business perspective

Since Great Bridge is no longer, there is a need for a strong online
presence for companies and individuals to learn about postgresql. This gap
is a detriment to the project from a marketing perspective, where GB helped
the most.

I visit postgresql.org a few time a week and find it to be very useful
(especially the documentation search!). From a design and information
architecture perspective it can be extended to communicate (through design)
the sense of confidence and clarity of the better websites for companies
and projects in this industry. Having a spectacular website probably isn't
going to persuade fortune 500 companies to make a switch - it is definitely
an integral part of communication that helps to shape the way people
perceive postgresql, especially first impressions.

Here are a few sites that I am basing my comparison on:
sendmail.com
sun.com
redhat.com
ibm.com

There are a handful of design decisions that have been employed by these
companies that effectively communicate their brand and
products. Implementing these methods and techniques to postgresql.org is
within the scope of our capabilities. Deciding on a direction, boiling
that down to something concise and ultimately creating something that the
community can approve of and feel great about is a larger task. I believe
that it is worthwhile, and am willing to devote time towards this
end. Please post your comments, so we may see if there is a desire to move
forward in this direction as well as who else may be interested in this
project. Although I only occasionally chime in, I read the general and
hackers lists daily (er, hourly ;) ) and have a deep respect for the
individuals who participate on these lists.

Looking forward to your feedback,

Ryan Mahoney

BTW, I have been involved in the design (and development) of a few
successful and highly trafficked websites. Including Nerve.com,
Flower.com, and Viasource.net. I am based in NY and collaborate with a
number of other small design shops (kolumn.com, frameweld.com). I agree
with Jakob Nielson's design and usability concepts and read useit.com regularly.