Getting data from visitors without bombarding them?

kolanos

I am beta testing a political website I've developed in PHP and one of the key functions is getting a party ID from the visitor upon entry into the page. I use a 302 redirect if the system doesn't detect the party ID cookie and sends them to a 'partyselector' page where they can set their party affiliation and then continue on.

But upon looking at my web statistics, I see that many visitors get hung up at this page and leave the site. In fact, 41% of the people who get sent to this page, never go beyond it. That's kind of a recipe for disaster, if 41% of your visitors never actually get to your actual page.

My question is: Is there a more effective way of getting this data from a visitor without having to bombard them by redirecting them to a new page? The party ID is essential to the site, so I need some way that requries the user to set a party ID.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated!

Here's the link for the example: www.spinister.com

m_tt

It is simply not prominent enough on the page... most people do not look to the header for entry but to the footer.

Honestly I think you should have a blank page with nothing but the selection box.

Also they should have to only click ONE time to get in. Be it with different links for each party or with a javascript to redirect onClick from the select box

halojoy

Originally posted by m@tt
It is simply not prominent enough on the page... most people do not look to the header for entry but to the footer.

Honestly I think you should have a blank page with nothing but the selection box.

Also they should have to only click ONE time to get in. Be it with different links for each party or with a javascript to redirect onClick from the select box

Also do not put more info on START page
than what can be displayed on a 800x600 screen.
People shouldnt have to scroll, in an index page
neither down or sideways.

Also I prefer dark text on light background.
Makes easier to read and is less frightening.

Here is good menu startpage I have designed.
Tested to adjust and fit for 800x600.
You are free to use my HTML code.:

TSUNAMI Index Template

🙂

m_tt

Originally posted by halojoy
also do not put more info on START page
than what can be displayed on a 800x600 screen.
People shouldnt have to scroll, in an index page
neither down or sideways.

Also I prefer dark text on light background.
Makes easier to read and is less frightening.
😃

I was also thinking the same thing about the colors.... this type of site should have more of a serious and professional feel to it. Black/dark colors do not represent either of those

kburger

John Kerry is right of center?? Wow, I guess it depends upon your perspective.

sorry - this isn't a blog, is it?

m_tt

Originally posted by kburger
John Kerry is right of center?? Wow, I guess it depends upon your perspective.

sorry - this isn't a blog, is it?

was also wondering about that :evilgrin:

kolanos

Thanks for the comments guys, very helpful stuff. Some notes/questions:

onClick Dropdown

While I agree one click is better than two -- not all browsers support JavaScript and I've designed the page to function without requiring JavaScript support. Unless you guys know of a way to offer both an onChange/onClick option and a button at the same time, I don't want to turn any non-JavaScript users away. Oddly, onChange does not work if there's a submit button present. Any ideas?

Color Scheme

I have received this suggestion a number of times, and I plan to put together an alternate "white" theme for those who prefer black on white. I was going for a "political underground" feel for the design, though I am not much of a web designer (as you could probably tell).

Simplifying PartySelector Page

Ok, I've already cleaned up the party selector page. I'll put much of the additional explanatory info in a secondary page, maybe a popup. Something like that... thanks for the tip there. I was thinking people might over look the dropdown, but it's good to have people cofirm that for me.

800x600 Form Factor

The page should fit into 800x600, as I've tested it numerous times at that resolution. If there's a page that doesn't fit into that resolution please let me know and I'll go about fixing it.

Again, thanks for your very helpful comments and suggestions.

kolanos

Originally posted by kburger
John Kerry is right of center?? Wow, I guess it depends upon your perspective.

sorry - this isn't a blog, is it?

Yeah, I was pretty surprised to see John Kerry right of center as well. But that appears to be the case according to PoliticalCompass.org.

kburger

I think their compass must be broken. :rolleyes: