Stats Classics: How to set?
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@designsimply
Yes indeed and we knew would happening too because you told us so. Moving right along, now. lol :D -
It is very encouraging to see DesignsImply’s close attention to this thread. And to see a tweak has been made to the graph bars with plans for the crucial “visitor/view” overlay soon.
And quite understandable that a few definite concrete suggestions are more helpful than merely expressing our discontent with the new site.
So I’ll leap in with a few “concretes”.
To start with it would be to remove that Site Menu on the left hand side. It’s already in an optimum position as a the Site drop down tab on each published page/post. We don’t need it repeated on the stats page. And it’s taking up SPACE.
Space which would be better used to simply restore the visitor/country module. Right now that crucial info is too far down and includes a HUGE map which takes up a WHOLE page. It’s too big visually as well with small splotches of country colors on an enormous white ground. An extra page of scrolling.
We also don’t need to know how many posts we’ve published today … at least not in a top priority position. For some of us it will be “one” … for most of us “none”. Unless of course we’re TWEETING. Hummmmm Makes one wonder about this odd addition. Is it fodder for twiitter tweets.
Then there’s all that empty space on the left hand side under the SIte menu. Pages of empty space with the annoying narrow column of the info we want and need. Why that narrow column? Well we know it’s for mobile devices. For the rest of us it’s just more scrolling.
That narrow column and the required scrolling is the clearest indication Word Press developers could have that we need TWO platforms if they insist on the twitter crowd. The rest of us who actually read and write, do NOT do our work on cell phone screens.
Please consider all your customers. The literate as well as thoz who cnt writ mor thn a wrd.
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nikkitytom, thank you for your feedback! The left-side navigation taking up a lot of space is more of an issue for something like the stats page than the reader for example—because it is a design principle that reading is more pleasant in narrower columns. And right now, the same template is used for all of the pages in the new dashboard but that could change in the future. To start with though, the updates around stats will be more around things like the graph and proximity of other data and the number of columns and bringing back the all-time stats. Also, it’s worth noting that while you mentioned not wanting the country map, a ton of people requested having that added back right after the new design was launched. This just highlights the fact that there will always be some conflicting feedback and we will need to work through it all and make the best decisions we can to shape the new page into something that works the best for the most number of people. A number of factors go into making those kinds of decisions. Mobile is definitely a factor, but it is not the only consideration for sure.
I shared your video link with the team working on stats because I thought it was cool that you took the time to make something like that.
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I love the country map on the classic stats page. However, on the new one, the color variance is practically imperceptible at lower numbers. I'd love it if the same color scheme, at least with the same level of color saturation, were used on the new page. The majority of my readership is from US, Canada, UK and Australia but I still like to see the other countries clearly show up on the map itself as opposed to only being noticeable on the country listings.
Thanks.
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@Designsimply … My mistake about the map … I should have been clearer about that. I lost my first draft of this letter and didn’t update properly. I very much support that map … just not it’s HUGE size. Visually the original module with map was a perfect break for the page. It certainly has my support in the original attractive size proportion
But I take exception to the idea that narrower columns are preferred … they are not. No design and formatting program I ever studied recommended narrower columns. However the column size has NOT changed in the new version … it is the formatting which creates the illusion of an endless long column.
Ironically everyone could come out the winners here … there isn’t any difference in column size between the two versions … except that now when you scroll past the Site Stats on the Left hand side … there is another HUGE empty space which could be well utilized for data. Instead we are condemned to that endless scrolling. Utilization of the space is the problem. For desktop publishers, the older version is clearly the winner on all counts. The new one has been designed for ipads and cells.
Again … thanks for your ready ear …
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To add to @nikkitytom’s comments, I agree that narrower columns don’t always work. As the linked YouTube video points out, the major design problem on the new stats page is the gaping white space on the left of the page after the content in the left-hand column ends. That problem could be very easily solved by removing those links in the left-hand column. I agree with the video maker that these are all links to things that are not relevant or needed in understanding how our blog’s stats are doing.
And speaking of irrelevant – my blog has one author (me), and I rarely, if ever, post videos. And as the sole author, I’m pretty much aware of when I have posted something. So the “number of video plays” and “number of posts today” statistics on the new stats page are completely useless to me. They may be useful to other bloggers, but to bloggers like myself these statistics just take up unnecessary space and cause more scrolling. Also, I have not signed up for the Publicize feature – nor do I plan to – so the feature showing how many hits came through Publicize is also useless to me.
