Taylor's New Website Q&A

[lmacmil]

Hey folks,

My name's Shannon and I led the redesign of Taylor's new website.

You guys are some of our biggest fans so we'd like to know what you think of the new site:
- What do you like?
- What could be improved?
- Anything missing?
- Ideas for new features?

It looks nice but it seems to me harder to zoom in if you are looking for a specific model.  Also, where are the detailed specs that were available on the old site?  Things like body width and depth, nut width, etc.

It's a good effort but wasn't ready for "prime time" in my opinion.

[michaelw]

Good feedback. We will be adding more specs in the near future.

Regarding the body dimensions, are you talking about the rollovers in the Browse by Shapes page? http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/shapes

Thanks

hi Shannon,
yes, the rollovers in the Browse by Shapes page is what i was referring to -
i will be certain to add links that pertain to the areas in the future

thanks again for being here to answer our questions &
for your willingness to accept input & suggestions from us -
i realize many hours have going into the redesign of the new website &
the time & effort of those involved certainly does not go unappreciated

thanks for all of the hard work from you & your team

[Shannon McGlathery]

I've found it difficult to navigate when I'm trying to find a particular model acoustic guitar (formerly GA3 and the other acoustic only models). I clicked on Acoustic Guitars, but that brought up Acoustic-Electrics. There was a 316ce which said 300 series underneath it, but that just brought up all the cutaway electrics. I preferred the old web site's way of narrowing down the search results. This was my 3rd time trying to navigate the site, and I still didn't locate the Acoustic only models. And I've received the message that IE cannot display the web page numerous times while trying to get there which is frustrating. Honestly, I've now given up. If anyone wishes to help me, please list the directions on how to get there from Taylor's home page rather than to post the link. That's the only way I'll learn. Thank you.

Cindy, I've had exactly the same experience, including the broken "acoustic" links. Last night the acoustic link loaded "nothing".

It's hard to tell what's going on from this screen shot. It looks like a connection issue which could be your internet connection or the webserver. Our webserver had a few hiccups right after launch but they should be all fixed now. Are you guys still having this issue?

Regarding finding the Acoustic guitars. We changed two major things about the way our acoustics are organized.

First, we combined what was formerly "Acoustic-Electric" and "Acoustic" into a single "Acoustic" guitars category. We found that new users were confused by the "Acoustic-Electric" naming. And really they are all acoustic guitars with or without electronic pickup systems.

Second, and this would confuse longtime fans, we got rid of the old acoustic/shape series names (e.g. DN, GA, GS...) and reorganized those models into "Acoustic # Series". The reasoning is that those models would share the same appointments and options. For example the DN7, GC7e, GS7... are all in the "Acoustic 7 Series" now because they share the same appointments, woods and options. Also having series' and shapes share the same name is confusing.

If you are looking for a specific model, like the GA3, you can either type it in the search (yes search now works on the new site) or look it up in on the "All Guitars" page ( http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/all ) which you can get to from the Guitars dropdown in the main nav.

Thanks

[S MS Picker]

Please don't close the back door to the past W&S til I get them downloaded and saved. Purty Please.
Steve

[Shannon McGlathery]

Please don't close the back door to the past W&S til I get them downloaded and saved. Purty Please.
Steve

Don't worry. We'll get them back up

[Tammany Tiger]

Regarding finding the Acoustic guitars. We changed two major things about the way our acoustics are organized.

First, we combined what was formerly "Acoustic-Electric" and "Acoustic" into a single "Acoustic" guitars category. We found that new users were confused by the "Acoustic-Electric" naming. And really they are all acoustic guitars with or without electronic pickup systems.

Second, and this would confuse longtime fans, we got rid of the old acoustic/shape series names (e.g. DN, GA, GS...) and reorganized those models into "Acoustic # Series". The reasoning is that those models would share the same appointments and options. For example the DN7, GC7e, GS7... are all in the "Acoustic 7 Series" now because they share the same appointments, woods and options. Also having series' and shapes share the same name is confusing.

Thanks very much for this clarification. Allow me just a few comments.

First, this sort of change in product branding seems pretty significant. Some sort of announcement would eliminate a lot of confusion among long time Taylor owners.

Secondly, if Taylor has stopped using the terms DN, GC, GA and GS, then why are those terms still used within the variously numbered acoustic lines? For example, the "Acoustic 7" line still contains GA7s and GS7s. It appears that Taylor has substituted one layer of product organization for another while eliminating what used to be a meaningful distinction.

