polks terrible website

arekon

blasphemy or truth..
it contradicts itself at every turn. to a new polk-head it would be pretty confusing telling the customers a speaker has 5.75 inch drivers in the initial intro and then giving specs for 6.5 inch drivers in the more complex write-up on the same page.
and try to compare different speakers, i dare you..
and whats the wattage on the lsim line.. dont worry polk, i guess i have to google that.
they have unbelievable customer service as they actually have an email and respond faster than viagra but whos the clown who does their site?

K_M

I have found several mistakes, and mentioned it, in another thread. Honestly think they tried to make it a bit too fancy and appealing to a younger crowd, but did not let it fully bake first.

Not sure I would call anyone a clown over it though.

F1nut

I expressed my opinion of this forum format and of the main page format many times, but I'll repeat it once more. They both suck! However, the lack of information and/or correct information on the products is inexcusable.

mikeyb128

I still cannot find the forum tab on their new website, via desktop or mobile. I have to google Polk audio forum to direct myself here.

agfrost

mikeyb128 wrote: »

I still cannot find the forum tab on their new website, via desktop or mobile. I have to google Polk audio forum to direct myself here.

Bottom of Polk's main page, under "community", is "forums". I think it's intentionally shoved to the bottom of that page (in favor of highlighting products to buy).

mikeyb128

agfrost wrote: »

mikeyb128 wrote: »

I still cannot find the forum tab on their new website, via desktop or mobile. I have to google Polk audio forum to direct myself here.

Bottom of Polk's main page, under "community", is "forums". I think it's intentionally shoved to the bottom of that page (in favor of highlighting products to buy).

Thanks, will double check and report back. I will try to get a screen shot.

msg

Can't argue with the OP on this one. I remember a few years back when I was first getting started, the previous website had a ton of speakers, even legacy products, complete with spec pages. This was tremendously helpful as I was gaining exposure to the hobby and trying to sort through what's what. It was one of the things I immediately missed terribly when the new site rolled out. I couldn't believe the oversight at first. It was a huge leap backward. Changes are supposed to make things better, not worse. Agreed, it's pretty awful when you're looking for specs. Too spread out, inconsistent info provided, etc. I hate that so many websites have this gigantic bloated look. I don't know about you guys, but I never really needed to use the giant crayons, and would prefer to not have the internet equivalent of that jammed on me.

Won't do much for anything introduced after the site update, but for up through LSiM and RTiA at least, you can use the Internet Wayback Machine for most stuff. I was even able to pull up info on SDA 2.3TLs
https://web.archive.org/web/20130828113846/http://www.polkaudio.com/products/sdasrs23tl

arekon

misery loves company..

polrbehr

F1nut wrote: »

I expressed my opinion of this forum format and of the main page format many times, but I'll repeat it once more. They both suck! However, the lack of information and/or correct information on the products is inexcusable.

Agreed, I had someone PM me awhile back asking me to measure the cabinet of the S35. You know, the new model they just released last year. The site has since been updated and it now displays the correct specs.

I might be wrong, but there used to be a full-time employee(s) who maintained the website (Justin, then Patrick IIRC, but not important), then it seems they farmed out the whole thing to Vanilla in 2014. I hate to say it, but there are many things different around here since then, not many of them good either.

arekon

what if their intel guy was a polkie and not a samsung-home-theatre-in-a- box guy.
the american economy must be back on its toes

warren

Their too busy keeping it kleen...

K_M

Just glanced at a few pages of it again.

I think what most bothers me, is having to scroll over a lot of "real estate" to find a small amount of information that could be all mostly covered in 1/3-1/4 the space.

dannylightning

i do not like their website at all, its too busy and too much scrolling thew stuff.

a simple and plain website is better and easier than fancy and busy website

some stuff is kind of hard to find.

arekon

what i hate the most is that their old site had suggested retail prices on everything. was good to know if were gettin ripped off.

leftwinger57

The only good thing about the format change was that it accepted my camera and didn't have to go through Photo Bucket to hang pictures. I liked the old site much better. You do know Klipsch did the same thing saying the "upgrade" was do to security concerns and again like MSG said they do not list Heritage speakers any more and really hard to look at Hereseys, Forte~, Quartet, Cornwalls ect.....

[Deleted User]

Good morning @arekon, this is Ken from Polk Audio. Have you voiced your opinion to anyone in HQ or myself? Changes can't happen if you don't address them with us.

We do have the retail prices listed on our website. All of the spes aren't uploaded onto everything yet, they are coming.

@agfrost we didn't intentionally shove the forum to the bottom of the page. It is in with all of our other social medias.

Erik Tracy

Ken,
Might I suggest that whoever is the webpage designer 'tune in' to a new thread specific to this topic to get member feedback?

Many of us still feel *we* have a stake in the forum and Polk's web presence.

IMO, individual/isolated contacts to HQ isn't the most efficient/effective way to help improve the layout and organization.

[Deleted User]

@Erik Tracy I agree there are certain things on the website that need fixing and need to be changed and we are working on that. We are getting feedback from employees, customers, the Forum and anyone who wants to share their opinion of it.

I am actively seeking advice on how to make it more user friendly and what could be better, that's why I'm here. To make users, whether it is from the web, phone calls or the Forum, have a better experience all around.

Individual/isolated contacts to HQ is the most effective way to get a point across and to share information.

There was not someone actively seeking before the last 30 days, that is why I posted on an old thread.

