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Sometimes when we ask our members to submit photos for the ipernity homepage, they answer: "I don't know it at all. I've been a member of ipernity for many years and never visit the homepage." Or: "I'm not interested in our homepage. I am permanently logged in. I just want to be in contact with other like-minded people here." There is nothing wrong with such answers. Because this is exactly the purpose of a photo sharing community: to share your photo or video hobby with others. In so doing, over the years, you create networks of online friends in which you feel comfortable.

Picture: royalty-free-best-best-friends-clip-art de.cleanpng.com/png-2fequa

But like everywhere else in life, such circles of friends are subject to constant dynamics. Every now and then, people who have become familiar to us depart. Or new ones appear who arouse our interest. It is completely normal, in all circles everywhere in the world.

However, in order to continue, it is necessary that the influx of new people compensates for those leaving. Otherwise, a community shrinks to the point where it becomes uninteresting or can no longer afford the cost of the clubhouse. In our case, the clubhouse is our website. For this reason, we permanently have to draw sufficient attention to our activities and inspire outsiders to join us.

One brick in this process is our homepage, which is the subject of this article. Our homepage is not aimed at us members, but at outsiders. It is the medium with which we draw attention to ourselves. Just as a book cover does when we pass a bookstore while shopping. Or when it is casually displayed to us while we are surfing the internet:

Beth O'Leary, Up To Date
www.amazon.de/Up-Date-Dates-machen-keine/dp/3453361067/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Our eyes fall on it, and without even really being aware of what it's about, we click on the online description or pick up the book to read the blurb. It is a split second in which we subconsciously decide: I'm interested, or I'm not interested. And it is exactly the same with our homepage. Whenever someone sees it, it takes a split second to decide whether they find it interesting enough to spend time on the content.

Understanding that there is only ever one golden moment to make a good first impact, let's now take a look at the ipernity homepage from 2013 as we adopted it in 2017:


It was certainly contemporary. Because in 2013, homepages were still designed mainly for PC screens. However, we were faced with two problems in 2017. First, the homepage raised expectations or even made promises that were in no way tenable ("Keep your photos and videos permanently" or "Your timeline is written here for eternity"). Secondly, the imagery addressed a target group that had long since migrated to social media: young families with children.


This sandwich generation is characterised by a lack of one thing above all: time and leisure for hobbies. Everyday life is primarily about the job and the family, possibly about building a house or caring for parents. Communication needs are quickly taken care of on the side via the smartphone. So it is mainly people in the second or third phase of life who have time for more intensive cultivation of the photo hobby and exchange via sharing communities. Our image language on the home page must be directed at them.

For the reasons mentioned, shortly after the takeover in September 2017, the ima team started to discuss how the homepage could be adapted to the further developed conditions. In order to handle the transformation gently, the original design concept should be continued: A large lead image, with a three-part branching underneath. However, with much less descriptive wording to make the page quicker to grasp.

A respective proposal was presented to the community and extensively discussed. The more than 200 responses were evaluated in a structured manner:

Details:
www.ipernity.com/doc/team/45656792 (redesign study)
www.ipernity.com/doc/team/45854700 (evaluation chart 1)
www.ipernity.com/doc/team/45854810 (evaluation chart 2)
www.ipernity.com/doc/team/45854844 (evaluation chart 3)
www.ipernity.com/doc/team/45854858 (evaluation chart 4)

Based on the result of the public discussion, the following new homepage was programmed by our IT service provider Qwellcode GmbH, Salzkotten (Germany) in early 2018:


Of course, this quickly made homepage was not yet perfect. But it fulfilled the most urgent goals in a timely manner:

● No more untenable promises were made.
● The imagery was no longer aimed at the wrong target group.
● The use of images from the community increased the authenticity.

After this immediate action, the homepage was further developed in a relaxed manner in order to express even better what ipernity meanwhile is: The probably largest non-commercial online photo club in the world. Moreover the further develeopment also addressed the challenges that different kind of devices raise for a website.

With support of the ipernity member and web designer Spotomy, the following design was developed and has been online since August 2020 (see www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4732766):


This homepage appears on the users' displays in two different versions, depending on the hardware used.

It is available in all seven languages in which ipernity is programmed and leads the visitor to the most important pages via three buttons. The starring images are pictures by ipernity members that are seasonally different.

So while our members might not care much about our homepage, we still need the members' photos to keep the homepage eyecatching to passers-by.

Therefore, as a club member, you are cordially invited to contribute with your photos. You can post the best ones in the group Ipernity Homepage - Picture Proposals. Please note, however, the required picture format (16:9 landscape) and the picture composition. You may find more information on this in the Layout Guidelines for Homepage Pictures.

Bernhard Westrup (bergfex)
Project manager for the relaunch of the homepage 2017 to 2020