Re: PostgreSQL website redesign

Going to try answering the proposed questions:

> - what is the website's target audience?

I think this is broken down into groups:

1. Potentials Users - people evaluating using Postgres for professional / academic / personal purposes. They need to feel there is a concise way to understand what Postgres is used for and why to use it, and be able to easily find all the details to answer their questions

2. Ongoing Users - people who are already using Postgres and need to find resources to solve their problems (i.e. docs), but also can find a reason to be more active in the community

3. Community - those active in the project, making sure they have easy access to all community resources available

> - how do we wish to be perceived? (e.g. traditional, modern, friendly,
> professional etc.)

Clean, professional, resourceful. More professional adoption of Postgres => more support for the community => more contributions to the project

> - what do we hope to achieve with the website design?
> - what new opportunities does this present us with?

Even though I agree that the PG website layout is good and really it just needs "some paint," with a redesign there will most likely be layout changes because of minor tweaks. Hopefully they can be limited, but if there would be any layout change I would suggest it would be the homepage, specifically with readability.

The easiest part to address is the font size, but that would push a lot of what we have already out on it of the viewing pane. But this presents us with an opportunity: the first paragraph should be a brief description about what Postgres is and why you should use it. If you go to any of the NoSQL database sites, the first thing you read on them is what their database is, what it's features / differentiators are, and where to download it. To find that info on the Postgres site, you have to go one-click in, and even then, the most concise description is on the "About" page, which in a lot of sites today, is used more for a historical perspective.

A clear message on the homepage on why Postgres is and why you should use it, coupled with the download links, info on news / events / blogs, would be good, and perhaps have a link to testimonials on a different page. This also assumes we make the page a bit more readable, i.e. with a larger font all-around.

> - what usability problems do we currently have that the redesign could address?

I actually think the site is usable as is :-) But perhaps someone who is a UX expert with less familiarity with the project could give a better opinion on that.

Best,

Jonathan