04.16.06

Small and Subtle Changes

Posted in Entrepreneurship at 10.41 pm by daniel

When we launch the latest major update to Rogue Connect (the current launch date is set for May 1) there’ll be a lot of obvious changes - none so obvious as the new feel of the site. Despite this, we’ve also been putting a lot of work into some very subtle changes. Both of these, I think, can be applied to most any website where the aim (or one of the aims) is to build a membership base.

The first is the usability and ideas behind the site. The changes we’re making at present lend themselves largely to the ‘getting real’ school of thought - something we’ve learnt largely from reading 37 Signals’ design and usability blog. They constantly highlight some really obvious facts, mistakes, and theories behind website and product development. While you don’t have to subscribe to their school of thought (I personally pick and choose), their blog has certainly been good at getting me to look back over what we’ve done for Rogue Connect. As a result, when Rogue relaunches there’ll be a horde of subtle changes, the most important of which I think is the new navigation system.

We’ve also put in place a lot of extra features into many of pages. Anyone who reads the Signals vs. Noise blog will think I’ve gone mad in saying that - surely that’s not “getting real”? Well we’ve provided them on call using Scriptaculous. Our theory behiind it is simple: If you don’t want to use a particular feature, it won’t take up room on your screen. But if you do, just click the down arrow and there it is, and you haven’t even had to leave the page.

The second big change is the story behind the site. Seth Godin has got me thinking about this a lot, in particular his book All Marketers are Liars. I don’t have the chance right now to go largely into detail - but in essence the most important thing is letting your personality come through. Our whole development of Rogue Connect is aimed at that. For one, we’re not some big company so bye-bye to the copyright line down the bottom. We’re also adament that ‘rogue’ is more than a name, but a lifestyle. Hello to ‘What it is to be rogue‘.

One final thought: we use Basecamp to help manage our development and marketing of Rogue Connect. Up the top of each Basecamp page it now reads “Rogue Connect: Not Just A Site. A Lifestyle”.

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