Redesign of Python site

[Graham Fawcett]

Skip Montanaro wrote:

>    amk> I envision people wanting information on a specific version first,
>    amk> only later going to the more generic items under "documentation".
>    amk> Do other people think this would be a good idea?
>
>I think docs are more important than specific versions.  Sure, the first
>time they come to the site they'll be looking for "Python 2.3".  But most
>times after that they'll want documentation.  The most frequent page I visit
>on the site is
>
>    http://www.python.org/dev/doc/devel/modindex.html
>
>That far outpaces any other page on the site, even the home page, so I
>bookmarked so it's one click away.
>  
>

Interesting point. It might prove useful to those redesigning the
site, or discussing its redesign, to examine either

-- python.org's Web logs, if available, or

-- a Google of "python site:python.org"

to determine frequencies of visits to various parts of the site. (I am
assuming, based on minimal knowledge of Google's ranking algorithms,
that the most "relevant" pages will be close to the top of the Google
list.)

Here's a fun exercise for someone with some time on their hands:

Mirror the larger part of the Python site. Then apply extra formatting
to each page, and to links on each page, indicating how "hot" they
are, based on frequencies determined from the logs or Google. For
example, my Google search (above) would suggest that the home page and
the tutorial page are both "hot", so both these pages and any links to
these pages would appear in a warm colour; links to "Python Patch
Submission Guidelines" appears on Google's Page 10 (today, anyway), so
it would get a cool-colour treatment.

At a glance, this should show which parts of the site, and which
 links, are "used" and which are "not used" (relatively, by the past
 and present audiences of the site, of course).

If you are colour-blind (I mean, chromato-visually impaired), perhaps
you could use various font sizes instead of colours.

I leave the implementation as an exercise for the student. ;-)

Of course, the colour map describes past behaviour, and conclusions
drawn from examining such a "coloured" site might reinforce past usage
patterns, which may or may not be favourable, depending on your point
of view.

Best,

-- Graham

P.S. If someone implemented this, I would get my boss to buy a boxed set.
     And I'll trade the rights for a canoe.
     ;-)