*NOTE: Marley23 gave me permission to post this request. The below is a non-commercial site with free content aplenty! There is a donation link but it’s downplayed and totally optional. (Indeed, it’s so optional no one uses it, heh.) *
I am girding my loins and have finally got up the courage to ask for help from my fellow Dopers as I try to redesign/restructure my website. Basically I’d be thrilled if you guys could be like a focus group… give me some design ideas as well as feedback on making the content more engaging.
Since 1997, I’ve been writing/designing/publishing an online serial story, with installments/episodes posted on the web where people can read 'em or print 'em out. The saga begins with a murder mystery that reveals some dark truths about a community of utterly messed up people in upstate New York. On the whole it’s a suspenseful melodrama with an emphsis on psychological drama/mystery with a dash of romance now and then. Plots can be pretty damn dark but there’s humor as well. I like to think that if late 1980s-era soaps like Another World and Days of Our Lives had an orgy with Desperate Housewives, Picket Fences, Twin Peaks, and American Gothic, the resulting hybrid spawned might look something like this.
The series, which was once a Yahoo! Site of the Day, was critically acclaimed and quite popular back in the day, but due to my having stopped production on it for quite some time, I’ve lost much of my audience, understandably. I’m trying to win people back now and want the site to be as informative and inviting as possible.
Here’s a link to the current site. It was last redesigned in 2001, and while it’s still somewhat functional and not horrible, its age is all too evident. Bleh. Also I’m just so bleedin’ sick of the design I can hardly stand to look at it. I want the site to look the way I see the series: modern, classic, dark, sophisticated, sexy, mysterious, welcoming, a bit moody… I want visitors to know exactly where to start (they can dive into the current episode or start from the beginning if they want).
I’ve been futzing with designs for three years and have thrown away more than I’m willing to admit. Right now I’ve come up with a design I might be semi-happy with. But before I settle on anything, I’d like to ask the help of folks who’ve never seen the site before or know much about the story. Because you’re the sort of people I want to attract.
Here are the design possibilites, two variations on the same theme:
Possibility #1: Dark background (widescreen, decreased size) | Full size
Possibility #2: With highlighted lighter background (widescreen, decreased size) | Full size
The lighter background used on the second version is there because it’s easier to read dark text on light background for lengthy periods of time. If you go to an episode page on my current site, you’ll see that I use a light background for episode text.
What do you think? Are these layouts headed in the right direction? Any suggestions for improving them or should I scrap 'em altogether?
Other questions that would be of great help to me…
Design and Layout:
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What, as a newcomer, would you want to see on the homepage of such a site?
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Looking at the content on the site now, is it confusing? How much do I need to explain about the site’s purpose beyond linking to our “About” page or FAQ?
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How can I improve the navigation?
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I have been mulling over whether to go with a content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal. I like the functionality to an extent, but I don’t like the cookie-cutter looks of most of the WP fiction sites I’ve seen. In a way, my hand-made HTML has worked for me and until I see easy ways to do popups (the way I link to my character profiles) I don’t think I should switch. Does anyone here use WP and have any recommendations?
Content:
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I’m all too aware that the writing is not consistent. The first two seasons’ writing was, well, pretty bare-bones. Things grew more sophisticated / deeper / darker in tone by the third season, and now I’m pretty pleased with the writing (for what it is – I have no pretentions of being art or literature). But should I be concerned about the early stuff? Should I rewrite the beginning episodes so they’re more in line with current style? Would you look at the first episode or start with the current one? I don’t want readers to be turned off by the early material.
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Unlike a book or even a straightforward online novel, I’ve added lots of ways for people to delve into the background of the story. Within the episodes, there are easy links to character profiles (so you can catch up on the character’s history); we have episode/season recaps, archived episodes, a town map, descriptions of town ‘hotspots’, even a fake city chamber of commerce site. (The series is very much about this fictional town, and so it plays a big part in the site’s interactivity.) I also offer polls, and every now and then readers can choose future plot directions. Are there any other interactive options you might suggest?
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Most important really is consistency of posting. What would be a good schedule? Once a week? Twice a month? My chapters are fairly long, so it’s not likely I would be able to produce them more frequently than once per week (even that is pushing it).
I know this is a lot to ask and honestly, I don’t expect anyone to answer all these questions. They’re there just in case anyone does enjoy focus group type stuff. 
Anyway, I really appreciate any help you can give. Thanks very very much!