Together we can get done what needs to be accomplished.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

[Deleted User]

Hey @DonnerUndBlitzen, I am the person you can send broken links to. I am the gateway to the Webmaster.

It is a slow process for sure and I'm working on fixing the little problems on the site, one by one.

I don't think our site is terrible either, it just needs some tweaking, like all websites.

mhardy6647

K_M wrote: »

Just glanced at a few pages of it again.

I think what most bothers me, is having to scroll over a lot of "real estate" to find a small amount of information that could be all mostly covered in 1/3-1/4 the space.

(emphasis added)

I'd say "well, that's what the internet is like in 2017", but I'd just sound like a grumpy old man.
Wait... I am a grumpy old man!
So it's OK!

Erik Tracy

I'll toss out some observations and recommendations in the interest of sincere criticism.

As a retired defense engineer, I had to make many presentations and prided myself on clear concise organized briefings so that non-techies could understand.

The existing organization of the website lacks a hierarchy of the different speaker lines. I'd organize the lines from budget to 'best' (or reverse) and describe what the goals/benefits are for each line.

Overall, each section has big blocks of scrolling to get anywhere; too much scrolling, in my opinion. Reduce the size of these blocks of graphics to scroll down through.

The Home Theater Systems Section is confusing.

It starts with a big block to scroll through for Sound Bars, but then the first products to show up is a mishmash of products. Then another big block for another Sound Bar, then back to products with no organization/progression as a 'system'.

If there is a separate link for Sound Bars under the main menu display for Audio Systems, then don’t include Sound Bars within the System section.

And, there is no mention of the RTiA line; these can’t be used for a Home Theater System?

The Home Theater “System” section should be organized to show timber matched *systems* and either progress from lowest to highest or highest to lowest cost.

There isn’t consistency between the page progressions for Floor Standers, Bookshelves, and Centers;

Floor Standers starts with a big block for the Signature Series then lists individual speakers, then a big block for the LSiM Series but no individual speakers, then on to the big block for the RTiA series, and then ‘ends’ with a mishmash of Tower speakers.

It omits any ‘happy words’ for the other lines such as the T, TS, TSx.

The Bookshelf section has three consecutive big blocks starting with Signature, then LSiM, then RTi. After much scrolling the individual speakers are *finally* displayed, but again, it’s a mishmash of offerings, and…where is the RTiA3? And no descriptions where these other offerings ‘fit’ or the order.

The sections for Floor Standers, Bookshelves, Centers should look and be laid out the same.

And the “Load More” button at the bottom of all the sections needs to go – display all the offerings. If you aren’t paying attention this button could be missed.

DollarDave

KenCustomerService wrote: »

.....
I don't think our site is terrible either, it just needs some tweaking, like all websites.

With all due respect, I think you just nailed what the problem with the web site is. The authors don't think it's as bad as its consumers do...the site should be simply embarrassing to Polk. In my professional opinion, of course.

[Deleted User]

@Erik Tracy thank you. That is perfect. I have made the some of the same notes myself and these suggestions have been started. I am going to get together with the Director of Marketing this week in our weekly meeting and share your concerns with him.

I think this is the best way to get feedback, one on one. Your comments and concerns will be addressed with the designers.

@DollarDave, you're absolutely right I should be embarrassed by it. Now, what constructive criticism can you give us to help make the site more user friendly. What would you like to see changed?

Thank you for the support everyone!

gmcman

I feel that the "Forum" tab should be it's own tab near the top of the page, or within a drop-down box under "support", also at the top of the page.

Many websites are formatted this way.

txcoastal1

KenCustomerService wrote: »

@Erik Tracy thank you. That is perfect. I have made the some of the same notes myself and these suggestions have been started. I am going to get together with the Director of Marketing this week in our weekly meeting and share your concerns with him.

I think this is the best way to get feedback, one on one. Your comments and concerns will be addressed with the designers.

@DollarDave, you're absolutely right I should be embarrassed by it. Now, what constructive criticism can you give us to help make the site more user friendly. What would you like to see changed?

Thank you for the support everyone!

For example....
The Def-tech website is much easier to use, perfect-no, better model-yes
IMHO

concealer404

The entire site is baffling to me now. I can't figure out how to navigate through forums, the information for legacy models is gone, and the formatting is really inefficient and makes the site load extremely slowly.

I don't really have input on how to fix it, because it's just that confusing to me. I AM old (31 har har), and it's not just this site i'm having problems with.

I don't understand what was wrong with having an easy to read site with information easy to find, and vanilla VBulletin as the forum. Change for the sake of change is never good change.

concealer404

Also: Why does this site, unlike every other forum on the face of the planet, INSIST on using the existing window to navigate to links you click on, instead of opening them in a new tab?

Nightfall

concealer404 wrote: »

Also: Why does this site, unlike every other forum on the face of the planet, INSIST on using the existing window to navigate to links you click on, instead of opening them in a new tab?

That's my only personal gripe with the forum, really, and that's only because my right clicker is broken on my 6-7 year old laptop so I can't even right click and open in new tab.

concealer404

I have three buttons on my laptop. The middle one is programmed to "right click open in new tab."

Doesn't work on this site. Only this site. Left and middle buttons both navigate current page to new URL. It's completely infuriating.

[Deleted User]

I can note that to our other moderators here and see what they can do about the links not opening up new tabs, @concealer404 not a problem!