New website - help me out - where is

[J_T]

the link to the forum?

I asked on FB and they gave me the link but I already have it in favourites. I want to know where new people would find it coming to the website for the first time.

Its very possible that its staring me in the face, I wouldn't be surprised lol.

http://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/pcam

[sandraW]

Hi I have just looked and it's not easy to find now, its under "Information and Support", then under "We can help" were as before it was just listed under Information and Support.

I agree that people will find it very difficult to access the forum, in fact I would even go as far as to say they won't find it, which is a real shame as when PC was mentioned to us I found the forum a great help, just knowing that there were other people going through what we were going through selfishly helped a great deal. Hopefully it can be changed to make it easier to access, take care sandrax

[nikkis]

Yep, virtually impossible to find. I had the newsletter in the post today (really lovely picture Cathy), and this mentioned being able to buy Christmas cards via the website shop, where is that?!

[J_T]

I agree sandra. Whilst all the information is very important to know, the value of being in touch with others going through the same thing can not be understated. The link to the forum needs to be far more prominent in my opinion.

If it was going to appear under any banner surely it would have been better under the 'Support' banner.

Hope you are doing okay sandra, tough times I know.

Best regards

Julia x

[belgrade]

Hi Julia,

Couldn't agree more.......I wondered what had happened this morning and it took a while to navigate and find the forum. I do hope it won't put off any newcomers to the site, as this site has been a lifeline for me over the last year, still drawn to it everyday.

Regards to everyone,

Hilary

[J_T]

After being on the laptop I came to use the ipad and started typing the url for the Tribute Wall and got an error page When I removed the TW bit of the url I got this page which thankfully shows the Forum but it seems a bit hit and miss which page you might land at and if not this one http://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/ you may never find the forum.

Now I just need to find where the Tribute Wall is!

[Didge]

If you just get up the home page (or click the little house icon to get back to it) it has 'Discussion forum' listed right under the pic. You then have to choose a category but you can then click 'board index' to get back to where we usually are! I've not looked for the tribute wall yet!

[RoyBoy]

I agree I think it should be easier and quicker to access from the front page !

[Slewis7313]

I believe this is currently 'work in progress', but I too was caught out initially when the website changed. I tried to log on without having scrolled down and it took a few miniutes before I managed to get in. That said, we need to be sure that any visitors to the site whilst changes are being made can still quickly find what they are looking for. Most first timers will be distraught and may discount the website if they can't easily get to relavent information. I am sure these comments are being monitored and will be acted on!

Steve

X

[J_T]

I hope so Steve. I got an answer on Facebook this morning to where the Tribute Wall had gone. Its being moved to the new site and will be available soon. However there may be folk like me who regularly visit the wall and may be quite upset to get an error page

[Cathy]

Hi

I've just had a look now.

The discussion forum is under a link to the right "How can we help you" and can also be reached at the bottom of the page. Steve and I are both on a group who have been looking at the website so we can make sure any comments get fed back.

Hope you are all doing ok. Off to find the newsletter now as I haven't seen it yet.

Cathy xx

[Support Team]

Hi all,

Thanks for your very helpful comments about the positioning of the Discussion Forum on our new website. Sorry if there was any confusion about the link on Facebook. That was a link to a specific page on our website regarding Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and is not the homepage. Our homepage is the same as before www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk.

On the homepage the Discussion Forum is prominently positioned within the box on the main header picture – under ‘How can we help you?’ – we know that this is the section that most newcomers to a site see first, hence us putting the Forum link in there.

It is also below the main banner. It is in the box below, which currently shows a picture of a group at Westminster, click on the tab next to this. It is labelled ‘Discussion forum’. This gives people the opportunity to select various topics within the forum depending on their reason for visiting.

We have also ensured that a link to the Forum is advertised in a ‘feature block’ (purple image on the left or right hand side) on many pages throughout the site, and especially within the Information and Support section.

As you know, our site contains a huge amount of content and so moving it over takes rather a long time. We have done most of this behind the scenes over the last few months, but inevitably when a new site goes live there will be areas that have been missed or create an error when they transfer over. We are sorry for any inconvenience or upset caused. We are working very hard to fix these rapidly so please bear with us. The volume of content from the Tribute Wall that needs to be moved across is extensive, and this is the reason why the Tribute Wall is not yet live. I am really sorry if this is causing any distress. We are working to rectify this quickly.

We felt a new site was an essential move for us an organisation, particularly as we develop our services for patients and carers and we feel that this new site provides a better, and clearer pathway for those seeking information. We are in the process of conducting user testing so I am sure further comments such as those you have raised will come up and we will certainly consider them all, as, like you, we want the website to be the first port of call for anyone affected by pancreatic cancer and want them to find the site useful, easy to read and navigate and a great source of information and support.

I am pleased to say you can purchase Christmas cards here http://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/fundraising-and-events/forms-guides-and-merchandise/buy-our-christmas-cards/. Just simply download the form and then send it back to us via post or call the fundraising team to place your order.

Please do let us know if you have any further comments at all by emailing comms@pancreaticcancer.org.uk

Best wishes,

Louise Ellis

Communications Manager

[J_T]

Thanks Louise. It really was a shock when I clicked on the Facebook link and couldn't find the forum but I later found that it is very easy to find on the homepage so that's good. Saying that, I would like to find the forum, or any other page, easily from whatever page I'm on at the time. Maybe and A-Z link on each page for easy navigation would be an idea - just a suggestion!

I don't know how easy (or not!) it would be to flag a message on the Tribute wall error page explaining what's happening - 'coming soon' or something?

I understand you are working hard on the website and its a big job, sorry for moaning but I do feel its an important part of the site.

Julia x

[Support Team]

Dear Julia,

I am glad you found it easily on the homepage in the end. If you click on the dropdown menus under each of the headings then you can go to any area of the website that you wish. There is also a block on all the information and support pages to the Support Line and Discussion Forum so I do hope new and returning visitors will be able to find the Forum easily.

Please do not apologise at all for expressing your views. We really welcome your feedback and that of the other Forum users.

Since this morning there has been a message on the Tribute Wall explaining it is under maintenance and all being well this will live again tomorrow.

Thanks again for getting in touch about this.

Best wishes,

Louise

[J_T]

That's great Louise. Many thanks.

Julia x

[PCUK Nurse Dianne]

Hi all,

We are pleased to say our Tribute Wall is now live on our new site and you can access it here: http://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/tributewall. We do apologise for any inconvenience caused whilst the content was being transferred to our new site.

Communications Team.

Pancreatic Cancer UK

[J_T]

Great! Its a special place x

[Bob_Paul]

I agree, link to the forum must be much more prominent (like a special button on the top panel). In current condition it took me 2 minutes to find it. Also the overall design of the site seems nice