Lack of interest Let users set "Home" page

[frm]

It would be nice if <xf:pageaction> included a "Set as home" button (much like "Add bookmark", "Post thread", etc.) and, instead of following the rules of public navigation, it'd use that for the Home link for logged-in users, defaulting to the public navigation setting until it's set.

For a site like Xenforo, it would come in quite handy as I want my Home to be the forum whereas someone else may want their Home (a developer perhaps) to be an XF resource that they developed. It's irritating to go to a completely different website, as a logged-in user, to have to go back to the forum or click it in the menu (a user experience improvement here). Other forums would have other use cases for this option. Perhaps, someone would want Siropu's chatroom to be the homepage, while others Bob's AMS, etc.

 

[geekgasm]

That would be nice.

 

[Kirby]

I am not entirely sure what this suggestion is about - do you want users to be able to set their own index route?
Or the "Home page URL"?
Or the URL of the "Home" tab (which be default is also the Home page URL)?

 

[geekgasm]

For me, I would love users to be able to set the forums, gallery or downloads as their homepage through the front end.

 

[JoyFreak]

Couldn't this easily be done via an add-on?

 

[Kirby]

For me, I would love users to be able to set the forums, gallery or downloads as their homepage through the front end.

But what does "their homepage" mean? That's what I am somewhat failing to understand.

 

[geekgasm]

But what does "their homepage" mean? That's what I am somewhat failing to understand.

Ah, I see. I want registered members to be able to select their desired index/landing page through the front end or through their preferences.

That's a great suggestion, @JoyFreak. I think it would be a great core feature.

 

[beerForo]

So like, when they click the forum logo they are taken to the Gallery if they have that set? This is what you want?

 

[geekgasm]

So like, when they click the forum logo they are taken to the Gallery if they have that set? This is what you want?

Yes, exactly.

 

[beerForo]

I feel like it's one of those settings no one would use or even know exists. Definitely best as an add-on for certain use cases which may exist.

 

[Joe Kuhn]

Under New Posts / Filters there's a Set as Default option. This seems close to what you all are asking for. I do spend 90% of my time in New Posts on this and the other forum I visit. I leave my browser there and hit refresh when I come back. Seems to work for me.

 

[frm]

Couldn't this easily be done via an add-on?

Quite possibly, but if we have bookmarking as core, I would assume that "set as home" should be as well if it's in every browser known to man along with bookmarking.

But what does "their homepage" mean? That's what I am somewhat failing to understand.

For public navigation, if the "home" tab is enabled, the public navigation is ignored for logged in users with their "home" set.

So like, when they click the forum logo they are taken to the Gallery if they have that set? This is what you want?

This would most likely be a styling setting. For instance, if you click the XenForo logo on this forum, you're taken to forums, where I want to go, but it could follow the style preferences of 1) a set link, 2) the home link, or 3) ignore both in lieu of a preferred link, be it XFMG or XFRM to even a specific thread people follow religiously.

If you click on the "home" button in the tabs on XF community, it goes to the "ad" page where I need to backtrack to the forum or click community from there—it's an undesirable effect that I want here, and other forums, as a user; I'd prefer to set my own "home".

 

[beerForo]

Do you have users that have asked for this? I've never come across this.

 

[frm]

Do you have users that have asked for this? I've never come across this.

No, I haven't. But, I'm asking implementation here, as I did with an attachment slider, prior to getting a custom add on done, as I did with that.

It's not a good user experience here, on PC, to be taken to an unexpected page when the logo and "home" differ. In my opinion, I should have a choice what my home is.

I click the logo here to get to the forums while mobile, but by habit, I click the Home tab to get to the forums as well while on desktop only to be taken to the sales page. The behavior is inconsistent amongst all forums. Therefore, I believe the user should select their own "home", much like they can in their browser, as well as add bookmarks in their browser and on XF.

Bookmarks and home go hand in hand in browsers, so if you have one on XF, why not the other?

 

[beerForo]

Personally I would not give that power to my users. The home is the home and if they change it to theirs they may never find the actual home I want them to.

But good luck!

 

[frm]

Personally I would not give that power to my users. The home is the home and if they change it to theirs they may never find the actual home I want them to.

But good luck!

My counter to that would just be Chrome setting, and not letting you change, the Home as Google. The other counter is that there are a multitude of sites, albeit custom, that give user preferences on what they want to see, such as suggested content: this would just be a good first step towards that.

A user will eventually disregard what you set as home one day or another with a personal bookmark anyway; let that day be sooner.

But agree to disagree

 

[Paul B]

A browser bookmark and setting a default index page on a site are two completely different things.

Does Twittter allow you to set a different index page?
Home depot?
CNN?

 

[frm]

Does Twittter allow you to set a different index page?
Home depot?
CNN?

No, but they do give the users the ability to see what they want them to see, or render content that they perceive the user wants to see, rather; kind of how contextual advertising works.

I'm not proposing a system that does that, however, as forums are generally niche and all content is generally the same that they would like to see as opposed to CNN displaying more local news over global and more financial news over OpEds.

A system that allows users to see what they want to see quickly is already implemented, bookmarking. Though, if Home differs from the logo, it can lead to a poor UX. That said, that's not my main gripe with Home public navigation (on XenForocom specifically, it personally is mine, though). It's that the user will always perceive one section of your site "their" area or their Home, despite what you as the webmaster claim is Home. Therefore, logged in users should have the ability to set a homepage as they do with bookmarking.

 

[beerForo]

My Home tab and Logo both go to the forum. You can set yours like that for your issue #1.

 

[frm]

My Home tab and Logo both go to the forum. You can set yours like that for your issue #1.

That still wouldn't solve the problem on your site if I was more a frequented visitor to a specific thread, as old timers often are, and that would be my "home" on your site despite what you set the link to as I'd physically make a bookmark to go there and only there, rarely traveling beyond that. You have no control over that so allowing someone to set Home to anything a user wants is really moot, from my side and yours. Despite that, I'd still like it to be implemented.

I'm almost positive that this is a couple lines of code, so whichever way people are swayed, I'll still allow a user to bookmark or set something as their homepage as it, in my eyes, adds a degree of customizability that some may prefer over being taken to what you tell them is their homepage.