Your FUTURE viewing - how would you like to access the Coffee Shop in future?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Since the Coffee Shop was founded, many new display technologies have evolved and come into common usage. Some work rather better with our software that others, and we are updating the site to make it more appropriate across a wider range from a watch with a 1.5" screen to a public display screen of perhaps 250".  For Frequent Posters, I have put up a thread with illustrations of most of the options to help clarify them for you. - http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/29189

This is the second of two surveys - this one asks WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO USE.  Please select all that apply, including those you use at present and wish to carry on with.

[grahame]

Thank you for your votes in both this poll where I asked "what device would you like to browse on in the future" and which do you use at the moment"

Code:

Now 	Future
0	1	Watch
9	20	Small Mobile Phone
9	15	Larger Mobile Phone
9	18	Tablet of iPad
19	21	Laptop Computer
4	4	Larger Laptop / Workstation
12	16	Desktop Computer
4	4	Tower Computer
0	1	Projection system
0	1	Outdoor public screen

34 people told us what they use at present, and 30 risked guessing on future use.  In contrast to the slight drop off in number if voters, people voted for a much wider variety of possibilities - Clearly looking forward, with people using 2 types of device at present to around 3.4 in the future.  I love the desire shown to look forward and consider new possibilities

So what are we looking at with new devices that people see as being important?   Smaller and more mobile screens than we use at present are the big headline, but with laptops and desktops remaining important. I think I can understand this; for reading, a phone is fine ... for writing especially long pieces, far easier for many of us with a bit more real estate and a bigger input device

[Red Squirrel]

Missed this one too! I would have answered 'on my phone, in portrait mode'. I'm not sure of the distinction between 'smaller' and 'larger' phone; I think of mine as being more or less phone-sized.

[GBM]

Missed this one too! I would have answered 'on my phone, in portrait mode'. I'm not sure of the distinction between 'smaller' and 'larger' phone; I think of mine as being more or less phone-sized.

I have a larger mobile screen, whilst my Wife has a much smaller screen.
I can do/view most things without glasses on mine (but currently not the Coffee shop); whilst I need glasses to do see almost anything on hers.

Size matters......

[Mark A]

Does the Coffeeshop itself gather stats on visitor locations and what they're using to visit the site?

(The not-for-profit Two Tunnels site, I set up to use Statcounter which at the time had a free-at-point-of-use option (and perhaps still has)) and that provides various statistics, including a proper visitor count (i.e. it attempts not to increase the count every time a visitor reloads a page).

It also provides information on popular pages, referring pages etc as well as browser statistics including whether or not people are on mobile.

The two tunnels site didn't render well on mobile, so was given a skin-of-its-teeth responsive design that I've not retested for ages, mobile phone screen sizes having changed substantially since I set *that* up. Implementing that resulted in an immediate increase in visitor count and engagement.

Mark

https://www.statcounter.com/

https://www.twotunnels.org.uk/

[grahame]

Does the Coffeeshop itself gather stats on visitor locations and what they're using to visit the site?

Some but limited stats, and over time the analytics we used to use have moved on so we have less than we used to.

It also provides information on popular pages, referring pages etc as well as browser statistics including whether or not people are on mobile.

We have a lot of raw data available, but it is so raw that it's quite hard to provide a cooked meal of useful data from it.  The forum itself also records some key data

The two tunnels site didn't render well on mobile, so was given a skin-of-its-teeth responsive design that I've not retested for ages, mobile phone screen sizes having changed substantially since I set *that* up. Implementing that resulted in an immediate increase in visitor count and engagement.

I know the feeling.   I am very tempted, once I get today out the way (big MTC^» (Melksham Town Council - about) decision tonight I am prepping for) to set up Google Analytics afresh for both the existing and upcoming responsive Coffee Shops. Will also take a look at statscounter, but probably stick with what I know.

[grahame]

Does the Coffeeshop itself gather stats on visitor locations and what they're using to visit the site?

Some but limited stats, and over time the analytics we used to use have moved on so we have less than we used to.

Just had a look at some of the analytic stuff we do still have:

Latest 28 days, 64603 views. 1948 Active Users of whom 1423 from UK^▸ (United Kingdom) averaging 5.83 sessions each
33.16 views per active (UK) user

Of the 1948 active users:
840 Chrome, 608 Safari, 269 Firefox, 143 Edge, 56 Samsung Internet, 13 Opera
1120 Web / Desktop, 782 Web / Mobile, 47 Web / Tablet

With the high proportion from the UK, I am pretty sure these are "clean" real users rather than automata

[grahame]

Does the Coffeeshop itself gather stats on visitor locations and what they're using to visit the site?

A further follow up to that ... looking at the forum's own stats for contributions so far this years



September 2024 was also busier than ANY month in 2022 or 2023 ... we were busier before that, before Covid, before Social Media - but we ain't doing to badly. 

I suggest that we might see a downward turn again if we had a reliable, easy to use, integrated system with clear information.  But having made that suggestion, such a system would encourage so many more rail users that our membership would grow anyway from that bigger pool of interested parties.