Where is the bonsai species guide?

[Mike Corazzi]

I used to use a comprehensive species guide and it seems to be gone. Quite a list (if basic) but now can't find.
Grey background and good list.

??

This WAS the URL

Species Guides – Bonsai4Me

bonsai4me.com

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

I used to use a comprehensive species guide and it seems to be gone. Quite a list (if basic) but now can't find.
Grey background and good list.

??

This WAS the URL

Species Guides – Bonsai4Me

bonsai4me.com

That link you posted worked for me.

 

[AJL]

It works for me too! is there a problem with your browser?

 

[RJG2]

Looks like he revamped his website. Seems like it's all still there, just a new format.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Looks like he revamped his website. Seems like it's all still there, just a new format.

That was a bad move. Yes, I get the above website. Now you get to enter the species and scroll through big pictures and get less information.
I haven't explored all of it but the old format was easy, intuitive, and much less hassle to use.

Change for change sake isn't always wise. I'm finding more and more sites devoting their efforts to keeping the IT guys working instead of simplifying the searches.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

That was a bad move. Yes, I get the above website. Now you get to enter the species and scroll through big pictures and get less information.
I haven't explored all of it but the old format was easy, intuitive, and much less hassle to use.

Change for change sake isn't always wise. I'm finding more and more sites devoting their efforts to keeping the IT guys working instead of simplifying the searches.

I resemble that remark.



I also agree with you! Keeping us busy doing the latest whim of some unproven idea/trend is quite tedious .

 

[ShadyStump]

Keeping us busy doing the latest whim of some unproven idea/trend is quite tedious .

Careful!
I said that in the wrong place once and found myself out of job.

 

[RJG2]

I understand the criticisms, but looks like he was trying to modernize. The new site formats much better on a phone.

Not exactly the same, but you can control+f to find something here (or scroll):

https://bonsai4me.com/wp-sitemap-posts-speciesguides-1.xml

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I understand the criticisms, but looks like he was trying to modernize. The new site formats much better on a phone.

Not exactly the same, but you can control+f to find something here (or scroll):

https://bonsai4me.com/wp-sitemap-posts-speciesguides-1.xml

It makes sense to optimize for phone if you are selling a product.
For a ....reference....list, it makes it more tedious .

 

[FreshAirSunshine]

I presume I’m on the younger end of the members here and I’d argue that, while annoying now, making it run better on a phone is future-proofing it. I’m in my early 30s and my generation would definitely be more likely to want access to reference material at a whim, for instance during a show, club meeting, at a nursery, etc. anytime I actually access bonsainut from a computer I’m somewhat shocked - I know it basically exclusively by its phone layout.

 

[eugenev2]

I presume I’m on the younger end of the members here and I’d argue that, while annoying now, making it run better on a phone is future-proofing it. I’m in my early 30s and my generation would definitely be more likely to want access to reference material at a whim, for instance during a show, club meeting, at a nursery, etc. anytime I actually access bonsainut from a computer I’m somewhat shocked - I know it basically exclusively by its phone layout.

I will have to use the famous bonsai words...it depends.

I've worked for a few companies now, where the initial idea was future proofing, scalability and stream lining development processes. All concepts i can agree with, but a number of years down the line, when majority of the afore mentioned was achieved and a project comes along that is code named "lipstick" because we are making things "pretty" and keeping with the yearly trend of changing the look and feel...where you have to spend two weeks arguing whether the shade of orange is Papaya whip or Atomic tangerine and which one the clients will resonate better with...well that grinds my gears...

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Hmm…. One the surface the site looks bright and visitor friendly. Digging in to this site which I’ve visited many times before I have a number of issues, some of which others have noted. (Recognize I authored and ran three widely used education sites for over 15 years.).

Photos are dominating - information that was previously a bit dense has been separated by huge photos, causing unnecessary distraction. It’s like a graphic person ran wild here, overruling the key goal of providing easy to absorb educational material for all visitors. Others have mentioned this.

Sub optimization rules! - instead of a decent linked well organized table of contents, Information has been organized by a series of sole microtopic windows spread over a number of pages. It like like a graphics designer went amok and forgot the first rule of website design is to make information easy to find. Back in the day there was Ye Olde ‘Three Click Rule”. Table of contents are outmoded nowadays with initial contact data stretched out of a large number of pages. Forceing one to endlessly scroll through unwanted topics in a lengthy search for applicable material.

