Python.org Website Redesign OpenSpace - PyCon 2003
Organizer
Attendees
EvelynMitchell, tummy.com, Aahz, WesleyChun, NeilSchemenauer, AndrewKuchling, ThomasWouters, BrettCannon, SteveHolden, RogerMasse, TrevorToenjes, MichaelMcFarland, Francois?
Notes
A new mailing list has been created for discussion of this topic.
Meeting minutes by Evelyn Mitchell and Kevin Altis:
Kevin Altis would like to see a 10x increase in the Python user-base in the next 2 years.
Promoting Python
- leverage evangelism
- (what are the tenets of evangelism)
- - don't have phone number or press contact
I suggest that people interested in learning more about effective evangelism watch and read what Guy Kawasaki has to say on the subject. All of his books are quite readable, pretty short, and contain many amusing anecdotes. See the link below for more info; the signal to noise ratio is very good. [ka]
The main point about the website is that since we don't have traditional marketing and PR dollars, nor do we have normal phone and email contacts for people to get immediate answers about Python, the website needs to do that work for us. The site is the face of Python to the rest of the world. [ka]
Who is the customer?
- people who don't use python today people who do use python today
- - information source
- identify use cases for groups of users
We need to establish metrics
- track usage to ensure modifications that are improvements
Adoption rate of python
- increase in traffic and new users of python
By establishing some metrics in the web site stats such as total unique IP addresses, page views, and downloads per month, etc. we can see how our "popularity" is growing. Metrics should also tell us whether some of the "improvements" made to the site really did what we thought they would or ended up having a negative impact on usage. That way we aren't just guessing and modifying blindly. [ka]
Not focused on technical solutions
- identify problems identify customers how are people using website what is missing what are websites we like
- (similar customer bases)
At the Open Space, I didn't want to focus on the technical issues of implementing the site, but that conversation is okay to carry on in parallel here on the list. [ka]
Kevin is comfortable with the site redesign process
Product
- Mockups templates
- estimate work to estimate effort
Before implementing any actual changes, we should make templates and mockups to get feedback before making the changes live. [ka]
Current implementation problems
- No database backend
I expect Aahz, Steve, Thomas, and other pydotorg maintainers to articulate the current problems they have maintaining the site, time sinks, and ideas for where we might make site maintenance easier and improve their lives. 
[ka]
Make recommendations to current web maintainers and PSF members
Process
- establish a working group empowered to make changes to the website the website is owned by PSF
That's what this mailing list is about. [ka]
Problems
- ownership of domain clarifying process to change website
- get authority delegated from PSF to implement changes
Opportunities
Recommendations
- 5-6 people balanced between management and implementation
Where is the effort to do the work going to come from
Ongoing management is required to ensure that maintenance on an ongoing basis gets done
Behind
- job postings that don't get uploaded 50% of the mail to webmaster doesn't get answered webmaster workflow
- multiple responses
Personnel
- Who is available to do work How much time do they have What are the skill sets
Split off the PR effort from the language development effort
Introducing Python Video
- done
Appeal to the people who have the skills that are required Audience
- People who don't use python today
- recommendation from another source resource for further information
- defectors
python core team PythonLabs python contributors (community) newbies (programming newbies) non-programmers community of exiting python users
- job seekers event page books user group trainers
What is python How do I start doing python
Metrics
- identify customers
- python in business teaching/learning python then track traffic to the sub pages to discover customers
wide diversity
- more general launching page home page is too complicated
home page
- asking "what were you looking for. Did you find it" search - used to determine what they were looking form
Analysis of search term metrics
- will be difficult because the access to the log is hard to get.
We still have assets at CNRI
- seach.cnri
Anyone interested in joining the python.org maintenance team
- Aahz says the team members are restricted to well known community
- members
Specific specialized areas of responsibility
- Python in education
Kirby Urner for the edu-sig/Python in Education pages can be our test case of having page or section maintainers not directly involved in the maintenance of the rest of python.org. [ka]
py.org experience
Zope3 ht to html still works well Wiki
- Needs a strong editor
Which maintenances take the most time
- Where is the time going now?
- job listings
- add a form to allow for posting jobs add a secure form to allow for removing jobs
- add a form to allow for posting events
help@python.org ->tutor reflector (a static page of suggestions)
- job listings
Jeff Eppler to work with Steve to do the PyCon website
Credit card donations
- Paypal
ShareIt donate.python.org
python.org needs a certificate
40% Documentation is the number one hit RDF file is also getting a lot of hits
750000 hits unique IPs in march 180,000
Similar sites
- php.net mysql.com postgresql.org
Web site computer resources are adequate for current needs
- 10% load on the machine hot backup could be provided
Continuing the discussion
- PSF board meetings
- forming a subcommittee or group of volunteers to carry on the work
downloads of documentation
- faster to have unified download page too confusing
"Get Python Now"
- Make the download of documentation very straightforward Matrix of choices
python.org SIG design mailing list -> next action
- reimplementing SIGs
pythonology.org
- a good new user site only if the support of the pages will come from the original author