Archive | August, 2007

Addressing Firefox Retention on the Download Page

A few weeks ago, JT and Beltzner presented their 12-point plan for improving Firefox retention. David Rolnitzky and I were tasked with point #5 – “Improve download and first run pages”, so I’m happy to say that we launched a new download page earlier today.

As a bit of context, this is the page that users see after they click the Download Firefox button, and it remains up throughout the entire download process. So, rather than just showing a promo for a messenger bag (which is what the previous version of the page did), our hypothesis is that users will be better served by seeing instructions (with visuals) on how to complete the installation process.

We plan to keep testing and evolving this page over time, so consider this more of a work in progress than a “final” page. Obviously the use of screenshots complicates the localization process, so we’re just launching the en-US version now while we actively try to figure out the best way to localize these pages worldwide. In addition to the Mac page shown here, we also created XP and Vista versions, and other OS’s may follow eventually.

Update 9/4/07: Several commenters correctly pointed out that this page wasn’t always viewable from certain key browsers. That was a known bug at the time we launched the page, and I’m happy to report that it was fixed last week.

Addressing Firefox Retention on the Download Page

Back to the fuzz

Rocking Your Firefox Just a Little Bit More

You’ve very likely already read about Rock Your Firefox, the cool new Facebook app that enhances the Firefox Add-ons experience. What you haven’t read about until now is the previously secret Sesame Street connection.

As we were branding the program, Justin Scott wanted an eye-catching design that would make Rock Your Firefox stand out from all the other Facebook apps out there. We hit upon the idea of using a loud 70s graphic style to get our point across. I then contacted Lee Tom, a designer who did an excellent job of translating all my random thoughts and pop culture references into this:
Rocking Your Firefox Just a Little Bit More

One of the pop culture references I gave Lee as direction was this extremely groovy vintage Sesame Street clip. I’m probably dating myself here, but it was one of my favorite things as a kid and I was very happy to find it on YouTube several weeks ago (completely unrelated to this project). You’ll see the influence on Rock Your Firefox as you watch:

So that’s the story behind the story. And if you’re into this design, I should mention that Rock Your Firefox desktop wallpaper is available in several sizes here.

Back to the fuzz

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes