Results of My October Survey

Date: October 30, 2007

At the beginning of this month, I released a survey, hoping to get some feedback about what my site visitors want from this website. I like creating content of all sorts for my site, but I enjoy it more when visitors have a good time; it creates better discussion and of course encourages you to visit more than just one time! That’s why this survey was created. As promised, this is the survey results post. I will post the data of each survey question and give my comments about any possible changes that will occur, as a reaction to the results. Please take note at the end of this post, I have listed the users who released their site information, to give them a bit of love.

Thank you to all who participated!

Demographics

A majority of males answered my survey (61.1%). Females accounted for 38.9%. 55.6% answering the survey were between ages 20 and 25; 22.2% were between 26 and 30.

What are users doing here?

100% have read a blog entry.
100% have looked at artwork.
100% have read creative writing.
94.4% have visited subpages of this website (e.g., the about page).
77.8% have commented on a blog entry.
22.2% have bought or considered buying work.
22.2% have read and commented on creative writing.
11.1% have looked at and commented on artwork.
An additional 11.1% who took the survey were first time visitors to this website.

Reflections: This reiterates how people use the Web, I think. Many of you read and look at the work here, but the majority of participation takes place only on the blog. Because of this, I have decided to remove the commenting feature from the artwork and creative writing pages. I will continue to encourage feedback from you, by using the contact form, but public commenting will no longer take place on these pages. This was not an easy decision for me, yet it’s been something I’ve considered in the past. For one, replying to these comments is sometimes time consuming, as art and creative writing can be interpreted in many ways. (My work is often interpreted in ways I never expected or thought about myself.) I think the removal of comments will also encourage people to only focus on my work, rather than any debate that may take place about it, in the few times that people do actually utilize the commenting feature for those pages.

Who’s using the “toolbox links” (i.e., Login; Music; Subscribe)?

33.3% have not ever used these links.
27.3% have used the “Subscribe” link.
16.7% have used the “Music” link.
16.7% have not used these links or noticed them there in the past.
11.1% have used the “Login” link.

Reflections: When I created my site’s current design in January of this year, I was very unsure of these links. Outside of the subscription link, they were mostly just tiny extras. In reaction to these survey results, I plan to remove these links and instead encourage the usage of the subscription link in other ways throughout the site.

How many have used the search function of this site, and do people like that I use Google’s search?

61.1% have not used the search function.
33.3% have used the search function.

38.9% like that I use Google’s search functionality.
27.8% want me to build my own search function.

Reflections: Finding that a majority of my users do not use the search function is no surprise to me. I have trouble remembering the last time I searched a personal website. I typically just start at Google and use site-specific keywords to get what I want. I rarely use website’s personal site search functions, as I don’t find them as intuitive as Google. As a combination of my own experiences, and the fact that a small percentage of users prefer my usage of Google’s search, I am going to leave the search as is for now.

On the homepage’s sidebar, what would users like to see removed?

22.2% want to see “Recent Visitors” removed.
11.1% want to see “Quotables” removed.
11.1% want to see “Recent Comments” removed.

Reflections: I was pleased to see few people (fewer than 10) even answered this question, which leads me to believe the majority of you are happy with the way things are. That being said, I am considering removing “Recent Visitors,” simply because of its load time.

Should I begin a linkblog/sideblog, rather than posting a monthly Delicious Roundup?

50% want to see a linkblog.
38.9% don’t want to see a linkblog.
11.1% weren’t sure about what a linkblog was.

Reflections: I have considered having a linkblog for about a year now. I think the results of this question have settled it for me, and I will be creating one. For any concerned, this will not affect your typical RSS subscriptions, as I, like many, find it annoying to get many short entries from a site that has the linkblog and main site entries all under one feed. I will give feed/subscription options for just main entries, as well as a feed that features main entries and the linkblog. I believe in giving people a choice, so they won’t hate me later.

Do users want to see a full entry on the site homepage, or is the current excerpts system preferred?

77.8% prefer the excerpts system currently in place.
22.2% would like to see a fully entry, with some excerpts.

Reflections: The excerpts are staying!

Which blog topics are most enjoyed here?

88.9% enjoy entries that deal with life/moral issues.
72.2% enjoy artist spotlights.
72.2% enjoy Behind the Art.
66.7% enjoy Hump Day Funnies.
61.1% enjoy monthly summaries.
61.1% enjoy entries that deal with political issues.
55.6% enjoy the Delicious Roundup.
38.9% enjoy MP3 Thursdays.

Reflections: This was the question that I received the most commented feedback on, as several participants thought I was asking about what I should write. That is not and was not my concern, nor will it be. This site is primarily for me and people closest to me, but thousands others visit in any given month, and I would like to know what they are enjoying as well. This question was also so I could figure out what, if any, of the topics I have difficulty writing can be scrapped. I have decided to discontinue MP3 Thursdays. Finding content for it is very time consuming, and since only a minority enjoy the topic, it will not be a dramatic loss hopefully. All other topics will remain, save for Delicious Roundups, which will be replaced with the aforementioned and new linkblog.

Do people want to see a tag cloud?

61.1% do not want to see a tag cloud.
33.3% want to see a tag cloud.

Reflections: No tag cloud, but I will perhaps strengthen the navigation and information in the archives/categories.

Should there be forums?

55.6% want to forums.
44.4% don’t want forums.

Reflections: This was a close one, aye? However, after this, I have decided to continue the forums. I will hopefully find a good, secure script for it that won’t be taken over by spammers!

How many were aware that I sell artwork?

77.8% knew I sold artwork.
22.2% did not know I sold artwork.

Reflections: I am pleased to see that a strong majority are aware of my art being for sale, however, I will strengthen my efforts to reach out to the other 22% who were not aware. My artist endeavors, getting my art out there, is important to me, so this is an area I’ll look at more closely.

Should I sell signed prints or originals of my work?

88.9% said I should.
11.1% said I shouldn’t.

Reflections: This is something I’m looking at more closely now and will probably try it out with a couple of pieces in 2008. Depending on how well those do, I will continue or discontinue the process.

Should the links page stay?

77.8% want it to stay.
16.7% want it to go.

Reflections: I have decided to keep the links page, but it needs a major overhaul, which I will be looking at in the near future.

Would the placement of two to three unobtrusive, non-animated banner advertisements (234×60 in size) negatively affect users’ experiences?

72.2% said it wouldn’t.
22.2% said it would.

Reflections: This has been something I’ve considered for a long time, mainly to fund my various Internet habits, which range from keeping up the hosting on this site, to my Flickr pro account. I will probably do this in time, especially since a majority of you seem to not be bothered by it.

How many survey participants are also RSS subscribers?

50% have not subscribed.
38.9% have subscribed.
11.1% did not know what RSS was.

Reflections: This was mainly for my curiosity, but the fact that any percentage is still unsure of what RSS is has encouraged me to make it more explanatory, which I will hopefully be able to do as I make these changes to the site.

Overall Reflections

I received a lot of valuable information and personalized comments from this survey. I think I will do one of these each year, just to touch base with you, my visitors.

Special thanks!

Here are the users who released their website address with their survey results. As a way of giving thanks, I thought I’d link to them. The addresses are ordered as to when I received that user’s results (so first come, first serve!).

The survey has now been deleted from my server.

Comments ordered from oldest to newest.

shelly

October 30, 2007 at 3:08 pm

link

Those were some very interesting results you received. *nods*

LeliaThomas.Com