Much more significantly, Taylor used to claim that there were structural differences between the acoustics and the acoustic/electrics even though some numbered series guitars (6xx, 7xx, 8x, for example) could be ordered without electronics and electronics could be added to straight acoustics. As consumers we were told that the wood thickness was different and at one point Taylor said that the bracing was different. Have the structural differences been eliminated and, if so, why has Taylor apparently retained different names for the essentially the same guitars? Is the only difference now the trim level?

Are you telling me that a GA8 is now simply an 814 without the wood binding?

If there is no longer any difference, then whynot just get rid of the numbering system and designate everything by shape and additional identifiers including perhaps a word to denote the lower straight acoustic trim level? A word such as "Traditional" might be us to designate the simpler trim level. Using this approach, an 814ce would be redesignated as a GA8ce while the straight acoustic would be a GA8 Traditional. If a customer wanted the acoustic with electronics and a cutaway, then the guitar would be a GA8ce Traditional. The more nicely appointed guitar with electronics but without a cutaway would be simply a GA8e.

It' hard enough to struggle with new organization of the site but a change in the line really complicates things. I am still not even sure whether there has been a change in the line as opposed to a change in the presentation of the line.

I appreciate the earlier clarification regarding sort options on the site but am still really struggling with the need to click through nearly 20 pages of guitar pictures to find product that still seems pretty randomly organized.

I know that Taylor is trying and I do not mean to be critical but this new site is not user friendly and it is extremely confusing to me as someone who has owned your guitars for a long time and who thought that he understood the Taylor line.

There simply shoud not be this kind of confusion. If the lineup has changed, Taylor needs to say so. If the confusion is caused merely by the site organization, then that is an indication that the site is not working.

Sorry to be blunt but these comments are meant to be helpful.

[ataylor]

Agree with the above post -- the issues with the site seem to go beyond navigation and aesthetics and perhaps even beyond the site itself when we get into the organization of the product lines. This goes back to the introduction of the GS body style, which was tastefully released as an exclusive, acoustic-only model in four different wood combinations. It made sense for a special release, but things got a little confusing when the acoustic series came about, stemming from the initial GS release. I too was under the impression that the acoustic line was constructed/braced/voiced slightly different from the acoustic/electric line.

If that's not the case anymore, it's not clear at all in the new W&S issue -- it seems to contradict the website in that regard. Speaking of contradictions, I still wonder about the aesthetics of the website when compared with the products Taylor offers. It feels like an electric guitar website -- I've mentioned Fender -- and seems like a bit of a disconnect when you look at the majority of guitars Taylor makes. That said, if the creative brief was to target a young demographic and to push the electric side of Taylor, I guess there's some success on that level.

Like I've said previously, aesthetics are more subjective than some of the other issues raised, and any website of this level is quite the undertaking. And like I said above, it seems there are issues that go beyond the website in terms of structure, so I don't envy having to iron out the wrinkles! Hopefully the clarity and intuitive spirit that Taylor has been known for will come out on top.

[michaelw]

these last 3 posts (one duplicated) seem to be more about the designations & actual product lines of the
guitar models (which has changed over the past 6 years), rather than the navigation of the new website -
to have these questions answered, i would suggest contacting Customer Service or your favorite dealer

please keep responses to this thread revelant to the topic in which it was started & try to be
'constructive' in that if there is an area that you feel seems lacking or could be improved upon,
a suggestion or an idea that you feel would help clarify that particular area would be helpful also

thank you

Hey folks,

My name's Shannon and I led the redesign of Taylor's new website.

You guys are some of our biggest fans so we'd like to know what you think of the new site:
- What do you like?
- What could be improved?
- Anything missing?
- Ideas for new features?
- General questions about the site?

To frame this up, the site we launched is just the first phase in what will be an ongoing evolution. We will continue to add content and features.

Please try to be constructive with any critiques.

The floor is now open for questions… 

[dangrunloh]

Regarding finding the Acoustic guitars. We changed two major things about the way our acoustics are organized.

First, we combined what was formerly "Acoustic-Electric" and "Acoustic" into a single "Acoustic" guitars category. We found that new users were confused by the "Acoustic-Electric" naming. And really they are all acoustic guitars with or without electronic pickup systems.

Second, and this would confuse longtime fans, we got rid of the old acoustic/shape series names (e.g. DN, GA, GS...) and reorganized those models into "Acoustic # Series". The reasoning is that those models would share the same appointments and options. For example the DN7, GC7e, GS7... are all in the "Acoustic 7 Series" now because they share the same appointments, woods and options. Also having series' and shapes share the same name is confusing.

Thanks very much for this clarification. Allow me just a few comments.

First, this sort of change in product branding seems pretty significant. Some sort of announcement would eliminate a lot of confusion among long time Taylor owners........

