SparkPeople's Start Page Has a New Look!
By: Nicole Nichols,
SparkPeople Blogger
10/18/2013 12:00 AM
: 166 comments
: 21,418 Views
Update 10/21/13 9:55 a.m.: SparkPeople's new Start page is now live! Read below for details and a video showing you how to use your new page. Thanks!
Good morning, everyone!
Today we are very excited to announce the launch of a big enhancement to your SparkPeople experience. We know, we know: Change is often viewed as a dirty word. It's something people don't always like, especially from a website that you are used to using a certain way. But this change has been many months in the making and has even been tested and approved by a group of SparkPeople members who got a sneak-peek! We wanted to get it just right—and we are confident that YOU are going to love what you see, too!
As a courtesy, this announcement is coming a few days early. All changes described below will go into effect by 10 a.m. EST on Monday, October 21.
So what's changing? Your SparkPeople "Start" page. Members of SparkPeople know this page well since it's the page you see every time you log in to your SparkPeople account. That page has undergone a few changes over the years, but none are going to have as big of an impact as this one. The page is laid out in a completely new way, and even has some brand-new features!
Without further delay, check out the 5-minute video below to see what all of the changes will look like!
We have made these changes for many reasons—always with you (and future members) in mind. We are fully aware that SparkPeople is a big, BIG site. We have so many cool features, stories, tools and resources that it can feel overwhelming—especially for new members. On the old Start page, people weren't sure how to begin. The improved Start page was created to give everyone a clear three-step program for using SparkPeople to reach their goals.
It prioritizes three main things:
Good morning, everyone!
Today we are very excited to announce the launch of a big enhancement to your SparkPeople experience. We know, we know: Change is often viewed as a dirty word. It's something people don't always like, especially from a website that you are used to using a certain way. But this change has been many months in the making and has even been tested and approved by a group of SparkPeople members who got a sneak-peek! We wanted to get it just right—and we are confident that YOU are going to love what you see, too!
As a courtesy, this announcement is coming a few days early. All changes described below will go into effect by 10 a.m. EST on Monday, October 21.
So what's changing? Your SparkPeople "Start" page. Members of SparkPeople know this page well since it's the page you see every time you log in to your SparkPeople account. That page has undergone a few changes over the years, but none are going to have as big of an impact as this one. The page is laid out in a completely new way, and even has some brand-new features!
Without further delay, check out the 5-minute video below to see what all of the changes will look like!
We have made these changes for many reasons—always with you (and future members) in mind. We are fully aware that SparkPeople is a big, BIG site. We have so many cool features, stories, tools and resources that it can feel overwhelming—especially for new members. On the old Start page, people weren't sure how to begin. The improved Start page was created to give everyone a clear three-step program for using SparkPeople to reach their goals.
It prioritizes three main things:
- Tracking. We know that tracking food, fitness and other goals builds confidence and helps people get results, which is why it's Step 1 of your SparkPeople Start page. You'll notice a brand new tracking feature on the right side of the page that allows you to customize up to six other goals—they can be anything!—and earn SparkPoints for tracking them each day.
- Coaching. Step 2 combines "coaching" from our experts (in the form of articles, videos and other tips) with a brand new feature: the Goal Board. This is based on what a great coach or goal-setting expert might do with his or her clients: encourage them to write down, look at and visualize their goals each day. You can completely customize this section with your personal goals, inspirational images (from our site or your own photos) and more so that you give your goals some attention each day to stay motivated.
- Community. We've seen just how much of a difference it makes in our members when they connect with others on our site, so connecting with our Community in any way that works for you is part of step 3. A new Community feature you'll find here (in addition to all of your old favorites) is SparkTeam Bonus Points. For every 5 SparkPoints you earn each day, you'll get a bonus "spin" to earn extra SparkPoints for yourself—and your favorite Teams. It's a fun feature that we think you'll enjoy to help your Teams advance on our leaderboards. (P.S. Soon, we'll have another BIG announcement related to this new feature directly from SparkGuy!)
- "I was all prepared to be all critical and curmudgeonly and say 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it. " But I like it. A LOT. I don't use the current Start Page much, but I expect to use the new one. Everything I need is easy to find, and everything new members will need to find is very handy."
- "I have just gone to the new Start page and first thing that comes to mind is: GREAT JOB AT MAKING THE CHANGE! LOVE WHAT I SEE!"
- "First impression?? WOW!! I LOVE it!! So easy to use, everything bright and easy to find…love the layout!! I think someone new could navigate it quite easily."
- "My overall impression is that this will be a good layout for new users and it makes everything more 'one-click' for those of us who have been around for a while."
 You will earn 5 SparkPoints |
Comments
This article (now Nov.21, I read it) helps with the confusion in last month about login spark points & streaks not seeming to be accurate. I reset several times.
Like the 3 step Parts. LOVE the Goal Board (once I figured it out!) Community links are helpful. Yes, after that, the list does seem to go on...on...Adjustment here would be nice.
Miss access to Favorites. Old Spark Points could be cleaned up.
**Really don't like the Friend Activity page coming up just after Log in. Want to go directly to Start. Changed the feed & now have to wait DAYS for the stats to go away. Any changes here?? - 11/21/2013 12:56:25 PM
- 11/11/2013 1:44:37 PM
- 10/25/2013 11:03:24 AM
Knock off trying to push your less used features in our face, and give us the option for a page with quick links to the food and weight tracker and login wheel. I don't care if the rest of the page is all spark promotions, anything without quick, stand-out access to those features will be a fail for most of us folks that have been around for a bit.
BTW there is a lot of competition out there. This whole "ignore your core users" fiasco has me reviewing the alternatives again. - 10/24/2013 1:34:51 AM
- 10/22/2013 12:10:17 PM
EDIT MANUALLY ENTERED FOOLS
EDIT LIST OF FAVORITES
I would love to clean those two lists of mine up, but it is soooo slow and time consuming to do it one item at a time.
Thank you - 10/22/2013 11:45:02 AM
- 10/21/2013 10:37:47 PM
So far its not bad. I need to play with it some more. - 10/21/2013 9:10:57 PM
First thought was I'd gone to the wrong web site, but my second was I like the new look. It's fresher and more up-to-date. I agree the spark wheel should be higher up the page. Spinning the wheel is the first thing I do after logging in. I do think this is a nice change though. Thank you!
- 10/21/2013 3:44:13 PM
- 10/21/2013 1:39:26 PM
On a quick observation, I would suggest:
FIRST THING is that I had no idea the change was coming. Notifications like this should be sent out a few days BEFORE the release as a sparkmail to spark users to ensure that everyone knows THIS is coming.
Moving the Sparkwheel up closer to the top. That's the first thing I hit when I enter Spark and I would think most folks do.
I would also move the option to access my Sparkpage closer to the top somewhere. Make VIEW MY SPARKPAGE more prominent somehow so it's not so hard to find in a sea of links.
I had the same issue with “Daily Highlight Status.” Once you start scrolling down a long list, everything starts to look the same and becomes difficult to pick out. Make it stand out somehow.
I do like the new placement of the trackers and goals, and the new Goal Motivation board. Thanks for all the effort on the site! - 10/21/2013 1:24:54 PM
- 10/21/2013 1:18:32 PM
One option for opening a link in a new window is to place your cursor over the link, right click and select "open in new window" or "open in new tab." hth - 10/21/2013 1:00:28 PM
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