Sonic website redesign too mobile-oriented...

[tbessie]

I noticed that the new Sonic website design is really mobile-oriented... that is, it's got very little onscreen, HUGE images, kandy-kolored, and is oriented towards vertical thumb-scrolling on a tablet or phone.

Sonic is one of the last companies I would have thought would go that route; the "mobile first" design trend that's out there has ended up being a "mobile ONLY" design trend; when this trend was first pushed, the idea was that websites would be able to scale from phone to tablet to desktop/laptop.

What's actually ended up happening - including here - is that a mobile design is created, and never modified. No desktop/laptop variant is EVER added. So we're stuck with the websites of a lot of big, formerly-useful sites now being designed for the simplest, most dumbed-down of interfaces. People like me who mostly use desktops all day are stuck looking at these designed-for-short-attention-spanned-5-year-olds websites.

Dane et. al - do you intend to ever change the Sonic website to be able to scale back to full desktop viewing? This trend to dumb down all interfaces to be as simple as possible is driving me mad.

- Tim

[Guest]

I'm with you completely on this and the whole design trend. I'd just been perusing it and thinking myself, Now a 5-year old can navigate this site. Glad it's not just me. Your whole comment is dead-on. But I'm afraid our gnashing is for naught.

Just so long as the service stays equal or better. I think they really want to be good guys.

[tbessie]

Yeah, I don't think they're going to do anything about it, sadly.

Not like I use the website all the time anyway, except for the Member Tools (which I hope hasn't been modified much).

I subscribe to The Guardian (the UK newspaper), and its website used to be a densely packed world of information, easy to navigate, quick to find what you were looking for. Even the phone app was a bit more like that.

Now all their interfaces have been similarly dumbed-down - giant fonts, huge images, everything from the same palette of BRITE KOLORS, huge amounts of white space everywhere... basically, fun for the kiddies but this adult's eyes are offended.

I hope this changes someday, because it's really stupid and insulting.

- Tim

[thulsa_doom]

I thought the bright colors and big lettering were pandering to my failing eyesight after decades in front of monitors of various quality.

[tbessie]

I thought the bright colors and big lettering were pandering to my failing eyesight after decades in front of monitors of various quality.

That's the only positive I can think of about this trend.

I've only just started to occasionally need reading glasses, so not yet, though.

- Tim

[Guest]

I thought the bright colors and big lettering were pandering to my failing eyesight after decades in front of monitors of various quality.

That's the only positive I can think of about this trend. ;-)

I've only just started to occasionally need reading glasses, so not yet, though.

- Tim

Ha! I never thought of it that way - being of a certain age - but one thing is true about these newfangled websites, I can reset my magnification back down to normal.

Nice that they could get young Al Franken for that Home page that isn't a home page.

[tbessie]

Ha! I never thought of it that way - being of a certain age - but one thing is true about these newfangled websites, I can reset my magnification back down to normal.

Nice that they could get young Al Franken for that Home page that isn't a home page.

Al Franken? Where??

- Tim

[thulsa_doom]

Al Franken? Where??

Maybe the guy in glasses with the tablet on top of https://www.sonic.com/for-the-home?



I think it's a stretch, but Senator Franken had some magnificent hair back in the day.

[tbessie]

Ahhh... I thought by "Home page" they meant, regular home page, and I didn't see that pic on the main Sonic page, thus my confusion. Thanks!

- Tim

[adalgisabell]

I don't mind simplified graphic design, but where's the content? Links all seem to go to the same place, not providing any more information. Darn it do I have to call to get information now?