From AshevilleLETS

May 2007

New Homepage

Changes here are minor. I've added an additional graphical link to the directory index (in the new "Directory" box at right). Directly below this is a toggle named "Newest Listings". If you are logged in, clicking this link will show any offers or wants that are new since your last visit. If you are logged out, this link will reveal the newest five offers or wants in the directory. If nothing appears here, it is because you are logged in and the directory has not been updated since your last visit to the site (so logout to see what I'm yammering about).

You may also notice that I have removed two boxes on the right - the "User Login" and "Get Involved" boxes. Both of these boxes were potentially redundant. The login box provided a quick way to sign in; however, this functionality is available from every page of the site via the "login" button on the top right. Furthermore, logging in here was an inferior method as it precluded the use of cookies (i.e. the checkbox marked "Remember me on this computer" on the login page). The "Get Involved" box contents have been merged into the "More Info" box. Additionally, this content (like the "Newest Listings" above) are now controlled with toggles so that they are compact but easy to access. This allows us to add a few additional items, including a link to our Consensus Process documentation and a new How to Support LETS page (where we can solicit donations, volunteer time etc).

New Directory Pages

I've significantly altered the way in which browsing the directory works here. The blue "search bar" across the top of the page is visible on every page and provides more functionality in a more compact design than the previous navigation (which was broken into a series of text links, a "Search" box that no one ever used and a search text string that only appeared for complex queries). For example, while searching for transportation offers, you can now flip over to the transportation wants with a single click - just select "Wants" in the first drop-down-menu of the search bar (the old setup required you to return to the directory index and start a whole new search!)

Additionally, the use of Ajax to load search results makes this method significantly faster as a whole new page is not loaded each time the terms of your query are modified. The result is pretty slick (although it needs to be tested on older computers - i.e. the library).

Finally, a series of small icons now provide access to extra functionality. On the homepage you'll find icons for downloading a PDF directory or subscribing to an RSS feed of new listings. On search pages, you'll find icons to bookmark searches, add new listings in the currently displayed category or subcategory, and subscribe to an RSS feed of the current search.

Oh, and as an added bonus, the system now remembers what your preference is when you set the "Results per page"!