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Archive for the 'wordpress' Category

Is there Improved Usability in WordPress 2.7?

Saturday, October 25th, 2008

Warning: This post may offend WordPress fanboys. Feel free to grab a handkerchief and move to a seated position. I recommend a towel for fanboys, but everyone else should be fine. References to the previous redesign refer to the Happy Cog redesign in WordPress 2.5 released in March, 2008 and WordPress 2.6 released in July, 2008 (only a few months ago). Handkerchiefs ready then… everyone say EVOLUTION… (another Kodak moment).

WordPress 2.7 is coming out and it’s smoking hot by all accounts with some sweet under the hood changes, a new Dashboard, and a brand new administration interface that will make it more usable. Did they say more usable? What area of usability research has ever said changing a content management administration area’s interface several times in a year will equal greater usability? Most users I deal with struggle with their email applications – small to medium businesses and smaller Not for Profit organisations.

In fact, as someone who has to deal with client education I’m going to have to field a number of business related client calls that are going to ask me WTF happened to the buttons? Where the hell did that feature move to? Is this the same program? What have I done to them while they were asleep? To many of them there will be an attribution of fault laid on my professional doorstep.

There are a number of problems that can be identified here:

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About the Author

Steven Clark Steven Clark - the stand up guy on this site

My name is Steven Clark (aka nortypig) and my passions are business, web development, photography and writing. My current CV [PDF 775KB] is available for download. Currently I'm completing my 2 final units of a post-graduate university degree of MBA (Journalism and Media Studies) at the University of Tasmania.

Photography

My fine art photography is available online at Steven Clark Studio. You may also enjoy my photo blog Walk a Mile in my Shoes.

Recently Reviewed Books

Site Supporters

Hosted by Brett Drinkwater at Tashosting who is always there at the other end of my every inconvenient question and technical crisis. Brett's local community support for us over the last five years is greatly appreciated.

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Currently Reading

Light Science and Magic by Hunter, Biver and Fuqua - cover

The time has come for me to get more involved in upping my technical photography skills if I hope to embark on a Master of Fine Art and Design (Photography) next year. To that end my first book is the highly recommended Light Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (Third Edition) by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver and Paul Fuqua. What really differentiates this book is the comprehensive set of exercises and the detailed explanation of the underlying science of light in the real world that encompasses the reader's journey.