Rebuilding Logos.com: Give Us Your Ideas

It would work better for me if the focus did not immediately go to the search.  Generally, after a search, I want to page down to see more of the page.  As it is, I have to tab first to get out of the search, then page down works.

I visit the website literally almost daily and rarely look at the Reviews, Press Clippings and Press Releases sections.  These seem to take up a lot of space on the main page that could be used for something else.

I would like to see the Community Pricing on the home page.  I think many more people would buy the CP books if they knew about them.  This would be a win-win for both Logos and consumers.  Perhaps highlighting a different book from the Community Pricing page and Prepub page each day on the home page would get more people to look at these resources.  This could be done similar to the "Book of the Day" on the L4 home page.

Thanks for listening.

Ron

RonaldQuick said:

I would like to see the Community Pricing on the home page. 

Excellent Idea and great way to promote the CPprogram!  At least an obvious way to navigate to it from the main page

Phil Gons said:

What don't you like about Logos.com?
How can we improve it?
What new features should we add?

The way the website as a whole is designed is fine in my opinion

The pre-pub page definitely needs improvement. Customers have the presupposition of pre-pubs being discounted. With the new baker and zondervan deals this is not the case. We should have a section for discounted and a section just for new titles that are not discounted, It would also be nice to have a pre-pub section for misc stuff like (greek in a week).

As I have noted in another post I believe the community pricing community needs a makeover. I had posted my idea prior in this article. While in would need a website design for it, it also needs to be worked out in other areas of the logos company. Reading the idea you will see what I mean. http://community.logos.com/forums/p/10765/84542.aspx#84542

One thing I forgot to mention is my upgrade page needs to be fixed. The resources that show up, most of them I already own. It has been a problem since I upgraded.

Blessings in all your work

I would like to see a "breakdown" of the commentaries: i.e., separated into exegetical, historical, devotional, technical, etc. And, as has already been mention, separate the pre-pubs into discounted, gaining interest and under development.

Dominick Sela said:

On video tutorials, I would like to see them expand beyond just how to use a feature, which is very important, to scenario-based tutorials.  For example - take someone who is going to do a particular type of Bible study, to learn 'x', and then see how they use the tools of Logos to accomplish their task.  Even simpler ones - the one where the author asked :What things did Jesus say about the future?" was an excellent example of a scenario.  I think the content improvement based on video could go way beyond the existing blogs which I don't learn much from.

As Dominick said, let's make the videos "goal oriented" and maybe even have a "quiz" of sorts at the end of the video that would allow you to go to the next level if you complete it with a % correct. I've seen this type of approach on Microsoft's page and others. Several time on the M$ page, I've taken a "course" and many times during the video there were quizzes that help me with the procedure. If I didn't feel comfortable with the results, I could redo the segment of the video and try it again.

A fully sortable, customisable pre-pub page (it's the only page I really look at - I'm talking about the main one with thumbnails - I never look at the 'my prepub' page in my account - dull, grey. text-only table!!).

• I want to mark those items I don't want as hidden so I don't have to scroll through them every time.
• List just those items I have / haven't pre-ordered.
• List new items only (from my last visit - using cookies?)
• Hide related items if required (e.g. Currently have both Zondervan collection and individual titles in that collection/ Calvin's collection and individual items from collection - loads of unnecessary scrolling!)
• Show only those items currently with a shipping date - sorted by date
• Sort by title
• Sort by author
• Sort by cost (at time of purchase and current cost)
• Search for items and display items by category (e.g. commentary / bible / ethics)
• etc etc - you get the idea I'm sure.

------------------------

Also would like similar features for all books e.g. I'd like a page to just (intelligently with respect to collections) list all the products (not just pre-pubs) I don't currently own for me to browse and decide how best to allocate my spending.(Wordsearch allows me to do that on their website from within their program!)

________________

Thanks for asking (and listening)

I no longer have l3 on my machine, so when I purchase a title that does not have a download option, I need to call customer support with the key and have them add it to my account.  *Please* put a place on logos.com where I can log in and enter the key so that the title will be unlocked on my account for l4.  Wait times are sometimes too long to call and sometimes we receive product on Saturday and have to wait until Monday to call Logos to unlock it.

