parallax.com is not helpful
Heater.
Posts: 21,230
Just now I wanted to quickly show someone the Propeller manual. Easy you might think.
Go to "parallax.inc", select "microcontrollers" from top, select "Propeller" from the resulting nav bar. There is the propeller page. Where is the frikkin data sheet or manual or any downloads at all?
After much pecking around we find it
1) You have to go to the "shop" on the left.
2) Select "microcontrollers"
3) Select "Propeller"
4) Then "Chips"
5) Then select a likely looking chip
6) Then scroll down to the bottom of the page,
7) Then select "downloads"
Ah, there it is. The long lost Propeller Manual.
Really you could not hide information about the most significant product from Parallax under a bigger flatter rock than that.
Admittedly one can get there a bit quicker by typing "Propeller manual" into the search box but that presupposes a visitor knows what they are looking for. Surely these crucial docs should be more up front?
And by the way what happened to parallaxsemiconductor.com? Seems to have dropped off the net.
Go to "parallax.inc", select "microcontrollers" from top, select "Propeller" from the resulting nav bar. There is the propeller page. Where is the frikkin data sheet or manual or any downloads at all?
After much pecking around we find it
1) You have to go to the "shop" on the left.
2) Select "microcontrollers"
3) Select "Propeller"
4) Then "Chips"
5) Then select a likely looking chip
6) Then scroll down to the bottom of the page,
7) Then select "downloads"
Ah, there it is. The long lost Propeller Manual.
Really you could not hide information about the most significant product from Parallax under a bigger flatter rock than that.
Admittedly one can get there a bit quicker by typing "Propeller manual" into the search box but that presupposes a visitor knows what they are looking for. Surely these crucial docs should be more up front?
And by the way what happened to parallaxsemiconductor.com? Seems to have dropped off the net.
Comments
Maybe... just maybe there should be ONE MORE tab up there for the Propeller Manual.
Have you considered that the documentation inside the Propeller Tool might just link to it?
Nonetheless, I have never been a big fan of webpage revisions... somebody that is doing the writing always seems to miss a few key features or issues of utmost importance.
You might also find the manual more easily at the Parallax LEARN pages... seems an obvious location to encourage readers. Sadly, I can't seem to find it in hte LEARN pages either.
Has documention fallen out of vogue and tutorial take over the hedgemony? Anarcy!
I think Parallax has it right, though maybe they could add a hint to a main support page in the Resources tab for each Propeller-based product.
Seems www.parallaxsemiconductor.com came back again.
I agree Gordon. Actually I think the whole web site is very nice. I have no problem with the shop nav bar being for buying things and I don't expect the Prop manual or others to be directly linked from the front page. Like you say, as soon as I get to the Propeller intro page then perhaps it's appropriate to link to sources of further information from there. tutorials, manuals etc. A shop is a shop but if your visitors don't know what they want to buy yet you have to pull them in some how.
What's easy for me may be an eye-roller for someone else, vis-a-vis. The challenge is to make things easy to access and use for everyone.
Good suggestion, Gordon. I'll see about getting something like this together.
BINGO! We have a winner!
Where have I heard this before?
The 'Shop' menu on the left works pretty well, and each product has links to documents.
The menu at the top seems to be the biggest problem, the product pages should include documentation links, or at least links to the product sales pages that already have those links.
Basically those top menu items are dead ends right now.
C.W.
I think the point people are trying to make is that if you don't know what to search for, it's more difficult to find than it was with the old site. A list of all downloads, grouped by product, that people can simply browse would enjoy a most-welcome return. Please consider it; it seems to be what your customers want, after all.
Think of it this way: if you went to the library looking for something to read, but didn't know what you wanted, would you go to the card catalog first or browse the shelves for something that catches your eye? The same principle applies to the Parallax website.
-Phil
That right there. That's the biggest issue I have with the site.
-Tor