Comic Genesis Forums

Which looks better: having "today's comic" on the main page, or having it on its own separate page? I had it on the main page for a while, but then I came to hate scrolling down to view the chat-box and the other links so I put the comic on its own page with a nice, bright link button. Which is prefered? I also now have room for a news box without having everyone scroll down ridiculous lengths to see it.

Slightly pointless, but it interests me...murp.

-Kez

PS- feel free to click on my banner to see what I'm talking about

I like it better on the main page, mainly because I read so many web comics, I like just being able to punch in the main address and there it is "bam" ok, now time to look at the next one.

I hate 'splash' pages. They irk me very much. So pointless because it is comic we are coming for, not an explanation.

Depends on what you're running.
Penny-Arcade looks sweet the way it is, but RPG World has its own spiffy layout.

The main page is where people go first, and I think putting the latest cartoon there appeases those who can't be bothered to find a link to the cartoons. Or, if their connection is slow, they only need to load one page to see the comic rather than wait for another. It's just a matter of organising the other stuff around the comic. It took me ages to put the newsbox in a good place because it's size didn't really fit in, but now I'm happy where it is. For me it's like a puzzle, trying to fit everything into the smallest space without making everything look too crowded.

main page. If its not on the main page, I just bookmark the page its on and never look at the main page

warofwinds wrote:Which looks better: having "today's comic" on the main page, or having it on its own separate page? I had it on the main page for a while, but then I came to hate scrolling down to view the chat-box and the other links so I put the comic on its own page with a nice, bright link button. Which is prefered? I also now have room for a news box without having everyone scroll down ridiculous lengths to see it.

Slightly pointless, but it interests me...murp.

-Kez

PS- feel free to click on my banner to see what I'm talking about

Just put (a copy of) the chatbox on a separate page. Duh.
(ie. I keep a copy of my tagboard code on a page on my HD, that way not only I have it on a separate page, I'm also not cheating my own stats by going to my site just to check it.)

And when I go to a site, if the comic on the front page is great, I stay and read some no matter what, OR I bookmark if I really have no time.
But if there is no comic, and I'm busy/ get distracted, there is nothing holding me in. I can just close the window and forget.

I compromise; I don't want readers to get frustrated if the images take too long to load, but I don't like comics (with the possible exception of PA) putting the comic on a secondary page; I figure a lot of readers would click away from it then; so I include one out of the four or five images on the comic as a "teaser" on the front page, and if they click on THAT they get to the rest of the page---and that image is already "loaded" so it comes up immediately, and the rest comes up.---Al

I'm lazy. Front page.

The only good example of a comic where the main page is just news is Penny Arcade, and may Ctrlaltdel.
In these cases the news is often interesting to read, and are sometimes needed in understanding the comic.
For us storydriven comics (as most of us here are), what's the point in having the comic anywhere else other than the frontpage? It just means people are more likely to wander off when they don't see anything interesting.

Since I do mine differently (several pages [average of 9 an update I've come to find] at a time) it really doesn't work for me to even have a 'todays comic'. I have a 'cover image' for every chapter (as though you were reading it from a small little comic book) that doesn't appear when reading through the archives (like those collections)

There are reasons and then there are reasons.

Penny Arcade can get away with it because the comic is not the main content of the website. Other comics of serialized nature (like Zhan there pointed) may not want you to look at the lastest update without reading it all in order to avoid spoiling the fun. Sexy Losers do it to warn people of the mature content. 8-Bit Theather does it because... well... maybe the artist wants to inflate his pageviews...?.

Keep in mind that splashes, intros, etc are only cool the first time you see them. And taking your comic off the main page tend to be a drawback. Specially if the comic is hidden and takes effort to find.

Front page all the way. Unless you have a really good reason, clicking to another page is just a waste of time for readers.

If I'm checking a new comic and the comic isn't on the main page, I don't bother going any further.

I agree with everyone else but will add that once you have decided to put the comic on the main page, there are other considerations beyond that. Basically they amount to: Keep the clutter away from the comic.

More Information

- Joel Fagin

So is everyone (other than the most previous person of course) THAT lazy? I mean, there are so many good comics out there that require first off FINDING the link snaked about through this maze of internet that most of us won't even EXPLORE the damned page? Huh. This is interesting, I shall ponder it further, and I GUESS if you want a lot of traffic it's the way to go. ...But I think that I like having the main page filled with interesting stuff other than the comic-- kinda like a title page of sorts.... not many like a book without an interesting cover. Eh, perhaps I'm simply biased because I spent so long figuring out the damned html code. Bah. Thanks for the advice, people.

-Kez

You see kid, that's the beauty of webcomics: there are no rules! The fact that everybody here is telling you to put the comic on the main page may be just a reason for you not to do so.

Some of us (myself included) have employed purposedly misleading layouts. I say, if you really feel it fits and does not compromise the result fo your work, then why not? You'll just have to accept the consequences of your efforts, and that includes the occasional lazy who won't bother to check further for your comic.

warofwinds wrote:So is everyone (other than the most previous person of course) THAT lazy?

Yes. You have about two seconds to grab someone once the page is loaded. I didn't read Schlock Mercenary for a long time simply because I first turned up in the middle of a scratchy black and white flashback horror sequence with dense plot that I didn't understand - and that did nothing for me at all. Now, it's one of my faves.

If not the comic, definitly have some art on the front page, something large and colourful that will grab people. Something dramatic, or enticing. Here's an example... *grabs picture from harddrive*

http://www.between-worlds.com/!junk/test.jpg

That would be very good, actually. That picture tells a lot about the character. She seems like a fun character, she looks mischeivous and knowing and she's even inviting the reader in with her look. Of course, what you want the picture to achieve would depend on the comic. Digital War has a large picture of War looking powerful and in control, weapon casually over his shoulder. Again, it tells much about the character and would be a good title screen piece if he had a title screen.

Edit:

RPin wrote:You see kid, that's the beauty of webcomics: there are no rules! The fact that everybody here is telling you to put the comic on the main page may be just a reason for you not to do so.

True, but it's important to know the possible consequences of your actions. If you accept those consequences and make a choice no one agrees with, that's just fine as far as I'm concerned. I'm simply a big fan of making decisions with all possible information.

- Joel Fagin

Joel Fagin wrote:Yes. You have about two seconds to grab someone once the page is loaded.

That always pisses me off cause whenever someone recommends a comic to me it always seems they the current comic is just god aweful. So I go "wow this is retarded" and don't return for a few months, then I come back and go "Oh my god! I can't believe I lived without this!"

The only reason not to put a comic on the 1st page is if your are and extremely interesting writer and will update it constantly. Else your just slowing your readers down.

The absolute worst is when they have a rant front page and the link to find the most recent comic is at an obscure location.

Main page, especially if you don't update your rant often. If it isn't on the main page you're already on "strike two".