Thanks!

John

It would be really helpful if Logos would consider listing all the
books they have (or are working on having) in digital format by publishers as well as by author. I don't know about others out there but there are
certain publishers that I trust and turn to first on every subject.
When I type in "InterVarsity Press" or "P&R Publishing" in the
search bar I would expect to see a nice list of what's available. This
does not seem that hard. I want to know every book that Eerdmans or
Wipf and Stock has available on this platform. Would anyone else like
to be able to search this way?

I would also be really great if the academic discount page would enable you to click on each title listed to learn more. As it is know, you have to copy and paste the name of title in teh search bar and then look for it that way, back space back to the page, scroll down to the next title your interested in, etc. Uggg.

Here are my suggestions (and I also agree with many of the other ones voiced above):

1. Be more consistent about including the “this resources is also available in: ...” links at the bottom of the product pages -- there are a bunch of places where this is not done, and a person might be served better by knowing they could get a better deal on that resource by buying it as part of a bundle. Automate this so you don't have to remember it all the time to do it manually.
2. Let us know if we're about to order an item that we already own or already have in pre-pub as part of a bundle. It's too easy to accidentally buy something twice.
3. Include links to Tables of Contents of products when those are available anywhere online e.g., on the publisher's website (or include the TOC itself there on your website if you can legally do it).
4. Make downloadable an option for all products. I've posted a list elsewhere of the products that are CD only that I am waiting to buy until they are available as downloads.
5. Provide links from resource titles in the comparison chart to their product description pages, and for things which aren't products but features, also give a link to somewhere which would describe what those features are, to help people decide if these are resources or features that they need when they're choosing a base package.
6. The Logos History page (accessible from Home Page > About > Logos History) is sorely in need of an update. The timeline only goes through 2003.
7. Provide a link to the wiki from the navigation bar at the top of each page.
8. Remove the random links in the lower right corner of the home page. Especially the one about UFOs! :-)

Finally, please don’t put us through a buggy beta period with this! Beta is one thing with the Bible study software, but when it affects our credit card balance and Internet security, I'm nervous... Do thorough testing with some volunteers who can use it with fake accounts, and then when it seems stable, gingerly enable it for their real credit card accounts, and test it a bunch more, before rolling it out to the rest of the user base. And no "missing features coming soon" please. That will imply bugs introduced as you add more features. I'm glad you're launching out on a major redesign, but what we've got now works well enough, so there's no need to rush out something incomplete just to get it into our hands. Do it completely and solidly and then release it. Thanks! (I might be willing to be one of the beta testers, though. I'm just saying in needs to be really, really solid. Not like the way Facebook rolls out their website updates, with bugs and interface issues that haven't been fully thought out.)

Suggestions:

Academic page:

Add links and popup windows for the list of resources in the Academic page. it is a pain to have to copy the name of the resource and search for it on the general website. Additionally, the list of resources should be updated more frequently without the need to contact the academic team to see if the resource is included. The resources should be divided by categories (commentaries, dictionaries, and so on) so that the customer does not have to scroll past hundreds of books.

 General and Academic:

Personalize the browsing experience so as to suggest similar and complementary resources, additions to existing collections, but also warn customer when a resources is already part of his or her library.

It is difficult to buy what you do not know exist. as some have suggested resources like commentaries should be searchable in a variety of ways (level of expertise, theological tradition, recent publication, and so on)

Alain

Martin Folley said:

Logos is still the only site where there is less than a 50/50 chance that connection will be made. All other sites in the world connect in seconds (if not instantly). More often than not, Logos just does not respond at all. IF the site responds, then it is as fast as other sites. If it does not then my computers just wait (forever).

Interesting... I've never experienced this... (In Australia)

Phil Gons said:

I have about ten pages of notes and ideas of things we're considering, but since you're the ones that use the website the most, we want to hear your ideas for how to make Logos.com amazing.

It would also be nice if my prices on the pages can show the academic price. I never understood why it does not.

