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Open forum …. got any suggestions for tweaking the site?

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It is now nine months since Head for Points got its fresh new look, and – for want of a better word – started looking ‘professional’.   I have continued to change elements here and there – some big changes, such as adding the ‘Hotel Offers’ page, and many small changes which on their own don’t really get noticed.

However, I am fully aware that there is an element of ‘snow blindness’ in what I do.  After all, I look at the site every day for a considerable period of time, and I can only second-guess how you, the readers, respond to the different elements.

As we start a new year, I’d like to open up the floor to any suggestions you have about the layout of the siteRemember that I need to cater for two audiences at the same time – the regular readers and the hundreds of people who come here via Google each day and who I want to convert into regular readers.

Is it clear to a newcomer what the site is about and why they should keep on reading it?

Are there too many menus at the top of the page?  Too few?

Are there too many ads?  (Probably not, most sites would run ads inside posts as well, which I don’t)

Are the sidebars too confusing?  Should I push the social media links more?

Should there be more ‘sticky’ information for newcomers?

Does the current format of running a fixed number of stories at fixed times every day –  with a ‘lead’ story and two less important ones below – work for you?  (Most sites just post at random times throughout the day, but I am middle-aged and grew up with the newspaper tradition!)

If there is anything about the way the site currently looks that annoys or confuses you, or if you have any ideas for improvements, please post below.  You can also email me at rob at headforpoints.com if you’d prefer.

Anything from your dislike of how I punctuate the headlines in the sidebars through to ideas for new ‘sticky’ pages are welcome – no idea is too small!

Thank you, and a Happy New Year for 2014.

Comments (133)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • OttoMH says:

    I think the site is great, Raffles. I really like the clean interface and key navigation bar. I also like the function to be able to subscribe to posts by email. Don’t change just for the sake of change..

    I only just found the filter/categorization function yesterday though. Is this a complete list of all post fillings? The only thing that would be great would be a prominent/clean way to search for things like shell points, BMI credit card etc… If you could make this more prominent, that might be good for relative newbies like me.

    • Rob says:

      Yes, all posts are categorised so, unless I made a mistake in the original post, clicking BMI Credit Cards will bring up all relevant posts which are predominantly about that.

  • franknotes says:

    Hi,

    I too would like some kind of message board with dedicated sections – e.g. I’m currently trying to work out which non-Amex credit cards I should keep/apply for – but I understand if the moderation would be too time consuming.

  • Londonbus says:

    I think a forum would be a bad idea. Flyertalk’s BA board provides a concentrated view. This site complements that board with individual items.

    Maybe some links to relevant travelblogs e.g. Ghetto IFE?

  • mikeact says:

    Happy enough thank you.
    It would be good to be able to email other contributors though….thinking of the recent Iberia 50% Avios promotion…one day left and I haven’t been able to hook up with anybody sadly.

  • Stephan says:

    Do you have a link of the most read/viewed links are? Would be curious to see what is trending over month/year

    • Rob says:

      Most read post of the last 12 months had 16,000 views! However, the top 10 list is very distorted because it is filled with posts which were well ranked by Google, and has no relation to the number of views they got when originally run on HFP.

  • Bialynia says:

    I see it has already been mentioned but the only thing I really find frustrating is when I’d like to add a still relevant comment to a post from some time in the recent past, that no longer permits additional comments. I do appreciate the problems with this but if people were interested enough in those posts to register for further updates to them originally, would it not be possible just for them to be notified that these comment thread has been updated?

    Also, because of mismanagement in my younger years I now steer well clear of any credit card offers. Even without opting for any of those I have been able to accrue enough points for 4.5 return tickets to Frankfurt in just the past 6 months or so, so if it would be possible for me to personalise my email notifications in order to opt out just from the nearly daily email updates for credit card offers with Avios bonuses then I would find the site far more appealing.

    Other than those two small things, I love the site and thank you for all the tips over the past six months. Best wishes!

  • Alba says:

    I appreciate it if you added your referral link to each credit card offer. While emailing you is great, sometimes I just want the referral link ASAP!

    Keep up the great blog.

    • Rob says:

      At least half of the people who email me have a query about the card or have some confusion over qualification for the bonus – emailing is the best way to help people.

  • squills says:

    Thanks Raffles, you did it – I think 6 latest comments is more helpful than 4 😉

    • Rob says:

      Yes, done. There is a post on Saturday responding to all the feedback.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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