I am starting this topic for the community to discuss the development of z.cash website. I am not aware of any other thread on this matter, would love to be directed to older one if a similar topic already started.
My suggestion is for z.cash to be something similar to ethereum.org development. A website under ECC but ultimately developed by an independent team with community contribution. The first step that I can think of regarding this is by hosting the website source code on github and let community contributes to its development. cc @joshs
Since this is the front page of Zcash, we should strive to make it clear what Zcash stands for. It should also include materials related to Zcash ecosystem.
I personally think that we can start by creating two projects related to z.cash: open submission of Zcash digital arts and directory of contents relevant to Zcash users.
nb: inspired by arts shared by just_zart on twitter
Also, can someone fixes the z.cash thumbnail? It really stands out, and not for the right reasons…
I am unsure if the ECC or ZF own & run the z.cash website or if either entity & or the community would/could decide to make the changes your proposing but…
I run ZcashZeal.org & one of our goals is for the website to be supported by community contributions, & we currently have materials listed on the site related to Zcash users as you mentioned in the OP.
I would be very much interested in collaborating with the community to create the projects you mentioned under the ZcashZeal umbrella: “open submission of Zcash digital arts and directory of contents relevant to Zcash users.”
If this is something you would be interested in discussing further @tokidoki or anyone else, please feel free to reach back out in this thread or DM & we can get the brainstorm flowing.
I think it would be nice to have a different first 5 seconds impression that what ethereum.org or z.cash offers:
If these websites are visited by people knowing nothing about cryptocurrencies or blockchain, they are lost. they go away within 10 sec.
Ideally, one screen should tell with graphics and maybe one sentence what zcash is an why better than the rest. No need to be complete, that’s already covered by other existing websites…
The goal should be to convince and explain the main public in less than a 30 sec to get their attention.
It would be great if someone applied for a ZOMG grant to work on making the z.cash website as good as possible, soliciting community ideas for improving it and bug reports, and implementing/fixing things.
I think ECC runs the site and has been making improvements recently.
@elenita is there a public issue tracker for the website itself? who works on this at ECC?
Quick question: any thoughts onwhy are we still referring to BOOTSTRAP as ECC?
I ask b/c one of the major criticisms is Zcash is controlled by a for profit company. I have mentioned this in the past but was wondering if anyone has some input on why external messaging to the Zcash community is not modified?
This is a really good point. I know ECC is still its own entity, owned by Bootstrap, but will ECC begin using the Bootstrap brand for its site, announcements, etc?
I think it does relate to the Zcash homepage project too, since it’s a branding question.
YES! We (ECC) are actively looking for feedback, recommendations, and requests for z.cash! We plan on doing some updates, soon, specifically around communicating more simply, a more direct path (or recommendation) for wallets, dovetailed documentation, and an improved information hierarchy (menu).
I love the idea of community contributions too. Artist contributions excites me, and I would love to see contributors highlighted. We would need a design system to support it, so we have some work to do.
@tokidoki What thumbnail are you talking about? The z.cash website favicon? @decentralistdan Thank you for your hard work over at ZCashZeal.org Awesome! @den You want straight forward marketing with the technology more behind the scenes, to be less intimidating, correct? @holmesworcester That is correct, we made a few changes a ~month ago. What do you think the site needs to be “as good as possible”?
re: ECCvsBootstrap: Yeah, z.cash isn’t the right site to talk about the business entities working on Zcash. However, neither should this information be hidden. Let’s see where it fits naturally.
I don’t know if “marketing” is the right word (it has a negative connotation nowadays).
I’m convinced that people don’t read anymore and that you need to get people’s attention within a few seconds. Else, they go away. Remove as much text as possible, use graphics.
Convey the message from the user’s perspective and not from the product perspective. To elaborate on this: I think I know the basic principles of zero knowledge proofs, but my mum doesn’t and doesn’t need to. She needs to know it’s private and no one else but her, the sender and a potential chosen third party can see about the transaction. I love the Swiss account analogy, everyone can refer to this.
zcash is like your own Swiss bank account.
When we have people’s interest, they’ll dig more by themselves if the slope is not too steep.
When I visit some other project pages and try to understand what this particular blockchain project is about, only one thing comes to my mind: “WTF?!? didn’t get a thing out of this!”
Just trying to share what I see everyday
I tried to follow this when I had that little comic strip made:
Thanks for the post @tokidoki. While I am not the only decider on this, I believe the idea has merit.
A website is a product. It needs moderation, code reviews, infrastructure support, security reviews and support, cohesive branding and messaging, translations, SEO, A/B testing, optimization, etc.
I’ve seen a couple different models. The ethereum.org model is interesting to me and they appear to be doing a good job as they’ve ramped it up over time. However, Thorchain looks like a disaster. I agree with Hasu on this one.
Doing it well like Ethereum would require a shift in how we manage the sites and code as well as setting up the right supporting processes to manage it. Ethereum’s contribution mechanism is here: Contributing | ethereum.org
As the Zcash community grows, I think this model makes more sense than it has in the past. For the next couple of months, my team is charged with reducing friction to onboarding with Zcash through the Z.cash website. The team is actively focused on that now.
For the longer term, I hope to bring on additional skill for more digital work which includes engagement with the community on these types of efforts. While I can’t commit to specifics today, I can commit to the serious exploration of the idea you’ve raised over the next few months.
One thing I would recommend adding to the home page would be a social proof section. So around half way down the page I would love to see a section with some of the top quotes about Zcash from several of the big names in the space.
People are more likely to buy/invest/support the movement when they see some of the big names that speak well of Zcash.
Then I would add a bullet point section of all the benefits privacy can bring. So not the features of zec but the benefits. Paint the picture of how and why Zcash will help people and change the world.
Repeating myself for years now.
The ECC and ZF should finally get their hands on the zcash.com domain and there develop a homepage.
I will never understand what’s that hard to file a case with WIPO and get this domain finally…