I would like to see greater scope given to How To: training videos/sections. Logos is a tremendous tool, but too many people who get involved with it don't know how to do systematic bible study using it. So ti becomes an extremely expensive concordance. Put together some instructional videos on:

Inductive Bible Study

Character Bible Study

Building a topical Bible study

Researching the history and cultural backgrounds of book of the bible

Proper understanding and usage of a Lectionary (this was to make up for my other comment M.J.)

Phil Gons said:

By the way, for now we're talking primarily about the main www.logos.com website, not the forums, blog, wiki, or any of our others sites. Those will come later.

David Lowther said:

I am not sure if this falls under the scope of "logos.com" but I would like to see some improvements to searching in the forums.

Apparently not.

Thanks, Terry - skimmed too quickly. I guess the forums can wait for the next improvements. [:)]

Either make it friendly to small screen use like from an I-Phone or I-Pad and other platforms present and to come or make a separate site that is.

I've been to sites that take much too long to load due to heavy graphics and are not as useful as they could be if they were swifter. 

I bet there is a whole set of things to do the programmers would know for better small device use.  It is going to be more of the future. 

One item that has "bugged" me for a while is the "New Products" page. It would be great to have a few less items (ie. get rid of an item after a few months). Currently there are way to many items to see what might be new. Also it would be nice to be able to sort the new items by date added. Right now, new books are posted in the middle somewhere and impossible to find. The ability to sort by price, title, date, etc. would be great.

As a search "dream", it might be nice to be able to type in the search box the criteria similar to what we use on Logos 4. ie. AUTHOR: Macarthur ANDNOT TYPE:commentary  (or how about PRICE:<25 AND ATUHOR: Piper)?

This would help get more precise results from the search.

Thanks for allowing us to give input into this process!

Make it iPhone friendly, including posting in the forums.

(Brief post because I'm on an iPhone)

What would I like to see different......

• Under "My Orders" I would like to see "Order History" and "Pre-pub Orders" be able to load much more quickly
• On the "Order History" page I would like to see items under "Order Summary" linked to the respective product pages (as they currently are in "My PrePubs") [I often cannot remember which titles came in which collection, and I may be working on someone elses computer]
• Would like to be able to place orders (including pre-pubs and community pricing) as gifts to other users, without having to go to excessive lengths for each title to confirm for whom I am by it (similar to how I can specify a group of friends/family members for whom I regularly buy airline tickets, on the Air Canada web site) - AND be assured that they do not have the title or collection already, either directly or if not yet published as a pre-pub ordered by someone else [that way for example, several different people could gift titles / pre-pubs to a pastor or student]
• For those who do not currently live where they have direct internet access - have it possible for them to designate someone who could download new content, updates and new purchases for them and burn them on a CD  (or put on a memory stick) so they could get them that way - thinking of a friend who as a missionary had to drive two hours to the nearest town with an internet access point - they could bring a memory stick with them but travelling with a laptop was not practical.
• Products pages: improved search capability and a more intuitive ability to search by author, publisher and type of resource/topic [eg: what books do you have on John's Gospel, without pulling up 1022 hits on John which are mainly titles by or about MacArthur, Bunyan, Piper or Calvin
• A less lengthy and easier to load Pre-pubs page which can produce a credible list in a reasonable time for a dial up connection [for the parts of the world where high speed is not an option]
• Every technique you can think of to ensure we do not purchase duplicate licenses for what we already have - and use the same concept to offer tailored discounts for collections and groupings which include titles we already have [so that we can subsequently be pursuaded to upgrade to more complete/comprehensive collections, some of which are not offered until after we already have one or more of the included titles] 
• the ability to "loan" titles from our collection or even permanently transfer titles to others based on the number of licenses we already own for a product {especially the ones where we have already indvertently purchased duplicates and hence have potentially several licensed copies to loan or give away} [need a way so as many of us as want to could do this without overloading the Customer Service phone lines]

Each book/group of books (for series and such) should indicate which packages include it. I'd also like to see more and larger quality page examples from each book.

I'd also really like to see an interactive feature in which you check the books you want, and it tells you the cheapest and/or most comprehensive package that includes them, or if they're not included in any packages.

WISH LIST tab on My Accounts page (especially for us Logos newbies building our libraries)

I would like to see an "Update" place on the home page where we could easily go to when we receive updates.  What good is an update if you don't know what the new features are available to use?