Attached is the mock-up of my website. A few notes: The advanced search for the database will incorporate auto complete for the skills, physical description, previous owner, and relatives searches. The age search will offer five-year increments. For the specific results (see “Jane” page), the entry itself will be a link to a higher resolution, readable image. (Which may not be a part of the initial project due to funding considerations.) The Census table is not complete at this time simply because I do not have all of the information yet.
Comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
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I’m assuming that the first page will be linked to all of the other pages through either the words or the pictures or both, yes? Other than that you did a great job (it looks so much more like a website than mine
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Yep! The first page is the homepage, and the grey boxes under the pictures with the titles (Alexandria History, Bibliography) will be the links. Or maybe the pictures should be a link too, so it’s even easier? And the words “Search the Database” are a link too.
Thanks!
Great work. You should add a page or disclaimer about who is sponsoring the site, so people know it is from a government or educational institution. Have you decided if you will try to be a .gov or .org or .edu – that will make a difference in how people regard your site.
I don’t remember – have you discussed allowing people to put up information if they know something about any of the slaves, e.g. if they have been doing work on their ancestry and believe one of the registered is their ancestor – or do you think that would be so small it would not be worth the effort?
Thank you for your thoughtful comments and suggestions. I will add an “About” page; my goal is for the site to appear as trustworthy as possible (and ideally be an .edu).
I did consider having people submit their findings; thank you for the reminder. I’m still working out whether or not it would be useful and how to avoid spam or inappropriate posts. I like the idea though.
Pretty slick. The format makes sense, and the graphic design is pleasing to the eyes.
I love the clear lines, and sparse but effective use of text. I also like the way the header changes with each section. I wonder with your navigation, as with mine, if it’s necessary to use different colors per tab as visual signifiers. I think yours works fine without that, and that the extra color would detract from the visual clarity.
I think it’s great that you’ve got comparative data with the census. Will the census files be clickable and searchable also? That would be a very neat tool for researchers. Another feature that might be helpful would be a way to store documents (shopping cart idea) either per session, or if people had accounts and could save them long terms. I was thinking of that because I was wondering if it would be possible to connect people who are researching the same people, just by matching what they have saved in their collections. Kind of like seeing others’ bookmarks in Zotero, only this would have “Other members who have saved this item” and identify people by username only. Just an idea of possible benefits of sharing info/connecting people who want to be share/be connected, without having to vet content.
This site has great content, and will be very useful to researchers.
Thank you for the comments! I wondered about the menu color too and was hoping the headlines would be sufficient. I would love to be able to do that with the census, but it would have to be a “phase II” aspect. Most of them are not online yet – Alexandria has been left out of online databases (the Library of VA one) because of the shifting jurisdictions. I got my numbers from the microfilm at the Alexandria Library. And they are very poor quality. But I would like to still put them up and transcribe them/make them searchable. I just think I’d need to focus on the main database first and then have that be another project. Do you agree? I also love your idea about the bookmarks, etc, and that may be another Phase II addition; I’d try to combine that idea with the one for people to share feedback. But as for searching the database, I want it to be free of logins, etc.
I think you have more than enough for one project! I was just thinking out loud of the possibilities your site generates.
It’s curious how screwed up the data are for Alexandria. Seems like pulling that all together could be a collaborative project for multiple partners…down the road!
lynn, i’m loving this mockup. its crisp and clear, straight to the point in a very useful and appealing way. great job!
Great site! I have a couple thoughts on it. First, on the first page, “Search the Database” blends in with the rest of the options. If searching is the main point of the site, I would say make it bigger, or move the other points down. Second, I LOVE the fact that users can download the data to a PDF or a spreadsheet. Also, the matched criteria column is a great tool – taking out the whole “where did this come from” factor. Whatever else you do KEEP THAT! good stuff!
zayna
Like everyone else, I love the simplicity and clarity of the interface. I didn’t think about it before, but having the same color scheme adds to the consistancy of the site. Great format!
About the front page, my feeling is that it’s more intuitive to make the photos themselves the links along with the text. What about also making the photos a more consistant size? Probably, the more symmetric the front page, the better.