, hence his absence from the board). Thanks also for all the other suggestions above - will take them into account ! |
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Post by 03 on Sept 25, 2005 22:21:02 GMT -5
There is probably another thread about it, but I'd do away with the 'comic strip', the graphic at the start of the page.
I don't miss the humor part, but it does induce a fearful response. Irationally, as fear often is in modern times. But it bothered me the first time I visited and still does....
Curses upon the slowness of evolution!
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Post by o3 on Sept 25, 2005 22:36:00 GMT -5
I thought I'd expand a little.... I see how it might be funny to someone, especially, who has chosen it as a profession (ie: "Doctor Fun" as it is labeled), but my INITIAL response to it was not any where near humor and it still makes me uneasy to look at it...... Perhaps that puts me in the neighborhood of 'panzy', but perhaps extreme dental phobics place dentists in the realm of 'little shop of horror' dentists or from that movie 'the dentist' [1/2] where drill 'em fill 'em kill 'em was the plot line ;p I don't know, just what I thought of initially when seeing it. Supposed to be funny (and realizing it is) but nonetheless conjuring up a fearful response. Anyhoo...... Dentist Humor is cool and all, but maybe put that particular image in the DDS section or replace with something.. um 'else'.  |
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Post by brown teeth on Sept 25, 2005 23:37:59 GMT -5
I would really like to see a gallery of bad teeth, that way you can judge if yours are really as bad as you think.  brilliant site by the way! Brownie |
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Post by 03 on Sept 25, 2005 23:45:33 GMT -5
That's already there
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Post by O3 on Sept 25, 2005 23:47:35 GMT -5
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Post by O3 on Sept 25, 2005 23:51:08 GMT -5
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 26, 2005 8:32:00 GMT -5
Thanks for the broken link alert - it's been fixed ! I was thinking of removing that Dr Fun image on the new website, anyway. When I first put up the site, I didn't have the dragon character, and just wanted to add a dash of colour to the page. And this one fitted in well with the colour scheme. It'll be gone on the new site! |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 26, 2005 8:33:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the thumbs-up ! The bad teeth page is very popular, judging from the logs, so I'll probably add a link from the main page to it. Currently, it's a subpage of embarrassment. |
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Post by Brown Teeth on Sept 26, 2005 14:03:07 GMT -5
Just spent a few mins checking out the teeth. Gives you great hope in what they can do for you now.
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Post by gdentalfear on Sept 28, 2005 4:22:01 GMT -5
My suggestions (so far) for the website: 1. Have the "search" bar at the top of the page not hidden away at the bottom. 2. Have a "sitemap" option to click on. 3. Have an "A to Z" option to click on (though I imagine that would be quite a bit of work, creating a page that lists everything on the website from A - Z with links to the right page). 4. Have a side-bar on the homepage for "news", "alerts" etc 5. Definitely keep the dragon (I'm no good with names but I love the little fellow). 6. Re the typeface: make sure it's one were the letters are spaced evenly and *not* to closely together (there are two clever technical terms for this but I have forgotten them  ). Verdana is a good one. Tahoma not so (letters too close together. And make sure that the font size is reasonably large. An example of a bad one is the new NatWest page for internet banking. (Go to www.natwest.com and then click on "log-in" to see it.) Even with my Explorer settings for text size set to "Larger" I struggle reading it (and setting it to "Largest" creates other problems). G. |
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Post by vicki on Sept 28, 2005 7:39:19 GMT -5
3. Have an "A to Z" option to click on (though I imagine that would be quite a bit of work, creating a page that lists everything on the website from A - Z with links to the right page). Fab idea - particularly for info on specific procedures and "walk throughs" Like the A-Z of dental treatments on a lot of websites but one that actually makes some sense from the patient perspective for a change! 6. Re the typeface: make sure it's one were the letters are spaced evenly and *not* to closely together (there are two clever technical terms for this but I have forgotten them ). Verdana is a good one. Tahoma not so (letters too close together. Ahhh, you're talking about "kerning" (letter spacing) also sometimes known as tracking! Verdana is pretty good because it's a system font on most computers (mac and pc) so it should display OK and it's also clear to read. And make sure that the font size is reasonably large. An example of a bad one is the new NatWest page for internet banking. (Go to www.natwest.com and then click on "log-in" to see it.) Even with my Explorer settings for text size set to "Larger" I struggle reading it (and setting it to "Largest" creates other problems). I know exactly what you mean - as I use that website myself! A reasonable type size would mean that those of us with dodgy eyesight don't need to squint to see it like on some other websites! ;D |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 28, 2005 8:48:06 GMT -5
Is the type size on dentalfearcentral.com at the moment OK? That's Verdana size 2 (the html sizes are different from font sizes in Word, say - they go from 1 to 7 rather than 10 point, 12 point, 14 point etc). I was going to use Verdana size 2 again. Thanks for the A-Z topics idea! There will be a site map. Pico Search is better placed in the bottom than at the top, due to technical issues. But I certainly want to improve navigation. Regarding the side bar, I was thinking of having the main navigation menu along the left (across pages), with a top navigation bar for just a handful of common sections (Site Map could be one such button). This would also mean not having to break up pages into columns of text to make it more visually interesting. The downside would be that the forum will not blend in completely (don't want a left side bar there - too distracting!). Or do you find left-column navigation bars too distracting generally? I've got a few different ideas with regards to navigation, and haven't made up my mind yet. The other option would be to have a top bar with, say, 5-7 main sections and drop-down menus with subtopics, but in my experience, there can be cross-browser issues with drop-down menus. Says she, not even knowing how to use DreamWeaver, PhotoShop, or FTP (yet) . |
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). Verdana is a good one. Tahoma not so (letters too close together.