.......Sorry to be blunt but these comments are meant to be helpful.

I clipped most of the post because Tammany seems to be confused and got off the rails a bit.  Nothing has been changed with the guitars.  Their names have not been changed, the structures haven't changed.  Everything is the same except how they are sorted and arranged on the web page (for goodness sake).  When he wrote they have done away with the series name that is only for the sorting on the web pages.

[Tammany Tiger]

these last 3 posts (one duplicated) seem to be more about the designations & actual product lines of the
guitar models (which has changed over the past 6 years), rather than the navigation of the new website -
to have these questions answered, i would suggest contacting Customer Service or your favorite dealer

please keep responses to this thread revelant to the topic in which it was started & try to be
'constructive' in that if there is an area that you feel seems lacking or could be improved upon,
a suggestion or an idea that you feel would help clarify that particular area would be helpful also

thank you

I take gentle exception to the idea that my comments strayed off topic. My comments and ataylor's were in direct response to statements made by Shannon in the immediately preceding post. I also see nothing negative about my comments.

Several times on UTGF I have seen comments from moderators trying to regulate the way in which forum members say things. These comments always seem to come in response to a comment that the moderator feels is critical of something that Taylor has done. If this site is only about Taylor boosterism, then the site needs to announce that as a policy. I thought that we were here to exchange ideas about the brand.

This thread, in particular (I note that it has now achieved subtopic status), was started by a Taylor representative seeking input about how the site can be improved. Many posters over the course of five pages of comments have commented on the confusion, ungainliness and lack of clarity in the site. Anyone who has worked in website development understands that a good website begins with organization and that its effectiveness is measured by how clearly it communicates its content to users. I believe that my comments are directly relevant to the topic as well as a specific post by Shannon.

If these kinds of comments are viewed as negative, I respectfully suggest that we simply put up a comment saying, "Hooray! The new Taylor website is great!" and then close the thread. I actually thought though that Taylor was soliciting user opinions from a community that is already appreciative of its products. I certainly am and I would hope that Taylor would appreciate that input.

If you read through all of the posts in these threads it is impossible not to notice significant confusion about what Taylor is trying to communicate and practical difficulties that people are experiencing receiving that information. Sorry if my comments were out of line. I certainly intended no offense to Shannon.

[Tammany Tiger]

First, we combined what was formerly "Acoustic-Electric" and "Acoustic" into a single "Acoustic" guitars category.

Second, and this would confuse longtime fans, we got rid of the old acoustic/shape series names (e.g. DN, GA, GS...) and reorganized those models into "Acoustic # Series".

I clipped most of the post because Tammany seems to be confused and got off the rails a bit.  Nothing has been changed with the guitars.  Their names have not been changed, the structures haven't changed.  Everything is the same except how they are sorted and arranged on the web page (for goodness sake).  When he wrote they have done away with the series name that is only for the sorting on the web pages.

Not to be disputatious but my comments were a direct response to the quoted language from Shannon who clearly said that Taylor had "gotten rid of the old acoustic shape series names" and that this would be "confusing for longtime fans." Glad to hear that nothing has changed but that's not really apparent from his comments or from the site.

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

Hi Shannon, I understand the issue with the site map - thanks for the explanation.

I thought of a few more things I would like to see and they may have already been mentioned:
1 - W&S back issues
2 - info on the LTD series put out over the years, I have a 2010 Fall LTD and can't seem to find much info as well as info on the other limiteds
3 - it was fun to see your picture in W&S since you have been participating here at the forum it feels like I know you (not stalking you or anything  ), just nice to put faces with names - Brian S.'s pic shows up now and again when I am looking at articles/books etc.

Thanks for all you hard work.

[Shannon McGlathery]

One of the things I always thought would be helpful is a feature that allows us to compare various models.

Great idea! 

[Shannon McGlathery]

Hello Shannon

Id like to echo what everyone has said RE: A BTO "Guitar Building" page. How nice it would be to see how a certain binding/rosette/etc combination would look.

Most importantly thanks for asking. Seems inline with Taylors cust service mantra.

As I mentioned in another post it would be very difficult to do a virtual BTO builder. But we are planning on adding more BTO photos, especially of inlays.

[Shannon McGlathery]

Thanks for seeking feedback.  This is very much appreciated.  Follow this path:

Home > Guitars > Acoustic Guitars > By Series > 500 Series > can't find 512 ?

I found the 512ce by using the Search function on the website.  I followed the path above because it was the only intuitive thing for me, not being real familiar with the website.

You're right, you SHOULD be able to see the 512 here: http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/series/500

We'll check into that.

This has been fixed. Thanks again for letting us know.