Download strategy

I must say I'm a little disappointed about the current discussion on
how the downloads are currently organised. The current layout was
discussed with numerous members of the webteam, both on and off-list
before it was implemented, and was done so based on feedback from
users and third parties who were able to provide useful hints through
their own dealings with users and potential users.

The original download area was confusing. We had links on the
homepages that pointed to source code and windows binaries. We had
multiple pages linking to related projects, and we had a download page
that linked into parts of our FTP site, as well as a largely unmanaged
list of third party sites. We regularly received emails asking
where/what people needed to download.

The revised strategy included a number of ideas to improve matters:

- *All* external download links should point to /download, except
where intentionally pointing to a specific package.

- Browsing of the FTP area should be a last resort for the user, never
something we direct them to do.

- All third-party products and add-ons etc. should be moved into the
new software catalogue.

- All third party 'non-community-standard' PostgreSQL distributions
(e.g. Postgres Plus, BitNami, Bizgres) would be moved to a secondary
list under the main server downloads.

- 'Community standard' PostgreSQL distributions would be given
top-most listing on the download page, categorised by operating
system. These packages come from postgresql.org and a variety of third
party sites.

- Within each operating system category, downloads would be listed in
order of ease of use for the complete novice and then alphabetically.
This is because it was perceived that the majority of 'what do I
download' questions came from the real novices, for whom a one-click
installer is easier to understand than a long list of RPMs, DEBs or
ports, most of which they won't need. The more experienced users will
naturally choose the platform-native packages anyway, as that's what
they will be looking for.

And guess what? It's worked. *All* the feedback I've received has
commented on how it's far, far easier to find the appropriate
downloads now, and since the changes were implemented, I don't think
I've seen a single 'what/where do I download' email.

--
Dave Page
EnterpriseDB UK: http://www.enterprisedb.com