If WP wants to make the stats pages responsive to user needs – which it claims it does – why not have a page with widgets for each type of statistic, and let the blogger customize their own stats page by using the widgets to add the stats that are most useful to them? Or have a standardized stats page with every feature on it, and let bloggers hide or delete the stats that they don’t want? (When I say “hide”, I don’t mean minimize with the up or down arrow in the corner – I mean make the stat disappear from the page completely).
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fionamcquarrie, I also agree with you and wrote about it in another comment a while ago about the space on the left hand side which on the classic admin pages can be collapsed.
Also on the classic Stats page (the very old Stats page located through the old WP Admin. page), the actual data modules can be eliminated if necessary through the Screen Options box at the top of the page. It makes a very clean screen with just what I want to view on the Stats page. I’ve bookmarked that page and that’s the one I always use.
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I post in longform every day. anywhere from 2 to 12 posts depending on what entertainment figure is in jail. When I look at overall stats, it is helpful to know how many posts I made that day. However, it's not crucial. It's more me seeing how I slacked for a day. I see all of these thing hovering over the old stats page bargraph IIRC. I don't need more or less than that.
Over and over we keep saying, we want the old editor. I've never even mentioned the Bleep blop bloop crap of Editing.
The overwhelming opinion is that you spent a lot of money to fix things that were not broken and are steadfast in continuing to move in that direction. That is making us shit or get off the pot with regard to other places.
That coupled with a 10% decline in my blog views in December resulting in a 33% drop in ad revenue….makes me know I must do something. I get ad offers many times a day I can't accept due to my WordAds deal.
My views are up about 33% this month so it will be interesting to see how that works. Next month I'm going to make the decision to jump ship or not. I really need more coding ability for simple things like key words I had on Blogger. It wasn't much but you could drop some things in the technical part of things to help your SEO. I know, once I get that back…
Anyway.Being able to put some SEO code in, having more ability to use video… those things would have been enhancements. Now I feel like I am swimming upstream.
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&All
For whatever help it might be, workarounds which require the minimum use of Tabs, can be found here:-
https://freedfromtime.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/wp-changes-improved-workarounds/
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Something that I would like to offer up as a suggestion.
Create a widgets-style option for the stats page.
If I want X feature, I drag it from the list of unused features into the list of active features.
In each widget, allow form factors. If I want small form factor, bam, I get dense data. If I want large form factor, bam, I get expansive data.
This would allow every user to customize their stats page.
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Woah, I only just read the wp announcement that Google Analytics is now going to be available for wp business blogs!
Maybe this is why they’ve “dumbed down” the wp stats in the new and “improved” version!? (plus made it so long and scroll-y rather than having an overview of all the modules visible at the same time)
It’ll make paying for a business account more attractive since it’ll come with Google Analytics–which people have been begging for here in the forums for years. The image of Google Analytics in the wp announcement looked a tad like the wp “old stats” page at least in having several modules visible at once, with a little map inset of views over on one side, etc.
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Oh I would hate to think that WP would be so devious … that “forcing” is to scroll through an incomprehensibly bad format would “force” us to upgrade. That is so distasteful, I hate to even consider it.
But the fact of the small original map beng restored to its left hand position and several modules being visible at once DOES make me wonder. Why are the changes being foisted on us termed an “upgrade” when the new Google Analytics is apparently going to closely follow our favored older format? If the bulky format is “updated” why didn’t Google Analytics get it??????
I would perhaps tolerate changes I don’t like, but couldn’t tolerate such a glaring lack of integrity.
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Here’s the post from WP to add your comment there while comments are still open:
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Just checked out the Google Analytics … yep … the nicely formatted layout is there with all the modules accessible at a glance. Looks like they swiped our classic version.
But it’s ugly as heck with little anchor dots and graph lines everywhere. Who is doing these “upgrades”? They sure need a graphic designer experienced with website layouts. Yikes!
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&All
If it is the case, that they are going to try and coerce us into into paying for a similitude of something we already had by making it redundant or difficult to use, resentment will turn everybody against M. Mullenweg. There will be tears before bedtime.
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I will not be crying. I am able to face reality, suck it up, and move on with living my life.
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This thread may be closed because of the personal attacks. See designsimply’s comment on this thread that was closed recently:
https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/why-did-you-destroy-the-stats-page/page/2?replies=58#post-2242192
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