This is poor form that other sites ex: Bonsai Mirai and Eisen-en (to name a few) have shared for a number of years. Jonas at Bonsai Tonight has avoided this when organizing his blog content by simply creating a well organized table of contents one can easily scan and find… and then, best of all posted the associated links afterwards each article.

For the website designers out there I give you this challenge…. To create a schema that allows a portable device user to find what they are looking for with “3 window scrolls max” while at the same time allow a more robust device user to access the inforn in three clicks.. I don’t care how old one is they should be able to access information without an endless time spent scrolling through unnecessary information before getting what one needs.

Poor search engine. This is an issue that has haunted many bonsai sites. Not wanting to geek out like an archivist, which I am not, one should be able to easily search for information one wants. I recall a long series of frustrating nights spent on bonsai mirai’s pro access site trying to search for simple items “Japanese Black Pine” only to wind up with a couple videos remotely associated with JBP when I knew there were a number of others. BM has improved a lot recently, but still is found wanting.

Then there is a troubling dropout of information… not sure if this is because they aren’t done yet, (I hope) or incohesive design due to the photo issue or things were just lost. Yet this experienced user finds himself reading information previously perused and feeling like information is missing.

At this point I’d say this site… and many others are a work in progress. Hopefully this Will improve… but I won’t hold my breath.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[FreshAirSunshine]

Fair - I suppose that “depends” varies with people’s determination of worthwhile efforts. If you’re adding a new orange to the branded color scheme of GMs revamped muscle car line where “Hugger/Musclecar Orange” is so iconic then maybe it’s worth two weeks deciding which orange works best. If it’s a new client developing their branded color scheme with no attachments to hues yet maybe not so much.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Hmm…. One the surface the site looks bright and visitor friendly. Digging in to this site which I’ve visited many times before I have a number of issues, some of which others have noted. (Recognize I authored and ran three widely used education sites for over 15 years.).

Photos are dominating - information that was previously a bit dense has been separated by huge photos, causing unnecessary distraction. It’s like a graphic person ran wild here, overruling the key goal of providing easy to absorb educational material for all visitors. Others have mentioned this.



At this point I’d say this site… and many others are a work in progress. Hopefully this Will improve… but I won’t hold my breath.

cheers
DSD sends

Then to top it off, The "VIEW ALL SPECIES GUIDE" is indexed by NUMBERS!

GOOD GRIEF !!!
ALPHABETICAL is what makes sense.

 

[AJL]

I understand the criticisms, but looks like he was trying to modernize. The new site formats much better on a phone.

Not exactly the same, but you can control+f to find something here (or scroll):

https://bonsai4me.com/wp-sitemap-posts-speciesguides-1.xml

I really dont find it that difficult to simply scroll through this alphabetic species list to find most of the species we are interested in
As a Im a complete IT illiterate dinosaur I have to say I find this is really not that hard to use!!

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

I really dont find it that difficult to simply scroll through this alphabetic species list to find most of the species we are interested in
As a Im a complete IT illiterate dinosaur I have to say I find this is really not that hard to use!!

???? Are we looking at the same website or are you looking at the xml index? Two different things. Users will look at this page.
https://bonsai4me.com/species-guides/

Wondering?
DSD sends

 

[Mike Corazzi]

It could be improved with some cute cat pictures.

 

[RJG2]

???? Are we looking at the same website or are you looking at the xml index? Two different things. Users will look at this page.
https://bonsai4me.com/species-guides/

Wondering?
DSD sends

I think he's looking at the sitemap xml I posted for the species guides.

 

[ShadyStump]

It could be improved with some cute cat pictures.

Nah. Squirrels!

 

[ShadyStump]

I took a beginner level web design class in college, and the one thing they guy hounded us in was essentially the digital version of Frank Loyd Wright: Form Follows Function.
It's no good if it doesn't work, no matter how pretty it is.

That said, I'll argue that brand continuity is a VERY BIG DEAL. The look is important.
ALMOST but never as important as functionality. If it doesn't work, broke ass websites become part of your branding, whether you like it or not. This has become a big issue for us at my current job in customer service. Bottom line; if they hired one more guy to help maintain the website, they could layoff half the customer service people and save money. Hire two more, layoff 1/3, and increase sales.