ratingo.com - ratings directory and open community

Wow, that's a really cool idea! I like it a lot. I was expecting something more along the lines of e-opinions but this is much more broad than that. Very cool idea.

The site looks okay but it's very bland looking. To me it looks like the default install of a CMS. Part of this is the blue and beige colours cheme :snooze: How boring. Try something different and more unique. A better logo is also desperately needed. Logos are extremely important for branding so you'll probably want to get a professional to design one for you. It will be worth it.

When I clicked on the links on the right side I expected to be taken to a ratings page or something, not the website of the thing being rated. Make both the + rating and the link both go to the ratings page.

Now that I'm on a ratings page, I want to submit my rating for it. But I can't see any link to do that. I guess I'm supposed to login or register to start but there's no link here that explains that. It needs to be easy for people to contribute to this. So a little "login to submit your rating" link would be helpful. A little blurb on the front page, just above the ratings in the body, would also help to explain how this works. As it is people sort of have to figure it out for themselves. And most people won't bother doing that, they'll just leave.

Oh, wait, now I see the little plus and minus icons next to the text. Those are so faded out, they aren't very visible to the user. What you have to remember is that when people use the web they are always skimming around very quickly to find the information or navigational items that are relevant to them. They key transition points need to be very obvious. Those plus and minus buttons would be better if they were in a brighter colour so people knew right away what to do.

The sign up process was very quick and easy. I liked that I didn't have to agree to anything or put in extra information or anything. Quick username and password, that's it, I'm done. Now I'll check my email...

There we go, all done. Now I'm ready to rate stuff! now I'm a little annoyed because I have to actually log in. It should remember the username and password again and when I did, it didn't send me back to the page I'm on, it went to the home page. I'm not sure if that's possible or not, but it would be nice if that process was a little more seamless. (which makes me wonder how that would work here on the forums.... will have to check that out!)

Now I see a comment box on the item I want to rate, but there's no scaled rating selection. So now I'm confused about how this works. The item I'm looking at is at a +10. I thought I'd be able to rate things on a scale. But it doesn't seem that it works that way - I can either + or - something. I like it or I don't. Then all the ratings add up to get the plus or minus rating. That's fine, but again, that should be explained somewhere on the front page so users immediately understand how it works. My impulse is to rate something on a scale (as I can with a book at Amazon.com for example) but I think this is a more interesting concept. Instead of averaging a scaled rating you are cumulating opinion. So it's more of a measure of popularity which is kind of cool. A different concept from what other sites like this are doing.

Great job overall. I like the concept a lot. The design could use some work but for something like this you don't need anything too fancy. Usability is more important.

Good luck with this! I'll be interested to see how it does

ETA: Navigating around some more, I'd like to be able to sort a category by rating. So under movies I'd like to be able to sort by popularity, or only show positive ratings, or only show ratings above a certain number. That would make this a lot more useful.

Thank you, Megan!
This is very valuable feedback!

Hey,

I quite like the design but I may be too functional and geeky.

And heres a functional comment...

I would let users vote without signing up. Getting a community has an exponential rate. Starting is very slow but once its going, it flies.

Obviously log the ip's to stop abuse.

beers
-h

Dear Ratingo,
Yes, it seems to be very functional, a good idea indeed. I do insist you lis ten to Megan with some of her advice as far as logging in. That helps especially in websites with that many pages, it may be hard to find your spot. Other than that I think it was a revolutionary concept that can become a very big rescource (for example when people ask for directions they immediatly say "mapquest!") with some adjustments. I like how it ends in .com, as it makes it more universal and easier to find. I do, however think the design needs to be changed. The top that introduces the concept is a good idea, but maybe you should think of adding a more elegant header. Like henster said, until you are the next big thing, allow anyone to rate (not neccassarily give comments) and maintaing your orginal concept. I now know a new and efficent website.
Conor
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Frostzone.8k.com, the littlest biggest Internet Service Site

Folks, thousands of thanks to you!
I couldn't dream for better reviews and suggestions.